Keeping Tradition Alive: 57-Year-Old Restaurant Still Thrives in Wilkes
Glenn’s Restaurant remains a fixture in Wilkesboro
WILKESBORO-If you live anywhere near Wilkes County, chances are you’ve heard of Glenn’s Restaurant. Maybe you know it as the Tastee-Freeze, even though it’s no longer a franchise of that company. Maybe you heard about the times Dolly Parton, Ralph Stanley and Gov. Jim Hunt dropped by the diner at 800 River Street in Wilkesboro. Maybe you’ve heard of its founder Glenn Johnson, a 26-year Wilkesboro town council member, an original member of the Wilkes Civitan Club and the city’s representative to the High County Council of Governments for more than 20 years. Opened by Johnson in 1963, the diner has been a fixture on River Street in Wilkesboro for more than 50 years, known for serving hot dogs, hamburgers and milkshakes, among other things.
For current owner Stephanie Winebarger, it’s also home. She took over on May 5, 2018, but had been connected to the restaurant long before that.
“I started in 1994 and worked for Glenn 16 years,” Winebarger said. “This place has been so much a part of my life.”
After those 16 years, Winebarger stepped away for a while, taking a job in Virginia. It was during this time Johnson passed away. His family kept the diner for a while, but started inquiring about selling in late 2017. Winebarger heard about that and reached out, interested in coming back to take over the place she called home. She didn’t even consider any drastic changes, because people know Glenn’s and they know what type of food to expect. The business serves breakfast until 11 a.m. each day, as well as lunch and dinner. But beyond the food, people also know the atmosphere.
“Everybody knows they can come here and be greeted with a smile,” Winebarger said.
The reviews on TripAdvisor and Yelp echo that. They call it a “great old-school diner” and a “local legend.” If you go down through the list, many of the reviewers talk about how they’ve been going to Glenn’s since childhood. Their parents would go and their grandparents. It’s not uncommon to see multiple generations drop by at times.
Winebarger loves that feeling, being a fixture in the community. Also, one of her passions in life is baking and she enjoys being able to share that with customers. It’s not uncommon to find butter pecan poundcake, blueberry biscuits and chocolate peanut butter cheesecake on the menu, just to name a few. But beyond baking, as owner, Winebarger wears a lot of hats. At this point, there’s nothing in the restaurant she hasn’t done.
Opening Back Up
For the last two months, Glenn’s has provided pickup and curbside orders. Having a diner with a to-go window made things a bit easier, as people could just walk right up and place an order. They’ve also done deliveries within five miles of the restaurant. But now, as North Carolina enters Reopening Phase II, the restaurant’s doors are opening to sit-in guests again. They’ve marked off some areas, in order to make sure social distancing guidelines are followed and have an entry and exit door, in order to help with the flow of traffic. Now due to Phase II guidelines, the restaurant can’t welcome a maximum capacity of customers just yet. Instead, including staff, there can only be 20 people inside the building. That means roughly 12 to 14 people can be served inside. To expand that number, Winebarger added nine picnic tables behind the restaurant. Currently, it is open Monday through Saturday from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. On Sundays, the dining room will be closed, with only to-go orders taken from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Winebarger said she appreciates everyone who has placed an order over the last few months and helped keep the 57-year-old restaurant going.
“We appreciate all the support, everything being done to support local businesses right now,” Winebarger said. “That means so much.”
Brian Carlton is the editor for NWNC. He can be reached at brian.carlton38@gmail.com.
