Highway 114 Diner Closed

Highway 114 Diner has closed once again to due to the ongoing COVID-19 Pandemic. The Diner had previously been closed for months before reopening on June 22. The Diner has now been closed once again as of June 26. It is a combination of reasons, according to co-owner Donnett Wiley. “It is the lack of workforce, mostly because of the unemployment and because of the COVID restrictions,” Wiley said.

Between all customers having to wear masks, as well as only being able to seat 50 percent of their capacity, Wiley states that it is difficult to follow all guidelines in the Diner setting. “The type of food that we serve is home-cooking, where people can come into the diner and fellowship,” Donnett added. She went on to say that since the food is home-cooking, that makes it difficult to go from a sit-down Diner to a place where you can call in and get food exclusively for delivery and pick up— especially since the food is not brought out to you in a way that a fast food restaurant would. “I loved just going through the Diner and seeing all of the people in the community that I normally wouldn’t see. It is a unique place where people could just go and visit and just enjoy their meal,” Wiley stated.

Since the Diner initially opened in April 2019, it has been a very special place to the community, almost always packed to full capacity at all times of the day before COVID-19 began. Before the virus, the Diner had upwards of 20 employees…both full time and part time. Co-owners Roy Hayes and Donnett Wiley hope to reopen the Diner as soon as they can. It is important to note than although the community misses the Highway 114 Diner terribly, Hayes and Wiley have taken the appropriate and responsible steps every step of the way through this entire unprecedented Pandemic. Donnett Wiley finished by saying that “We just appreciate your business and we enjoyed serving each and every one of you. “