Lori’s Dive-In Defied the Odds to Bring Connection to Alamo

Lori Miller Purvis has experienced two consistent elements in her professional life: motion and connection.

“I think the more I move, the more I do, you know,” said Purvis. “I think it adds to our life.”

Originally a Dublin native, Purvis came to Alamo when she was 11 years old. According to her, she spent much time growing up working in the fields and learning how to work for long periods of time.

She pursued criminal justice and cosmopolitan degrees while in college, and at the turn of the century, purchased the building which would become Lori’s Dive-In. 

The building served as a beauty salon for 20 years, during which time Purvis apprenticed 11 women in the practice. She would work on her feet for 12 to 16 hours a day taking each customer who walked through the door.

“As long as they’re coming through the door, I’m going to take care of them,” said Purvis.

However, the salon was temporarily closed in 2020 due to the COVID-19 outbreak. During the lockdowns, Purvis ultimately decided to pursue a change in business, asked of her by her children and other residents, and convert her salon into a restaurant.

“I feel like it was the right time, because everything kind of lifted, and we were able to do a lot more than we would have been able to at the time,” said Purvis.

In addition to operating a salon, she began working part-time at the Walmart in Vidalia to afford the renovations, since she could not “steal from one business to pay for another business.”

Those renovations included the rearranging and demolition of several walls to better accommodate a dining area and kitchen, as well as to accommodate Purvis’ vision for the restaurant. She also aimed to make use of the adjacent alley for a drive through window.

One of the restaurant’s most distinguishing features are the signs which decorate most of the walls in the building. According to Purvis, the signs, which reflect her personal values as a Chirstian, Republican and patriot, are intended to create a comfortable atmosphere for customers. 

“We add signs – sometimes people will bring us signs, sometimes I’ll go out and find signs – and it was just kind of like, I don’t know, I wanted it to feel like a comfy spot where everybody could come in and sit down and, you know, everybody kind of blend together here,” said Purvis.

In those conversations with others through the years about a potential restaurant, Purvis remembered their suggestions about potential menu items and used them to inform her offerings. 

“We all talked about all the things that we loved in different restaurants, but we had to travel to get, like, fried cheesecake or, you know, fried pickle,” said Purvis. “Just the different things we would have to go, like, an hour away to get, and so I listened to everything they said they wanted and that they wish we had here. So, that’s kind of how the menu was born.”

In addition to larger food suppliers, she also sourced fruits and vegetables from a local produce stand.

However, a University of Georgia financial advisor she brought on to assist was skeptical the restaurant could succeed in the COVID climate. The pandemic, in addition to the general retraction of the surrounding small town, led the advisor to ask Purvis to consider delaying the opening.

Instead, Purvis pushed ahead with the restaurant’s development in 2020, saying she had been inspired by God to do so.

“I went home, and I prayed about it, and I don’t know,” said Purvis. “It just, it felt like the right time.”

Despite issues with inspectors postponing the restaurant’s original June opening, Lori’s Dive-In officially opened on October 5, 2020. According to Purvis, that same advisor was surprised at the restaurant’s success at the time.

“He was sitting in this room… and he was just watching it, and, I mean, it was just packed, and people whizzing by, and… me whizzing by, and he was just shocked,” said Purvis.

Lori’s Dive-In has many regulars, to the extent many employees know each customer’s name and their orders by heart. The customers have also given Purvis the opportunity to use her old criminal justice degree by offering advice and pointing customers in the right directions when they come in with their troubles.

During the first few years, Purvis would work at Lori’s and also at the salon, now located just next door in an adjacent building. However, the balance was unsustainable, so Purvis made the decision to move the salon further away and only work there three days per week. The adjacent building then became an ice cream shop.

For the first three years, Purvis was the only cook for the restaurant, but now, Lori’s Dive-In serves as a transitional place for young people looking for early work experience.

“This is a transitional place for a lot of people, like teenagers, and… I wanted to have something here that was a safe place for, like, all the kinds of girls around here to not have to travel so far, because we have to go so far to get work… in this small town,” said Purvis.

Even six years later, Purvis still works 13 to 14 hours a day between the restaurant and the salon, yet she still insists on working hands-on for her business, employees and customers.

“I would like to sit down sometimes and sleep, but… it’s just one of those jobs that your name is on it, and you gotta have your hand in it,” said Purvis. “If not…, anything can happen, because it’s ultimately going to come down on me, you know? So, my biggest thing is taking care of the people.”