Mom and Pop Family Restaurants Disappearing

Recently I took a drive to the town that I grew up in. While driving through many of the roads I traveled as a kid I noticed that some of the little "hole in the wall" restaurants that I used to love to eat at as a child are almost all gone. Sure, there are plenty of big name places to go out to eat at, but those just are not the ones that stay in your mind.

Have you ever told someone, "You should go eat at such and such, they have the best tenderloin in town!" ? I can remember plenty of family owned little diners that had the greatest home cooked food around. I could tell you where to go to get the best chili, best sweet tea, best sugar cream pie along with many other things. Sadly, most of them are gone.

The wonderful thing about eating with your family at one of these places is you feel like you've been invited into someone's home. The waiters and waitresses are always friendly. The food is fresh and tastes like something you would make for your own family. Unlike chain restaurants, the cooks usually try to season the food just like they would like it instead of following some menu/recipe protocol.

Sometimes I would go to one of these family owned places and when I ordered a salad usually the vegetables were home grown which was delicious and instead of a teeny tiny little cup of salad dressing they would just give me the whole bottle. You could order a huge meal for very little price and know that it would taste just like something grandma used to make.

I did not care if people waited on me in jeans and a t-shirt or even if the cooks wore gloves. I just enjoyed the food and hearing stories and rumors from the locals. Many times the same people would be there every time I visited because it was pretty much their hang out.

I very much hate to see these places closing down and I'm sure people out there reading this feel the same way about little mom and pop places in their town.