We also are blessed to have one of the few remaining American icons – the lunch counter.
Let's tour Dees Drug Store & Grill.
History and memories have been made at America’s lunch counters. At a time, boyfriends met would-be girlfriends at the soda fountain at the lunch counter. The American lunch counter was a battlefield in the fight for civil rights.
The lunch counter is where we grabbed a bite to eat during a long day of shopping with grandma. It was a stop on our trip of “goin’ to town.”
On the Town Square in Burgaw, remains one of America’s few remaining lunch counters.
At Dees Drug Store and Grill, it’s like stepping back into time. Climb into a chair at the lunch counter and watch Frances Burn prepare rootbeer floats, ice cream cones, hot dogs, BLTs, egg salad sandwiches and more – all fresh every day.
“People like the atmosphere,” said Burns. She has worked the Dees lunch counter for the last 13 years. “People are shocked. But they like it and they come back.”
The Dees lunch counter is Americana. It’s where Burns serves fresh, homemade pies and hot coffee. In the cooler months, Burns serves a different homemade soup each day.
Her sweet tea is brewed fresh every day.
“It’s first come, first served,” said Burns. “When a menu item runs out that day, it’s gone. Our customers have learned to get here early.”
Burns has developed a relationship with her customers. She said often her regulars call ahead. She knows their favorite toppings on their hot dogs and the condiments they like on their sandwiches.
“They become like family,” she said.
Burns’ family of customers loves her bacon, lettuce, and tomato sandwiches. It is one of her most ordered menu items.
“You don’t get a few strips of bacon here,” she said.
“It’s more like a half pound of bacon,” she added with a laugh.
Her egg salad is delicious too. She doesn’t use grocery store bought eggs. She orders brown eggs, fresh daily, to make her egg salad.
Burns celebrates family successes too. She gives a free hot dog or a free ice cream to children who show progress on their report cards. They must be accompanied by their parents. She also treats her senior customers who are 90 years young to a 5 cent ice cream or hot dog.
“You should see their faces when they get their bill and its 5 cents,” she said. Like the lunch counter itself, the 5 cent bill reminds them of good ‘ole days.
The lunch counter is open Mondays through Fridays, 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.
Dees Drug Store and Grill is located at 111 S. Wright St. in Burgaw. It has operated since 1916. How many lunch counters have operated for 100 years? This one’s historic and worth the trip.
