The portion of downtown Savannah largely traveled by tourists has been in need of a diner for a while. Yes, there are lots of places to enjoy a wide variety of items for breakfast downtown. Anything from Goosefeathers Bakery, to Two Cracked Eggs or any of the eateries offering a quality brunch.
But I think the creation of a diner in an ‘almost’ truest sense has been a missing link in the culinary chain downtown Savannah. Yes, one is always able to take a classic trip Clary’s and many many still do, but having more than one is good for business all the way around.
My chat with Trey Wilder. Co-owner of the Treylor Park family of restaurants:
JB: When did you guys open Treylor Park?
TW: 2014.
JB: That’s the year that everything happened in Savannah.
TW: Yep. Collins Quarter came in. The Grey came in. We opened in October of that year. So it was a big year for me, but it was a big year for Savannah.
JB: The concept has been great. The way you guys did everything with Treylor Park was top notch. You got some love from the NY Times and everything kinda took off from there, huh?
TW: Yeah. When you do something different, you never know the response you are gonna get. But I think we did different smart and on brand. That kinda propelled us to do Hitch. That kind of propelled us down in Florida so we have Treylor Park there, too. (In Ponte Vedra Beach, FL)
Obviously, I live in Savannah. Our team is in Savannah. We didn’t want to over saturate Savannah with Treylor Parks. So we thought if we found a space, we’d go that route.
When we saw this space on Bay Street that used to be Cilantro’s, it has an open kitchen. There’s really not much more to do there because it’s a small space. So we thought it would work for the Diner concept.
I’ve been in Savannah 6 and a half or so years and we thought that was one thing that was lacking on the food and beverage scene is breakfast. That’s what we are doing. Treylor Park with a ‘diner twist.’
JB: So officially it’s called the Double Wide Diner?
TW: Yep. That’s the name we had thrown around a while back. We are patient. We just waited and when we felt the time was right, the time was right. That’s now for the Double Wide Diner.
JB: We aren’t here to pick on anyone, but what you guys are doing, Savannah doesn’t have right now, do you agree?
TW: That’s right. And I’m surprised that…we’re doing kind of a nicer Waffle House. I’m surprised that it hasn’t been done. Yes, I know Savannah is a drinking town. I know you make more money off of booze than food, but we looked at things on our side at what’s lacking in Savannah. Again the space was screaming diner right in between Starbucks and Five Guys. With Ruth’s Chris right there.
We feel like we are doing something completely different there.
JB: Elevated Waffle House? What can you tell us? Will this be big pig outs? Healthy options? What will the menu look like?
TW: Obviously, we are going to have a little bit of everything. You’re not going to get the healthiest food going into a Treylor Park. That’s who we are and we are OK with that, but we do have some salads. We’re doing some skillets, some biscuits and some pancakes-which we are calling “Stacks.” We will have a build your own omelette.
We are going to have a little bit of something for everybody, but you aren’t going to get the healthiest food overall. But there will be a category for everybody.
JB: Is there a dish you are most excited about right now? I realize that could change, but for now?
TW: The Double Wide Dog. That’s all I’m gonna say. You have to come and you have to experience. I’m specifically talking to you, Blanco. Double wide dog.
JB: Alrighty, then. You are hoping to have the doors open, when?
TW: March 1st. We are going through final inspections right now. Everything is kind of on track for March 1st. I’ve learned not to get too excited with the process. We are in no hurry to open in February. We want to do it right.
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