Historic Huntington Restaurants and Food History Tour

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Frank Lucente and Rocco Muriale opened Sam’s Hot Dog Stand in Huntington, West Virginia in 1983. While growing up in Fairmont, West Virginia, Lucente had become fond of the spicy chili dogs sold at a local hot dog stand. After it closed, Lucente asked the former owner for the hot dog sauce recipe but was denied. Fortunately, an elderly woman in town gave Lucente the original recipe, which he and Muriale spent six months perfecting before they opened their stand. Sam’s Hot Dog Stand was a quick success, and the partners went on to open four other locations before they parted ways in 1989. Lucente, who relocated to Virginia, then began franchising his stores. Today there are over forty Sam’s Hot Dog Stands throughout West Virginia, Kentucky, Virginia, North Carolina, and Georgia.

2. Wiggins Bar-B-Q (1950s-1980s)

Wiggins Bar-B-Q was popular among the residents of Huntington, West Virginia for many years. Customers could choose from two different locations: one on Fifth Avenue across from Huntington East High School, and the other on the corner of Fourth Avenue and Sixteenth Street. Ralph Wiggins opened the Fifth Avenue Wiggins between 1949 and 1951, while Dave Freeman obtained permission to open a second Wiggins in 1957. Both restaurants quickly became local favorites, particularly among East High and Marshall students, and offered popular items like spaghetti, burgers, and milkshakes. The Fifth Avenue Wiggins was open until the mid-1980s, and the Sixteenth Street location remained in business until 1995. For several years, some of Wiggins’ popular recipes continued to be served at Wiggins Central City at Madison Avenue and West Fourteenth Street, and at Tascali’s on U.S. 60 East. Today, both restaurants are now closed, and the two Wiggins Bar-B-Q buildings have been demolished.

3. Calamity Cafe (1992-2005)

Located at the corner of Third Avenue and Hal Greer Boulevard, Calamity Cafe was popular among Huntington locals for over a decade. The cafe, which opened for business in 1992, was owned and operated by Terre Thomas and Roy Clark. The cafe featured a Southwestern-themed menu, with popular items like Black Goddess Earth Pasta and cheese soup. Calamity Cafe was best-known as a popular venue for local musicians, artists, and poets. However, this evening portion of Calamity’s business declined following a 2004 ordinance banning smoking in Cabell County restaurants. While bars and night clubs continued to permit smoking until a new ordinance in 2010 expanded the ban, Calamity Cafe's owners found their status as a restaurant prohibitive and they closed the business in 2005. Various establishments have occupied the building over the next fourteen years. The most successful of these establishments, Black Sheep Burritos and Brews, also held live music in this space before moving to a larger building in Pulman Square. In September 2019, Calamity J Grill & Bar opened at the location. The restaurant was inspired by the original Calamity Cafe and offers a Southwestern-inspired menu, including some of the cafe’s old menu items.

4. Frank's Sandwich Shop (1964-1990s)

For many years, Frank’s Sandwich Shop was one of the most popular eateries in Huntington. Originally from Baltimore, chef Frank Volk introduced many customers to submarine sandwiches when he opened his restaurant at 1521 Fourth Avenue in August 1964. The shop quickly became a local favorite, offering popular items like hot dog specials and hand-cut fries alongside the now-legendary steak sandwich with “hots,” a homemade red pepper sauce. Frank’s was especially popular among Marshall University students due to its convenient location and low prices. Later, Volk opened a second shop at the corner of 3rd Avenue and 13th Street, where Graley Autobody's drive-in claim center is now located. Although the restaurant closed during the 1990s and Volk passed away in 2010, Frank’s Sandwich Shop continues to be fondly remembered by its former customers.

