05 October 2014

Enough coffee for ya?


The Coffee Pot, Hwy 301, S.C.
I had spotted this coffee pot years ago when it was in terrible shape. Thanks to the Times & Democrat's 100 Things in 100 Days I spotted a recent image showing the refurbished coffee pot and steered a recent drive in the country in that direction. It has been fixed! Wow....the entire structure is freshly painted and clean. The windows invite you to snoop and the inside is some kind of doll museum. It made me wonder if the owners might be grandparents? Here is the scoop from the Times & Democrat's website:
The Coffee Pot: Before they opened the diner in 1950-51, British natives Fred and Emily Griffin had originally planned to open a tearoom. Deciding the busy highway needed a coffee shop instead, the Griffins opened the Coffee Pot Diner. Mrs. Griffin is said to have baked pies each night for the next day’s customers. A traveler could order breakfast and lunch and, of course, plenty of steaming cups of Joe.
Coffee may have been the American public’s beverage of choice for a caffeine fix, but in a nod to her British roots, Mrs. Griffin continued to partake of her afternoon tea at 4 o’clock every day.
The 1950s motored on, and the Griffins greeted their guests from near and far. But trouble was brewing on the horizon for the Coffee Pot Diner and other establishments like it.
In the mid-1950s, President Dwight D. Eisenhower brought home from World War II the idea of the interstate, a road system designed to move military equipment quickly, based on Germany’s Autobahn. South Carolina was to get three interstates: I-20, I-26 and I-95.
Begun in 1957 and one of the oldest interstates, it was I-95 that would slice through Orangeburg County, parallel to U.S. 301, sounding the death knell for countless motels, gas stations and mom-and-pop diners like the Coffee Pot.
The Coffee Pot poured its last cup in 1979
 
 

8 comments:

William Kendall said...

Quirky! I like it!

Marcheline said...

Aww.... wish it was still perkin'.

Sally Tharpe Rowles said...

How cool! I love this sweet story…. & coffee pot.

Catalyst said...

It is sad that the need to cross the country as fast as possible caused the demise of so many neat businesses. In my state, we still have vestiges of old Route 66, and some of the old businesses are still thriving. But I-40 is right next door to the tourists who, having made a quick stop, wish to accelerate their travels.

Charlestonjoan said...

I do too! I am so happy they fixed it up.

Charlestonjoan said...

Me too! This is pecan and peach country and it is a shame they aren't serving delicious baked pies.

Charlestonjoan said...

The story made me like it even more!

Charlestonjoan said...

Yes it is. So glad this one didn't crumble away.