# Have you eaten at a store lunch counter? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 19, 2014, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-eaten-at-a-store-lunch-counter/688773 "2014-05-19T21:26:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![installLSC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/54ee81/32.png) [@installLSC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/installLSC)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2014, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-eaten-at-a-store-lunch-counter/688773/1 "2014-05-19T21:26:59Z")
In another Dope thread, store lunch counters were mentioned. In the past, it seems most department stores and many other retail outlets would have a small restaurant on site for customers. (Outside restaurants onsite, like McDonald’s at Walmart or Little Caeser at KMart are not what I mean.) My hometown actually had a lunch counter in the local pharmacy well into the nineties;it got converted into a soda fountain and is still around. The food was about as good as you’d expect from a small town drugstore, but at least it carried a full menu. So have you ever eaten at a lunch counter, and where and when? What do you remember about the food? ---
**Author:** ![Southern\_Yankee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/southern_yankee/32/2800_2.png) [@Southern\_Yankee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Southern_Yankee)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2014, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-eaten-at-a-store-lunch-counter/688773/2 "2014-05-19T21:30:27Z")
Yes. Growing up in northern New Jersey in the 70s, we had a S. S. Kresge (5 and 10) that had a lunch counter. It was always a treat when my mom let us eat there for lunch. I remember grilled cheese sandwiches and ice cream sodas. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2014, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-eaten-at-a-store-lunch-counter/688773/3 "2014-05-19T21:33:07Z")
Not only did I eat at one, I worked at one also. A Woolworth’s in the King of Prussia mall in Pennsylvania. This was a large one with a number of tables, but basically the same food found at the smaller counters. It was mostly burgers, dogs, and club sandwiches along with soda fountain fare. When I was very young and lived outside of DC I loved to eat at the People’s Drugstore lunch counters. They had a chili dog meal I liked, though I had to pick the beans out of the chili. These counters were much like a small traditional diner. ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2014, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-eaten-at-a-store-lunch-counter/688773/4 "2014-05-19T21:36:16Z")
Yes. It’s one of my favourite memories going that far back. I was treated to hot dog and coke at a Woolworth’s lunch counter by my aunt and uncle. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2014, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-eaten-at-a-store-lunch-counter/688773/5 "2014-05-19T21:40:16Z")
Yep. We had a Kresge with a lunch counter. There was also, in a nearby city, a Lazarus (think Macy’s) department store with a full restaurant in it. ---
**Author:** ![UntouchedTakeaway](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/d78d45/32.png) [@UntouchedTakeaway](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UntouchedTakeaway)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2014, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-eaten-at-a-store-lunch-counter/688773/6 "2014-05-19T21:41:40Z")
Yes - at the Walgreen’s in Gainesville, FL. I worked at Chestnut’s Office/Art Supply and would eat at the Walgreen’s lunch counter occasionally. Tuna melts and a Coke. This would have been around 1979 - 1981. UT~ ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2014, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-eaten-at-a-store-lunch-counter/688773/7 "2014-05-19T21:43:30Z")
Not since I was a kid in the early 70’s, but back then the Norman Rockwell dime store lunch counter was a real treat. Mom, a club sandwich with chips, an olive or pickle slice, and a chocolate malt. Great memories. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2014, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-eaten-at-a-store-lunch-counter/688773/8 "2014-05-19T21:44:19Z")
The closest thing to this that I’ve ever personally experienced “in the wild” is the deli counter at Cabela’s that serves sandwiches made from game meat - boar, venison, elk, and so on. I was cautiously intrigued by the idea the one time I found myself in the store, but I wasn’t very hungry. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2014, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-eaten-at-a-store-lunch-counter/688773/9 "2014-05-19T21:47:17Z")
In the '70s, what passed for a big city in our area had a Kresge, which later became K-Mart, and a Woolworth’s. They had lunch counters but I don’t recall actually eating there. I do remember eating at the Automat-syle cafeteria in the basement of Chicago’s Museum of Science & Industry, though. ---