5. Ward’s Do-Nuts (1947-2000)

For more than fifty years, Ward’s Do-Nuts served the Huntington community its “Deliciously Different Donuts.” The shop was established in 1947 by Paul Ward Sr., who came to Huntington after serving in the army during World War II. Over the following decades, Ward and his family baked and glazed countless donuts out of their small restaurant on Fourth Avenue and Fourteenth Street. Open twenty-four hours a day, Ward’s was a favorite among college students, partiers, and shift workers in need of a donut and a coffee late at night. A second location at First Street and Fourth Avenue also offered a chili that was just as popular as the donuts. Ward decided to close the shop and sell its equipment in 2000. In 2001, the building was acquired by Rocco Muriale, who established a restaurant called Rocco’s Little Italy at the location. Rocco’s Little Italy, which is currently owned by the Kim family, remains a popular lunch spot and a place for late-night Italian food on weekends.

6. The Peanut Shoppe (1924-2009)

Located at 941 Fourth Avenue, The Peanut Shoppe was a Huntington food landmark for over eighty years. When it first opened in 1924, the shop was a franchise of the Planters Peanut Company, which was established in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania in 1906. With its enticing scent of freshly-roasted nuts and its convenient location next to the Huntington Arcade and the Keith-Albee Theater, The Peanut Shoppe quickly became popular among Huntingtonians in need of a sweet or salty treat. After Planters left the retail business in the 1960s, The Peanut Shoppe became a locally-owned store. Doug and Donna Myers ran the shop between 2000 and 2008, after which The Peanut Shoppe was closed. The location was briefly occupied by a deli, but the building is currently vacant.

7. Ming's Restaurant (1970s-2009)

Ming’s Restaurant was a mainstay of the Huntington food scene for decades, from its original home in the historic Frederick Hotel to its final location at the Stone Lodge motel on U.S. 60 East. The restaurant was owned and operated by Ming Eng, who immigrated as a teenager from China to Canada, where he became the head chef at a Toronto restaurant within ten years. In 1969, Eng met hotel owner Harold Frankel, who convinced him to come to Huntington to be the chef at the Makiki Club at his Holiday Inn. Eng worked at the Makiki Club for eleven years before opening his own restaurant in the former Elephant Walk Club of the Frederick Hotel. There, Ming’s became a popular eatery that served a combination of Chinese and Polynesian dishes. In 1998, Ming’s relocated to the Stone Lodge Motel, where it operated for another ten years before closing in 2009. Today, Ming’s original location is home to 21 At The Frederick, and the Stone Lodge motel has become the Prestera Center for Mental Health.

8. Chili Willi’s Mexican Cantina (1983-2011)

With its Tex-Mex food and bright atmosphere, Chili Willi’s Mexican Cantina was one of Huntington’s most popular restaurants for nearly thirty years. Founded by Ron Smith in 1983, the restaurant began as a small diner located between the Huntington Elks Lodge and the former Orpheum Theater on Fourth Avenue. Chili Willi’s quickly became popular among locals for its award-winning chili and other favorites like Cadillac nachos and ice cream tacos. Even after the restaurant moved to a larger location at 841 Fourth Avenue in 1986, it was not uncommon for customers to wait in line to be served. In August 2005, Chili Willi’s relocated again to 1315 Fourth Avenue, a location that offered yet more seating and a dedicated parking lot. With the onset of the 2008 recession, however, the restaurant began to struggle, declaring bankruptcy in 2009 and closing in 2011. Ron Smith is currently the director of dining services at Woodlands Retirement Community, as well as the founder and coordinator of Huntington’s annual ChiliFest.

9. Bailey's Cafeteria; 1963 Civil Rights Sit-In

Bailey’s Cafeteria earned a reputation as one of the best eateries in Huntington, West Virginia at the turn of the century. The popular restaurant was established in 1934 and remained open for six decades. To this day, many residents recall the restaurant with fondness, but prior to 1963, the restaurant was not open to all residents of the state. Members of the Civic Interest Progressives, a local civil rights organization established to challenge segregation, launched sit-in protests against Bailey's and several other Huntington restaurants in the spring of 1963. On May 1, 1963. The owners of Bailey’s Cafeteria then filed a court order against the protesters to stop the picketing in front of the restaurant. This attempt to use the courts to squelch the protest backfired and the more students and community members joined the protest. Hoping to end the demonstration, the owner reluctantly agreed to end segregation at Bailey’s. With this decision, several other restaurants followed suit and the Civic Interest Progressives focussed their efforts on the remaining establishments.

