Looking for GOLD in SILVER

Virginia 608 near Smith Mountain Lake is about as rural as it gets. Smack in the middle of Bedford County pastureland and a few scattered homes sits the Mayberry Diner and Drive-In, a retro silver diner and outdoor theater screen. In October 2008, Huddleston residents Bob Craig and Kathy Gentry took a risk in opening the 1950s-style attraction. The risk apparently has been embraced by the SML community and beyond.

"We have a diner in the middle of a cow pasture. It was lack of common sense," said Craig.

Or the smartest move the entrepreneurs could have made. Despite a struggling economy, a rural setting and a sparse local population, if summer crowds are any indication, the business is doing just fine, they said.

Gentry said the drive-in movie entertained a full parking lot most weekends during its summer debut.

"It was crazy in the summer, especially with the blockbuster hits," she said. "It would get so full we had a hard time with food orders. We're working on better ways to manage the crowds next year."

Craig, who worked in the photography business for two decades, said he knew a diner and drive-in would interest SML's out-of-town visitors.

"I thought, this place has a lot of people from the North and they love diners," he said. "There are people who will travel to find a drive-in theater. I call them drive-in groupies. Most of the drive-in business is from Lynchburg and Roanoke. We've had a couple come from Delaware, calls from California."

Craig said the diner, open for breakfast, lunch and dinner 365 days a year, maintains a steady following.

"We have seen a drop from summer to winter," said Craig. "But we still have our local following. And we're always seeing new faces."

Regular customers such as Mark Tuck of Moneta say the food is a main reason he returns to Mayberry Diner. Tuck said he sometimes eats at the diner multiple times a day.

"I was already here this morning and now I'm back for lunch," he said. "It's good home cooking and a good atmosphere. The people are nice. Really, they have everything here."

"Ever since Camper's Paradise closed, this is the only place with good home-cooked food," said Tuck's brother, Geoff.

True to the '50s theme, the diner serves burgers, ice cream, shakes, banana splits, pie and a full menu of Gentry's own recipes.

"We make everything homemade," said Gentry. "I make a special butterscotch pie, and our house dressing is a homemade recipe. We have a lady that comes and makes fried green tomatoes from scratch."

Minerva Krantz, a Bedford resident, said she and daughter Athena make regular stops at the diner on their way to the lake.

"It's good food at a reasonable price and the service is great, too," said Krantz. "It also has the only drive-in theater in this area other than the one in Christiansburg."

Craig said another key to a successful first year is special events.

"We've done a couple of charity events here. A church youth group raised about $2,000 to go on a mission trip this summer. In May, we kicked off the drive-in season with a car show for the SML Rotary Club," he said. "We might do that again this May."

Inspired by the diner and restaurant's business's popularity, Craig said he'd like to add a few more attractions to the 8-acre lot.

"We'd like to put an arcade and gift shop here, maybe an outdoor stage" he said. "I'd eventually like to build a small amusement park with old-fashioned rides like the tilt-a-whirl, Ferris wheel and the bullet. We like to refer to it as redneck Busch Gardens."

Gentry said her focus is on improving the diner and drive-in theater.

"It's taken about a year to get things going, to find good help," she said. "We're still learning."

So far, the couple's efforts to make customers happy seems to be working.

"We get almost all positive comments. Probably about 99 percent of what we hear is positive. They usually say they'll be back," said Craig.

"Everybody who comes just enjoys it," said Gentry. "It's a nice family thing to do."

Mayberry Diner and Drive-In, 1696 White House Road, Moneta. 296-1480. Mayberrydrivein.com

LINDSEY WAGNON | Laker Weekly 721-4675 (ext. 401)