Issuing a warm welcome to Waynesville Main Street Diner

Apr. 25—There's a new kid in town on the local dining scene with the recent opening of the Waynesville Main Street Diner. The eatery has already proven to be a welcome addition, offering locals and visitors alike another tastebud-pleasing place to whet their appetites.

Margaret and I were lucky enough to score an invitation to visit a couple of weeks ago during the restaurant's "soft opening," an opportunity for the diner to test out its kitchen and wait staff while providing guests with a chance to sample its substantial menu.

Waynesville Main Street Diner is located, well, duh, on Waynesville's Main Street in a space most recently occupied by Ian and Jojo's Pizzeria. Longtime residents fondly know the address as the former location of the beloved Whitman's Bakery, which closed its oven doors and nixed its mixers in 2011 after more than 60 years of serving up baked goodies.

The diner serves breakfast, lunch and dinner seven days a week, open from 6:30 a.m. all the way through to 9 p.m. Breakfast is served until 11 a.m. on weekdays and until noon on weekends, with lunch and dinner commencing at 11 a.m. daily.

Waynesville Main Street Diner features an extensive array of sandwiches and entrees, from grilled cheese or fried bologna sammies to burgers and dogs to steak, seafood, chicken, pork chops and ribs.

The diner is the latest brainchild of Drake Fultz, who has been operating partner and general manager of the Haywood 209 Café since 2017 and opened up the Crepe and Custard café at Lake Junaluska in 2022.

Fultz stopped by our table on our visit for a brief chat, inquiring about how we were enjoying our meal and informing us that he would have his boots on the ground in the diner for the foreseeable future to ensure that the fledgling enterprise is running smoothly.

But, with three restaurants to run, when does this guy sleep?

"Opening a third dining establishment was prompted by the success of and demand for our existing ones. Sleep is important, but so is meeting the needs of our customers. Main Street needed a classy diner for the community as well as our visitors," Fultz said.

Main Street Diner features an open, airy dining area, with lots of tables and an attractive counter surrounded by wooden stools. An adjacent second dining area offers booth seating. Décor is a throwback to downtown Waynesville from days gone by, including a historic photo collection.

Fultz calls it "a cozy, nostalgic vibe with a modern twist."

"It's all about comfort food in a welcoming atmosphere. Think of turn-of-the-century Americana stick-to-your-ribs fare," he said. "The Waynesville Main Street Diner is a tribute to the town of Waynesville and its historical value. We have a lot of historical artifacts and period-correct photos from the times of past."

The most popular items so far have been the classic diner staples such as burgers, milkshakes and hearty breakfast platters, he said. Breakfast seems to be attracting the most customers, followed closely by lunch, and dinner is also popular, especially on weekends.

"I'm always excited to share updates on new menu items or special promotions. And of course, feedback from our customers is invaluable in shaping our offerings," Fultz said.

Extensive menu

For our inaugural visit, Margaret and I decided to try the dinner menu. Server Deanna talked us into starting with an appetizer, suggesting the diner's signature fried Brussel sprouts. But, seeing as how I am not a fan of the bitter little member of the cabbage family, we ordered the Wisconsin-style cheese curds, which came with a side of garlic aioli sauce.

The curds were deep-fried and cheesy, and there were more than enough for two. In fact, we ending up taking a few home with us for later snacking.

For the main course, Margaret went with her standard go-to, salmon, which arrived perfectly grilled at medium rare, just the way she likes it. Entrees come with two side dishes, and she selected rice pilaf and grilled asparagus, both of which were delicious.

I was torn between the parkway Philly cheesesteak, the French dip hoagie with a side of au jus or the house-smoked ribs, finally deciding to pig out, go whole hog and order not just a half a rack of ribs but a full rack.

Deanna recommended ordering the dry rub ribs with a side of barbeque sauce for dipping, and that was definitely the right call. For my sides, I had an order of steak fries and a small bowl of pinto beans.

As is our custom, Margaret and I shared bites of entrees and sides, enabling us both to experience a wider array of taste sensations. We agreed that every item that came out of the kitchen was downright yummy.

And, I had so many leftover ribs in my overflowing to-go box that we got not just one but two additional meals out of them at home. We were both so incredibly full that we were unable to sample the beautiful desserts beckoning from the display case, as tempting as they were.

Margaret and I thoroughly enjoyed our maiden voyage to the diner, and we definitely will be back. I for one am looking forward to going there for brunch and trying to make myself decide between two pages worth of breakfasty options.

Bill Studenc, who began his career in journalism and communications at The Mountaineer in 1983, retired in January 2021 as chief communications officer at Western Carolina University. He now writes about life in the mountains of Western North Carolina.