Ryon Thompson was sitting in a corner, apron hanging around his neck looking like he had gone 15 rounds with Mike Tyson. He probably felt like it too. 15 feet away, his mama Marcia sat looking like she had seen a tornado come through her dining room.
“I’m not sure what we are going to do.” she repeated over and over. Good problems to have, though.
Mrs. Wilkes Dining Room, a dining institution in Savannah is back. Well, the food is. The dining room part, not so much.
“We went through about 200 pounds of chicken by 1:30pm” Ryon says. They were supposed to be open until 2pm Tuesday, their first day back after their Covid-19 related closure.
Mrs. Wilkes Dining Room is Savannah’s throw back restaurant. A very unassuming ground floor home converted to a restaurant. During better times, the line will roll down Jones Street in the heart of Downtown Savannah and wrap around the block. If you know, then you know.
The decision was made to re-open for take out service on Tuesday. A story on WTOC-TV and a few social media posts was all that they needed. Word travels fast. They were slammed on day one.
“We really didn’t know what to expect.” Ryon says. “I’m not certain how much more we will do every day.”
He’s referring to the new business model. They are clearly in a ‘figure it out as you go’ mode. Mrs. Wilkes has never done take out at this volume. Mrs. Wilkes has never accepted credit cards. Now, the bags are flying out the door. And oh by the way, you can send them your payment via Venmo.
Time waits for no man, woman or fried chicken apparently.
The menu is pretty simple. Meat and three and a biscuit for $17. That includes 6 pieces of their famous fried chicken, or beef stew. Sides include your choice of Mac and Cheese, Mashed Potatoes, Red Rice and more.
Wednesday they are planning Meat Loaf on the menu. Another fan favorite.
The dining room part of the equation isn’t under serious discussion right now. They have applied to the city for permission to set a few tables outside on the sidewalk.
“It will give some guests a place to eat their take out.” Marcia adds.
We must stress, this is TAKE OUT ONLY. There is no-dining in at Mrs. Wilkes for now. Customers are encouraged to call ahead and place their order, make their payment via Venmo and stop in quickly to pick up their order. Cash works as well, but same as before. No credit/debit cards.
The hours for now are 11am until 2pm. The Thompsons are very quick to say they aren’t sure what the model will look like going forward. They obviously don’t want to make more food than they will need so there is a possibility they could run out on any given day. Like they did Tuesday, which was day one of this “new normal.”
Saturday lunch is also up for debate. It’s listed now but may be the first casualty if the volume continues like it did day one.
Clearly they will increase their quantities and manage their volume according to demand, but the dynamic is different now. It used to be you could step outside and see a line for a half block. Now they will be waiting on the phone to ring. Ultimately, who are we kidding, the demand will be there. You are just advised to not wait until the last minute to place an order, you may be out of luck on any given day. Kind of like the BBQ places.
At least for now anyway.
So, there you go. Grab yourself some take out at Mrs. Wilkes and sit in a square or in nearby Forsyth Park. Could anything be more perfect?
You will Eat It and Like It.
Mrs Wilkes Dining Room
107 West Jones Street
Savannah, GA 31401
(912) 232-5997
VENMO - @mrs-wilkes
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