(EDITOR’S NOTE: This story is part of a series celebrating the people, places and history of Charlottesville’s Downtown Mall as it turns 50 this year.)

CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA (CVILLE RIGHT NOW) – Charlottesville’s well-known Downtown Mall diner, The Nook, turns 75 this year. The Nook first opened its doors in 1951, serving breakfast, lunch, and for a few decades, dinner. Jeff Hale, general manager of The Nook since 2008, said “The Nook was then and is still now a great meeting place for the community of Charlottesville.” 

In the 1950s, before Charlottesville had a Downtown Mall, Main Street was the place to be. It had furniture stores, banks, restaurants, and department stores. The Nook originally operated, for a year, at 521 1/2 East Main Street, at what now holds the bones of the Blue Ridge Country Store. In 1952, the diner moved to its current spot, taking over what had been the American Club Cafe. (And, before that, a saloon.) The first floor of the building has been a restaurant since the 1920s. Hale said in the past, customers would come in saying they worked in the building before World War II. 

When the Barracks Road Shopping Center opened in 1959, and business started booming, the city opened the Downtown Mall, a way to reclaim Main Street as a center of Charlottesville business. The Mall, and The Nook, were designed by the same architect, Lawrence Halprin. And a sketch of Halprin’s initial design still hangs inside the restaurant.

Framed inside The Nook is the sketch of the first design of The Nook by Lawrence Halprin.

In its 75 years, The Nook has changed owners several times, adapting to the times while also staying true to the 1950s diner aesthetic. In 1985, The Nook surprised Charlottesvillians, by moving away from its daytime roots and opening for dinner. It also added an outdoor seating area – or outdoor cafes, as they were known – in an effort to bring activity and people on the mall at night.

Outdoor dining was not part of the original plan for the Downtown Mall, Executive Director of the Albemarle Charlottesville Historical Society Olivia Brown told Cville Right Now. But, the other main restaurants of the Downtown Mall, which included The Hardware Store, Miller’s and Sal’s, had outdoor cafes or were planning to open them. So, The Nook followed suit. Satyendra Huja, who at the time was the director of the Department of Community Development, told the local newspaper that year, “I certainly would not want to see a cafe on every block.”

The Nook’s outdoor cafe remains a tradition for families to enjoy eating under the large oak trees and signature yellow umbrellas. 

The Nook continued to stay open for dinner until the COVID-19 pandemic in 2019 and since then, the restaurant has gone back to its traditional 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. hours as original owners John and Mary Williams intended. Longtime fans of The Nook will be happy to know its staples remain including the bestselling sausage gravy, pancakes, and The Nook Burger, although it has seen an evolution since 1951. Instead of the standard toppings, The Nook Burger is now a two-patty smash burger. The Nook has also added a few new items to adjust with demands like a Virginia Cuban, a Cubano but with Edwards Virginia Country Ham, and they have a rotating specials menu for those looking to try something new. 

The view of The Nook on the Downtown Mall in Charlottesville.

Local musician Josh Mayo, who plays around downtown Charlottesville, has close ties to The Nook, as he is one of the grandchildren of John & Mary Williams. He shared that he would enjoy bacon and orange juice with his grandfather. When John Williams passed in 2002, Mayo wrote a song for his funeral, called “Memories” with a verse “You used to take me downtown for a bite to eat, a special little place where we were guaranteed a seat.” 

“The day he opened up (The Nook) he found a $100 dollar bill in front of the door. He kept it until the day he died for good luck,” Mayo said. 

Since 1951, The Nook has been a place to come together for businessmen, lawyers, tourists, and families and 75 years later, it continues to see generations and new faces. 

“My Grandaddy named it The Nook for a reason. He wanted it to be a place where friends gather.”

Photo of The Nook, provided by Josh Mayo, showing a glimpse of The Nook before the bricks were laid down on the road to become the Downtown Mall.

 

Read the rest of Cville Right Now’s series on the Downtown Mall with these links:

Fridays After Five: 38 Years of the Downtown Mall Soundtrack

CPD Officer Matt Ryan reflects on one year of walking the Downtown Mall

A view of the Mall: ‘I’ve gotten to watch this place grow’