10. Sit-in at the White Pantry, 1963

In 1963, members of the Civic Interest Progressives, a civil rights organization led by Marshall students and Huntington community leaders, challenged racial discrimination at local eateries such as Bailey's and the White Pantry Inn. After students waging a sit-in were attacked at the White Pantry, they changed their strategy and held a series of "share-ins." In these protests, liberal white students who wanted to help challenge the color line would enter a restaurant and order a meal. After the meal was delivered, they would invite African American students to join them at their table. Although these protests, combined with the legal work of local attorney Herbert Henderson, led to the end of Jim Crow at many Huntington restaurants prior to the spring of 1963, the owner of the White Pantry turned violent and attacked one of the Black students with a cattle prod. The second video clip below shows a young woman on the ground gasping for air after the owner of the White Pantry Inn lit sulfur cakes to force Black students to leave his restaurant.

11. Jim's Steak and Spaghetti House

Jim's Steak and Spaghetti House has been a prominent family-owned and operated restaurant in Huntington, West Virginia since 1938. Originally known for its cheap hamburgers and milkshakes, founder Jim Tweel expanded his business by adding a Spaghetti House next door in 1944. The two businesses merged four years later, and the restaurant was remodeled and given its current name in 1962. Tweel’s daughter, Jimmie Tweel Carder, has managed the restaurant since 1994. Jim’s maintains a classic diner theme with its nostalgic atmosphere, green booths, and waitresses’ white uniforms. The restaurant, which is best known for its signature spaghetti sauce and homemade strawberry pie, is frequented not only by Huntington residents but also by celebrities and politicians who visit the Tri-State area. Jim’s celebrated its 80th anniversary in 2018.

12. Torlone's Community Bakery (1946-1995)

For nearly fifty years, Torlone's Community Bakery was a Huntington staple. It was founded by Italian immigrants Peter and Maria Torlone, who settled in Logan, West Virginia in 1912. In 1946, the family moved to Huntington and opened a bakery at 637 Eighth Street, which they moved to 817 Eighth Street during the late 1950s. Around the same time, the Torlones opened a second bakery across from Huntington East High School, which quickly became popular among students. Over the years, as sons Dominic, Louie, and Al took over the business from their parents, both bakeries proved successful and offered a wide variety of baked goods, from donuts and salt-raised bread to fancy wedding cakes. The family was equally devoted to community service, frequently donating baked goods to local churches, veterans’ homes and the City Mission. Torlone’s Community Bakery closed on March 4, 1995. Between 1999 and 2015, the former bakery on Eighth Street was home to Francois Pastry Shop, but the building is not currently occupied by a business.

13. Dwight's Drive-In (1963-2003)

Established in 1963 at the northwest corner of Eighth Street and Ninth Avenue, Dwight’s Drive-In was once a beloved Huntington eatery. The family of founder Dwight Messinger had been in the restaurant business for years, operating several drive-in restaurants since the 1950s. The family's first drive-in was known as Adkins Fat Boy. The family's later dining concept, Dwight’s Drive-In, was even more successful thanks to menu items like the Kingburger, the Brawny Lad, and the Husky steak sandwich along with hand-battered onion rings, fresh coffee, and strawberry pie. In 1971, a second location opened on First Street and joined the Dwight’s of Eighth Street as a popular late-night hangout and cruising spot for local teens. After years as a Huntington mainstay, the original Dwight’s closed in 1995 and the First Street location followed suit in 2003. While both drive-ins in Huntington have closed, Dwight's Restaurant in Saint Albans has been in business since 1993.

