Staples of the Community

In 1996, when Stephanie Winebarger was 14, she accepted a dishwashing position at Glenn’s Restaurant in Wilkesboro. As she gained experience, Stephanie worked in the diner’s ice cream parlor and eventually waited tables. Although Stephanie moved away, she returned to town for the restaurant’s anniversary celebrations.

“I came back home for the 50th anniversary,” Stephanie says. “People told all kinds of stories about coming here as a child to get ice cream, having their first dates here. It’s the first place they think of to come when they come back to town.”

Owner of Glenn's Restaurant, Stephanie Winebarger. Photo courtesy of Glenn’s Restaurant.

Glenn Johnson opened the diner in 1963 as a Tastee Freeze, a national franchise, on a busy corner near the Tyson Food plant. After 40 years, Glenn dropped the franchise and changed the name to Glenn’s Restaurant. Over the years, celebrities have been known to stop by the diner. In 2001, while headlining at MerleFest, Dolly Parton ordered a cheeseburger and left an autographed photo. Actor Zach Galifianakis stops in a few times a year when he’s visiting his hometown in Wilkes County.

Marolyn Johnson, Glenn’s wife, took over the restaurant’s operation when he died in 2011. Stephanie bought Glenn’s Restaurant in 2018 — a chance to return home and continue the nostalgia the restaurant represents to her and so many others.

“We’re a staple in the community,” Stephanie says. “You can always count on us being there.”

The diner provides consistency and dependability for customers living alone. A meal at Glenn’s Restaurant means seeing friends and feeling like part of a family. Stephanie has been known to do a well-check when a regular customer hasn’t come in at their usual time.

“We do everything within our power to be here to support our community,” she says, “because they are here to support us.”