**Author:** ![Rhiannon8404](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rhiannon8404/32/17929_2.png) [@Rhiannon8404](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhiannon8404)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2014, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-eaten-at-a-store-lunch-counter/688773/10 "2014-05-19T21:50:24Z")
We used to eat at the Woolworth’s when we were with my grandmother shopping downtown. I love that. Such a fun treat! This would be in the 70’s. ---
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2014, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-eaten-at-a-store-lunch-counter/688773/11 "2014-05-19T21:51:10Z")
Also as a kid in the '70s at Woolworth’s. And, come to think of it, as a high schooler in the early '80s at McCrory’s. I think it was called McCrory’s. In downtown Brooklyn. ---
**Author:** ![Stormcrow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/0ea827/32.png) [@Stormcrow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stormcrow)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2014, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-eaten-at-a-store-lunch-counter/688773/12 "2014-05-19T21:51:15Z")
These still effectively exist in some places. Ikea stores often (if not always) have a lunch area. Macy’s in downtown Chicago has multiple eating venues, which although they are branded (like Frontera Fresco, for example) are all apparently run under one big staffing arrangement. I eat there at least a few times a month. There’s also a more cafeteria style lunch set up in the basement at that location. ---
**Author:** ![Ponch8](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponch8/32/9883_2.png) [@Ponch8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponch8)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2014, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-eaten-at-a-store-lunch-counter/688773/13 "2014-05-19T21:51:26Z")
Growing up in Peoria, IL, in the very late '70s/early '80s, I remember eating at ones at K-Mart and at Venture (another discount department store). There was also a restaurant at Bergner’s (a department store more along the lines of JC Penney), but I think that was a sit-down restaurant rather than just a counter. ---
**Author:** ![NDP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ndp/32/55_2.png) [@NDP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NDP)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2014, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-eaten-at-a-store-lunch-counter/688773/14 "2014-05-19T21:55:42Z")
I have eaten at quite a few department store lunch counters but not recently. The last one I can recall eating at is Newberry’s which closed around 1997. ---
**Author:** ![Oakminster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/77aa72/32.png) [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2014, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-eaten-at-a-store-lunch-counter/688773/15 "2014-05-19T22:12:28Z")
Yup…Woolworth’s, and several others whose names escape me at the moment…maybe Ward’s? Something like that. One of them had an open-face roast beef sandwich that was pretty good. ---
**Author:** ![Soul\_Brother\_Number\_Two](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/soul_brother_number_two/32/3515_2.png) [@Soul\_Brother\_Number\_Two](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Soul_Brother_Number_Two)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2014, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-eaten-at-a-store-lunch-counter/688773/16 "2014-05-19T22:17:32Z")
I remember being puzzled by the little half-cans of Campbell’s soup on display–thinking this would have been at Grant’s. Seemed so forlorn to me even as a kid. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2014, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-eaten-at-a-store-lunch-counter/688773/17 "2014-05-19T22:18:43Z")
Higbee’s, in Cleveland, used to have some sort of birthday special, and so Mom would take my sister and I on all of our birthdays. They gave out a toy stove made of folded cardboard. ---
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2014, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-eaten-at-a-store-lunch-counter/688773/18 "2014-05-19T22:23:29Z")
I’ve eaten at a few. The Woolworths were the only place I ever knew to serve [phosphate sodas](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phosphate_soda). The Rexall drug store used to have a counter too. The one in Plymouth, WI charcoal grilled their burgers and served them on a hard roll. Outstanding! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Charlie\_Wayne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4bbf92/32.png) [@Charlie\_Wayne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Charlie_Wayne)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2014, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-eaten-at-a-store-lunch-counter/688773/19 "2014-05-19T22:26:29Z")
BLT sandwiches were just the best. Amazingly delicious! Yum! Yum! Yum! So yummy! ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2014, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-eaten-at-a-store-lunch-counter/688773/20 "2014-05-19T22:28:15Z")
Mmmmmmmmmm, hot dogs down by Prange’s lunch counter! Yum. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-eaten-at-a-store-lunch-counter/688773.md?page=2)