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The iconic Edwards Drive-In is closing after 64 years, reported FOX 59. The '50s style diner has been a staple in the southeast community, and is finally shutting its doors for good.
Owner Jeff Edwards said about his regular customers, “There are days that I come in, and I feel so bad because there are people who have been doing this all their lives. What are they going to do now?"
Like many other businesses, the COVID-19 pandemic presented many challenges for the diner. Edwards said, "There were so many things that started to take us away from what made us who we were."
The diner's website contains a goodbye note to the community. It reads, in part:
"Thanks to our fiercely loyal customers, the difficult decision to close was never based on a lack of business. Over the years, we have faced and overcome many obstacles; however, these past two years have been particularly difficult. Due to the many challenges, stresses, and demands caused by the pandemic, we simply are no longer able to operate at the level in which we strive, and you deserve. As a result, we have decided to close the restaurant and focus on ways we may better serve the public."
The diner will live on in food truck form. Edwards said, "We never wanted to get out of the food business. We just need to redesign how we do it. The mayor said we need you to put a truck in the Super Bowl, and I said, 'You know what? If I build a truck, it's going to be the best truck in the city.'"