More backroads, Mount Airy, NC

If you wander down I77 to NC89 and take it east a few miles, you end up in Mount Airy, NC.  Most people have heard of Mount Airy, the inspiration for the Andy Griffith show.  Lots of folks have heard of Snappy Lunch, which was made famous by Andy's show.  You can read more about Snappy's in my post, "The conundrum of Snappy Lunch."

I can call it Andy's show because I spent my the summers of teenage years in Mount Airy cruising Main Street.  Rumor has it that my late mother, Blanche, once swatted Andy when he caused some trouble in her beauty shop which she ran for many years on that same Main Street.

Mount Airy once was the home of textile mills and furniture factories.  It was a pretty prosperous place.  My dad moved there in 1904 and eventually became the Vice President of National Furniture.  Pretty well all the factories are gone now.  It took us a long time to sell our beautiful family home on West Pine Street after my mother moved in with us in Mount Airy because the area like some places in Southwest Virginia really hasn't recovered from the loss of all the jobs.

Yet there is hope in Mount Airy.  Main street Mount Airy is a remarkable testament to the ability of small towns to survive and even thrive.  Now things aren't perfect, but the excitement and enthusiasm that you often see in midday is hard to duplicate in many small towns. The tourists have adopted Mount Airy, and it has brought life and customers to the main drag.   The downtown is full of small shops, eateries, a museum, a theater.  As a recent series in the Roanoke paper indicated, it is also home to some mountain music.  You can even visit a shop that is loaded with Vera Bradley bags which is a huge draw if the ladies in our family are a reliable guide to what the female shopping public wants.

We miss our bi-weekly trips to Mount Airy when we were taking care of my mom's place.  We could walk up town and have breakfast at either Snappy Lunch or Leon's.  We always took the time to walk off our breakfasts by visiting a few shops.

There's an old fashioned hardware store with a couple of the best locksmiths in the business. They also carry spare parts for pressure cookers. They helped me come up with some keys for doors that hadn't been opened in many years.

Then there's Roselli's Bakery just down the street from Leon's.  They seem to find lots of NY items to bring south.  No the holiday decorations aren't up in August.  The Leon's shot was taken last winter. 

We make the decision of whether to have breakfast at Leon's or Snappy's by deciding if we want to eat on real plates or not.  Snappy lunch only uses Styrofoam ones. 

The biscuits are better at Snappy, but pancakes and some other items are better at Leon's.  I enjoy Leon's burgers more than I do Snappy's Pork chop sandwich which should be approached with the proper respect since it can do in a pretty hardy appetite.  I think my mother secretly believed that she made it to ninety three partially because she had only eaten one Pork chop sandwich in her long life.

While you're walking around, there are plenty of gift shops to visit and lots of places to buy nice prints of Pilot Mountain and the surrounding Blue Ridge Mountains.   Then for the dads, after they have spent as much time as they can take in the typical ladies' stores, there's Robby's which is a hardware, hunting, fishing, camping, horse, and Army surplus store just at the far end of Main Street.  They even have a great selection of cast iron cookware that can be carefully seasoned into a proper cornbread pan.

If you've managed to make it through a whole day, and still have room for more food there are some good choices on the way out of town, there's Odell's Sandwich Shop where you drive up, park,  and order your food through one of those classic radios and wait for one of the boys to bring you a Big Moe or a Hot Dog Basket. I have a friend who has Odell's on speed dial so his food is waiting for him when he drives through from Virginia  If you want a fancier meal take US52 bypass north from NC89.  After you pass the Starlight Drive in, which I'm not certain has survived the new multiplex, and the Mall, you'll see Goobers restaurant on your right.  I can highly recommend their fried oyster salad, their gumbo and any of their pasta dishes.

In fact there are enough interesting local eateries in Mount Airy that I might just have to head on back down Fancy Gap and conduct some in depth research.  If you really want to see some crowds in Mount Airy, try their Autumn Leaves Festival which is Oct. 14-16 this year.

Update
_________

Mayberry Christmas

December 27, 2006

"The holiday season would not be complete for us without a trip to our home turf, Mount Airy, NC. ...."

Comments

[June Cutoff Cash]

Thank you so much for this description of Mount Airy. My husband and I love in Los Angeles, and may relocate to Mount Airy. Quite a difference, I think! Again, thank you. This was detailed and helpful.

[Wanda Green]

My grandparents lived in Mt Airy (on Summit Dr) when I was growing up and until they passed. I really enjoyed reading this! My parents live in Elkin now, so I still get to visit Mt Airy from time to time. Thank you.

[sharon branson (blair)]

i used to live on summit drive 1347 back in 85 to 94.where did you lived at?i lived beside of the snows.i live in orlando florida now.

[ocracokewaves]

347 West Pine Street, just down the street from Moody's.

[Shannon]

I'm a work at home mom, i run a daycare and make cloth diapers. I want to move back to my families home in Mouny Airy, NC with my two small kids, but I'm worried about whether my childcare business will work down there. What do you think?

[marla]

i grew up in mt. airy, in fact im still there. im 17 and will leave for college next summer. but i wanted to say untill my parents divorced i lived on south main street. in the same historical house my father, aunts, and uncles were raised in and where my grandfather was born. my grandfather was a pretty respected guy. he was on the city council(not sure if thats the correct name, ill check with my dad)and was in the furniture business as well. my father and uncle worked there untill it closeing which had a big impact on my family. in fact most of the furniture we have in out home today came from that factorie. my dad works at the old hardware store you talked about and used to work at leons. now i live with my mom on the out skirts of mt. airy, almost in lowgap. but for me it was a great place to grow up. but there are very few jobs any more but i guess thats a problem every where. and i just think it should be recognized for something other than andy griffith. i love the show and my step dads related to him so i don't have a problem it just seems that mt. airy would have more jobs (besides at gas stations and fast food places) if it was recognized for something other than torism. thanks.

[Linda Anthony]

I agree with Shannon that small towns should be recognized for more than tourism or TV show personalities. However, I am a fan of the Andy Griffith show, Barney, Aunt Bee, Opie and the rest -- have every episode on DVD, and watch at least one episode per day. It helps me to remember how nice things and people can be if we take responsibility for our lives and those we bring into the world. Teach respect for self and each other first and foremost. Perhaps becoming involved with the Main Street Preservation Society is one way to get involved. They've been doing many wonderful things over the years to bring back Main Streets across America. Shannon you are a very wise 17 year old to bring up such an interesting point of small town America. I hope more people like you become involved with such an important Preservation Society.

[Evelyn Parker]

We have just placed my dad's aunt in a Nursing Home. I am responsible for cleaning and the sale of her items. She has a 4 poster bed, springs & mattress, a vanity with the bench seat, and a chest that has 4 drawers. The color appears to be a dark wood, don't think that it cherrywood? I would like to know the years of operation of the factory, The stamp/paperwork on the back of the furniture is: National Furniture, Mount Airy, NC. Thanks in advance for your help, I would love to take a road trip to your wonderful town.

[ocracokewaves]

To the best of my knowledge the factory operated from the early 1900s until approximately the mid seventies. The label was used after that, but the furniture did not come from the original National Furniture factory which was torn down in the mid seventies.

We have some of the cherry furniture and it has a very distinctive red color. The factory also used many other woods including several dark ones.

I hope this helps

[matthew]

hahahahahaaaaaaahahahahaaaaaaaaa i love it i loveit i loooooove it hahahahahahahahaaaaaaaaaa

[Esther Johnson]

How is your Step Dad kin to Andy Griffith? Esther