Cass County loses iconic diner; No plans to rebuild
Submitted by Casscounty2 on
By Robin Aaron
ATLANTA-- There will be an empty spot on Main Street Atlanta now. One of the county’s iconic locations has been demolished.
The final, final chapter for what most residents know as the old Dixie Maid was sealed with the swing of a bucket as the heavily fire damaged building came down Sept. 28.
Owners of the building say they will not rebuild.
The Wagon Wheel, located at 801 Main St., caught fire at about 12:15 a.m. Monday morning, Aug. 17.
According to Atlanta Fire Chief Robin Betts, the cause of the fire is still under investigation.
The Wagon Wheel was operating out of the location under a lease, according to Atlanta Fire Department reports.
Just after midnight on Aug. 17, a driver reported seeing the flames in a metal shed just behind the restaurant. That shed contained the restaurant’s cooker.
According to Betts, the flames spread rather quickly to the food truck/catering trailer and exterior wall of the main kitchen. The flames caused extensive damage to the back of the restaurant, completely burned out the shed and caused damage to the exterior of the catering trailer.
Inside the restaurant, smoke damage was widespread.
At the time of the fire, Wagon Wheel Owner Brent Tyson, who has been leasing the building, said that his plan was to re¬open.
The Wagon Wheel officially opened Feb. 3, 2014.
The Atlanta Citizens Journal received a call Sept. 28, that the building would be demolished that day.
Property owner Heather Hall was onsite during the demolition.
The Dixie Maid has been part of the community’s comings and goings since the 1950’s.
Students at the old high school remembered crossing a pasture during lunch get hamburgers from the walk-up window (years before the restaurant had a dining area).
During early 1960s the restaurant’s named was changed to the Sugar Shack. It reverted back to the Dixie Maid in 1965.
The Dixie Maid’s red door was closed indefinitely Jan. 18, 2013.
Hall worked at Dixie Maid from the age of 16 and bought the restaurant in 1997 from M.B. and Sue Wilson.
“We got to be real good, close friends. It was like family. I’d taken courses in hotel and restaurant management. I finished taking all those I could. Mr. Wilson was ready to retire and gave me the opportunity to purchase the Dixie Maid. He gave a 21 year-old a chance. He did all the financing. I was so young, no bank was going do that. I paid for it down the line and it’s been outright mine for a good, long time. I’ve been there 22 years,” Hall said in an earlier report by the Citizens Journal.
Betts said the investigation is ongoing. The physical investigation has already been completed. No cause for the fire has been determined as of yet.
Hall said they have no plans to rebuild the restaurant.
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