Hot and fresh: New owners reopen dining room at Lou Ann’s

Lou Ann’s dining room reopened Tuesday morning, and the customers came in to find new places to sit, talk and enjoy their favorite breakfast meal.

Since the COVID pandemic, Lou Ann’s, a staple on the restaurant landscape in Dublin, has closed its dining room. When it reopened, customers could only receive their food through the drive-thru. That ended at 5:15 a.m. Tuesday at Lou Ann’s, 1010 Telfair St.

“It felt good, said Gary Lanton, who owns the business with his wife, Dionn. 

The Lantons, who bought Lou Ann’s in October, also own Holy Smokes Barbecue, 1100 Hillcrest Parkway, Suite B-9. 

“This was a long time coming,” Lanton said about reopening Lou Ann’s diner. “It has been closed (on the inside) for a long time. It felt good to open up and present a new chapter. We were able to put our twist on it. I feel like we were able to put out a really good first impression. 

“It felt good to be done with all the blood, sweat and tears that we’ve been working on. We’re thankful for the opportunity to serve the Dublin customers and the patrons they had. We’re happy to be able to bring back a breakfast spot for some of the older generation. There was so many memories for them and we wanted them to be able to come back and have their gathering spot again.”

Lou Ann’s is currently open from 5:15 a.m to 10:45 a.m. Tuesday through Saturday. On Feb. 17, the restaurant will return to six days a week, opening on Mondays again. 

“Once we get accustomed to that, we’re going to start doing a lunch service again,” Lanton said. “I’m targeting mid-March before we get to that. We’re going to do lunch similar to what they used to do.”

They will have burgers, chicken strips, BLTs along with a special every day.

“We plan to do catfish on Fridays like they used to do,” Lanton said. “I want to go back to similar to what it was before. We have Mrs. Lou Ann’s old recipe book. I really want to get back into doing those things. A lot of those items that people really have a taste for that they haven’t been able to get in a while, I want to bring them all back.” 

The Lantons bought Lou Ann’s from previous owner Stephanie Miller. They began with a complete kitchen remodel before working on the dining room. Lanton said they took the drop ceiling out, and brought back the original Burger Chef arches.

“The countertop and the middle table in Lou Ann’s were made possible by an old spruce pine that fell at the Dexter Community Center during Hurricane Helene. It’s kind of a historic tree that we were able to give new life to and to bring it back,” Lanton said. “I feel like it is metaphorical to what we are trying to do here at Lou Ann’s. It is bringing something back and getting a long time of use out of it.”  

Jeff Johnson is a friend of the Lantons. He helped with the renovation work inside of Lou Ann’s. On Tuesday, he met at Lou Ann’s with a small group from his church.

“Since the pandemic, all it has been is a drive-thru,” Johnson said. “Me and Gary have been good friends, and he took on this project to bring it back to life. He came in and completely redid the kitchen to start with. He’s got all new equipment in there. This place originated in 1967 as the Burger Chef. He didn’t want to change what the history of it was because it has been very successful. The No. 1 thing was don’t change the biscuits.” 

Toward the beginning of last year, the Lantons were working to get another Holy Smokes restaurant near Interstate 16, but that deal fell through.

“We were disappointed but we prayed for another opportunity,” Lanton said. “We felt the need to do something a little bit different. When the opportunity came that Lou Ann’s was available it seemed like something that was right up our alley. Lou Ann’s was always known about quality and that was their No. 1 thing. For us, it was one of those things to kind of continue that tradition.”

Lou Ann’s is also known for its biscuits. 

“The same ladies are making them,” Lanton said. “These women have been here for more than 40 years. They are the same people working the windows and making the biscuits. It’s a tradition here. I know COVID scared people, and the diner closed up.” 

“Nobody makes handmade biscuits like that,” he added. “Nobody spends the time to come in early and roll them out and do them that way. Even though it was a different food, it is very similar to what we do at Holy Smokes. We do stuff because it’s the best way. That’s what we wanted to do here.”

Johnson does not have a favorite meal on the menu. He has tried them all. He was just one of many happy to be back inside Lou Ann’s.

“Today is opening day, and I’m hoping that it is going to get better and better,” Johnson said. “This is the first time I’ve come in here and I wasn’t wearing my work clothes to work in here. It feels better to come in instead of driving down the road eating a biscuit. This morning, my church’s small group came in to have a little meeting, share the word and eat some good breakfast. We plan to do this every Tuesday morning. But today I’ve seen a pretty good flow of foot traffic come through. I know it’s only going to grow. I think it’s going to do very well.”