Buchanan Grille Lunch Counter – Buchanan VA

Mod B drove past a newly opened Chicken Chain this morning to see a sign for a free chicken biscuit for breakfast. Now I will admit that I was tempted, but then I recalled the last time I had a chicken biscuit for breakfast - at the Retro Roadmap worthy Buchanan Grill in Buchanan VA. Now some of the details are lost to my fading memory, but don't let that stop you from stopping by!

Retro Roadhusband and I took a leisurely extra day of driving on our last jaunt home from Atlanta, which gave us the excuse to do some Retro Roadmapping in Virginia. We usually press on through states so close to home, but I knew there were a number of places we wanted to check out on historic Route 11. So after our stay at the Wattstull Inn we started our day with breakfast at the Buchanan Grill - also known as the soda fountain at Ransones drug store.

The soda fountain and lunch counter have been a staple at Ransone's for decades, but there was some damage to the building when floods ravaged the town in the early 2000s. That is unfortunate in many ways, but Mod B was bummed most about not being able to see where the basement of Ransone's used to be the Buchanan Recreation Center, complete with bowling alleys!

While the lunch counter doesn't open 'til 11 during the week, as soon as I saw that they had chicken biscuits on the menu (grilled or friend - and of course I got fried!) I knew exactly what I was going to order - even though it wasn't really breakfast time. Note for your travels that they have a lunch and dinner menu too, as they're open 'til 7pm (closed on Sunday and Monday.)

The pace was leisurely, with regulars coming in the door to fill prescriptions or pick up a necessity from the small but handy selection of items in the pharmacy. Our food arrived without too much fuss and hit the spot. And it's such a quick dodge off of Route 81 to get here, I can see us making a return visit for roadfood again. Or maybe to catch a flick at the Buchanan Theatre, open since 1919 and just across the street from the lunch counter.