Sitting in a booth at Elliston Place Soda Shop with Jim Myers, a food journalist turned restaurant proprietor, a woman following her sprightly grandchildren passes by.
“How was your visit?” Jim asks. She stops. “My husband and I used to come here often.
He died 12 years ago, but I promised the kids I would take them on their last day of school. It was great.”
The current Elliston Place sits next door to the original restaurant that opened in 1939. It was purchased from the original owners in 2019 by Tony and Lisa Giarratana. The plans were to renovate the place, but when a lease dispute ensued, it was relocated to the store directly next door. Renovation aimed to keep the style and soul of the 1930s shop. They spent a lot of time on the menu, testing and retesting recipes until they got the right combination of tradition and taste. The meat and three, the fried green tomatoes, the shakes.
It may have moved and have new walls and booths, but the guests who walk through the doors respect the history of the place, as does the staff. Manager, baker and restaurant veteran Linda Melton, aka “The Pie Lady,” has held the soda shop together through many, many years, as has Barbie Farley, server and dishwasher, and Leonard Jones, who used to chat up customers waiting in line for the bathroom. Combined, they have almost 90 years of history at Elliston Place. No doubt they have some stories. Stop in for one and create one of your own.