LAURENS COUNTY, S.C. — If you travel 30 miles west of Newberry, you'll stumble across a blast from the past: the Mayberry Diner.
Open for nearly five years now, the family-owned restaurant has become a regular fixture for the 500 people who call the town home. And as the name implies, it's meant to evoke the fictional Southern town setting from the iconic TV series "The Andy Griffith Show."
"Mayberry rings a bell with everybody," says Mike Smith, who owns the diner. "You may not love it, but I think every American at least likes it."
Smith opened the diner with the hopes of taking people back to a simpler time.
"Everything I've learned in my life, the good things, I'm going to carry with me and i think Mayberry is the epitome of America," he says.
Located in the Laurens County town of Cross Hill, the restaurant is filled with Mayberry memorabilia, along with pictures of the show's cast. Old episodes play on a regular basis in the corner of the diner.
"My dad introduced me to this place about two to three years ago and just a nice place to go for food," a patron named Cindy says. "You ask can't for much more."
On this day, Cindy is having lunch with a friend, something Mike says happens often here, even if you come to the diner alone.
"You're not going to come in here and not get into a conversation with somebody, that's the way these people are," says Smith. "You're sitting at that table alone, they'll invite you to sit down at their table. This is just a community meeting place. Everybody comes in here and if they don't know you, they will before you leave. That's just the country way. Everybody's a friend until they turn on you. I guess, I'm old-fashioned, I don't want to let go of it."
The diner serves country favorites, like meatloaf, mashed potatoes, and country fried steak. There's even a kids menu which is put to good use because families visit the diner often.
"I think children should be exposed to this and I'm surprised when kids come in here and say that's Aunt Bee, that's Opie," Smith says. "Their parents are doing the right thing by exposing them to this, to get them off the cell phone and computer, you know what I mean?"
Smith knows his diner won't change the world; however, he's just trying to bring back something that's been missing for awhile, a place and time where there are few worries, where everyone feels safe, even if it's only for a quick meal in a dine called Mayberry.
"We need to go back and put the word 'neighbor' in neighborhood," he says. "When I was growing up, we didn't lock our doors, we couldn't. The windows had to be up because we didn't have air conditioning. If somebody came to your house at midnight, it was to bring you something or they needed help. That's the America I cherish, and as long as I'm alive I just want to keep that going, be kind to everyone you come in contact with."
Business at the Mayberry diner has been so good the owners are expanding, adding a new section to the restaurant to allow for more people to sit, chat and enjoy.