Dan’l Boone Inn Restaurant: Serving Family Style From the Corner Since 1959
Story by Sam Calhoun
Fried chicken, country-style steak, country ham biscuits, mashed potatoes and gravy, green beans, stewed apples, cut corn, cole slaw, biscuits, Bing cherry preserves, soup, salad, desert and a beverage.
Reading this is in the morning? Well, how about scrambled eggs, bacon, country ham, sausage, grits, stewed apples, biscuits, cinnamon bread, sausage gravy, redeye gravy, Bing cherry preserves, orange juice and other beverages?
Sounds scrumptious, doesn’t it?
The menu is one reason the Dan’l Boone Inn, located at 130 Hardin Street on the corner of Highways 321 and 421, annually averages up to 180,000 customers.
General Manager Jeff Shellman doesn’t know exactly why the restaurant is named for Boone’s most famous visitor, nor does he know why the name is abbreviated in such a way—all he knows is that the name was chosen by the owners in 1959, the year the building became a family-style restaurant, and was probably chosen as a way to identify with the surrounding area.
Dr. R.K. Bingham, a prominent local physician, constructed the building between 1923 and 1924. Bingham used the building as his home and office and it’s credited as being the area’s first hospital because Bingham’s patients often remained on the premises under his care. Bingham died in the 1950s, and his widow turned the building into a rooming facility for students attending Appalachian State Teacher’s College.
In 1959, S.L. and Ann Whitaker of Wilkesboro bought the building from Mrs. Bingham and opened the Dan’l Boone Inn. The restaurant was billed as “family style” and consisted of a dinner with three meats, five vegetables, biscuits, cole slaw and beverages. The amounts of food were never ending, satisfying even the heartiest southern appetites, and, as it turned out, so was the clientele.
Since its opening, the restaurant regularly serves anywhere from 60 to 1,700 people per day and employs 92 people from around the area.
The Whitakers sold the Inn in the early 1970s to Kenneth and Butch Wilcox and their partner, Mr. Furr. Within the next year, Gene Wilson became co-owner and manager when he bought Furr’s interest. In 1981, Kenneth Wilcox and the Western Steer owners (who bought Butch Wilcox’s share when he passed away) sold their interest to Jim Paal and Wilson. Wilson then retired from the manager position, and Paal filled it until 1996 when Shellman was hired for the job. A state representative, Wilson owns a two-thirds share of the restaurant. The other one-third of the ownership belongs to Paal.
Originally from Gastonia, Shellman moved to the High Country 17 years ago to attend ASU. While working on his business management degree, Shellman washed dishes at the Inn, eventually working his way up the ranks and becoming general manager 10 years ago this November.
Shellman, 36, continues the tradition of packing as many hungry people into the Inn as possible on almost every day of the year. With room for 130 people downstairs and 160 people upstairs, the Dan’l Boone Inn’s parking lot is regularly filled with tour buses, and its wraparound porches are regularly filled with customers.
That was definitely the case last Friday, when the Dan’l Boone Inn reopened to the public after eight months of renovations.
From January 16 to September 21, the doors to the restaurant were closed.
“We completed a much-needed update of the kitchens,” said Shellman. “We wanted to add more dining, but felt that we couldn’t do that without expanding our kitchen first.”
Shellman cited three principal reasons for the renovations: increase efficiency, make the place easier to clean and increase capacity. “And we’re very pleased—we couldn’t be happier,” he added.
Over the past eight months, the restaurant received a thorough overhaul, particularly in the kitchen, where every square foot of the 3,000 was gutted to the foundation and rebuilt and 1,500 square feet of kitchen space were added. Eighty percent of the sprinkler system was replaced and the plumbing and electrical systems were redone.
In addition, the heating and air conditioning systems were replaced, the restrooms for customers were expanded and modernized and 68 feet of new ventilation hoods were installed in the kitchen that is outfitted with new equipment.
According to Shellman, cosmetic changes were also made to the dining rooms in order to make customers feel more comfortable.
“I want people to know that most everything we’ve done is to benefit the customer,” said Shellman, who added that the improved kitchen will add to the food quality and service.
The recent renovations cost more than $1 million and were completed by Ronnie Jones Construction of Boone, the company that has taken care of the Dan’l Boone Inn for over 20 years.
With the new renovations come expanded hours. In addition to the restaurant’s regular hours, the Dan’l Boone Inn will serve lunch from 11:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Monday through Friday in November and December—a new feature for the restaurant’s off season.
For lunch and dinner, the cost is $14.95 for adults, $8.95 for children 9 to 11, $6.95 for children 6 to 8, $4.95 for children 4 to 5 and free for children 3 and under.
For breakfast, served on Saturdays and Sundays from 8:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m., the cost is $8.95 for adults, $5.95 for children 9 to 11, $4.95 for children 6 to 8, $3.95 for children 4 to 5 and free for children 3 and under.
For more information, call 828-264-8657 or click to www.danlbooneinn.com.
Dan’l Boone Inn Operating Hours
Serving hours at the Dan’l Boone Inn change with the seasons. The Dan’l Boone Inn is open every day of the year except Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.
Peak season—Memorial Day through October, Thanksgiving Thursday and Friday, December 26 through January 1
11:30 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. Monday through Friday
8:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.
Midseason—May 1 to Memorial Day, November 1 to December 23
11:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Monday through Friday
5:00 to 8:00 p.m. Monday through Thursday
5:00 to 9:00 p.m. Friday
8:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. Saturday
8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Sunday
Off season—January 2 through April
5:00 to 8:00 p.m. Monday through Thursday
5:00 to 9:00 p.m. Friday
8:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. Saturday
8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Sunday
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