14. Frostop Drive-In

Frostop Drive-In has been in the Huntington area since 1959. When Rupert McGinnis and William Warnock first opened their drive-in, it was part of the Frostop chain, which was founded in Springfield, Ohio in 1926. Known for its creamy root beer, cheeseburgers, and hot dogs, Frostop quickly became a favorite local eatery for many Huntington residents. Although the Frostop franchise went out of business during the early 1980's, the Huntington drive-in continued to operate. After McGinnis passed away in 1980, the drive-in was taken over by his wife until her death in 1996, and then by their two daughters, Marilyn Murdock and Bing Murphy, who still own and operate Frostop today. With its giant spinning root beer mug and classic menu items, the drive-in remains a beloved Huntington landmark that celebrated its sixtieth anniversary in 2019.

15. Cam's Ham

Cam’s Ham is one of the longest-running restaurants in Huntington, West Virginia. Founded in 1957 by its namesake, Campbell “Cam” Hagge, the business was initially a grocery store rather than a restaurant. In a matter of years, Cam’s Ham became well-known for its sandwiches, and the grocery portion of the business was eventually removed. Cam’s Ham is best known for its signature Sugar-Flaked Ham sandwich and hand-battered onion rings, along with other sandwiches and burgers. The Grubbs family, which has owned and operated Cam’s Ham for the past forty years, has continued to serve Cam’s signature foods and maintained a classic diner ambiance in the restaurant. While remaining a beloved local eatery, Cam’s Ham gained national recognition when its signature ham sandwich was listed as West Virginia’s best sandwich by Food Network Magazine in 2012. The restaurant celebrated its sixtieth anniversary in 2017.

16. Rebels and Redcoats Tavern (1959-2018)

For decades, one of Huntington’s leading restaurants was found inside an unexpected location: the Colonial Lanes bowling alley on the west side of Huntington. Built in 1959, Colonial Lanes soon expanded to include its own tavern. Originally called the Taproom, this space offered bowlers a limited menu with items like draft beer, crock cheese, and corned beef sandwiches. In 1967, the tavern was remodeled into Rebels and Redcoats, a full-service restaurant operated by partners Charlie Neighborgall and Lloyd Frankel. The restaurant offered diners an upscale menu with favorites such as prime rib and lobster bisque, as well as an impressive wine list. With its Colonial-style decor, large fireplace, and nightly live music, the establishment also featured a warm and inviting atmosphere and was one of the city's premier dining establishments for many decades. In 2004, Rebels and Redcoats closed as a full-service restaurant and once again operated as a lounge with drinks, appetizers, and selections from the Colonial Lanes grill. After sixty years in business, Colonial Lanes ceased operation in 2018.

17. Midway Drive-In

Opening in 1939, Midway Drive-In has been a staple of Huntington’s West End for over eighty years. The restaurant began by selling popcorn and root beer before introducing signature menu items like hot dogs and barbecue sandwiches a few years later. Over the years, the Midway Drive-In passed through a handful of different owners while offering the same classic menu items. The restaurant closed in 2006, but Bill Ghiz and Cory Hutchinson purchase and re-opened the restaurant two years later. Although the co-owners made some changes to the building and introduced several new menu items, they have continued to serve old favorites like hot dogs, burgers, and a variety of milkshakes. In 2015, the Midway Drive-In was featured in a segment of the Food Network’s “Guilty Pleasures” for its signature hot dogs. The Huntington landmark celebrated its eightieth anniversary in 2019.

18. Heiner's Bakery

In 1905, Charles and Kate Heiner began baking bread out of a hotel room in Central City. By the company's fourth year, the Heiners moved their business to a small building on the corner of Washington Avenue in Huntington. Since then, the bakery has expanded several times as its products gained popularity across the region, eventually growing to fill an entire city block. By 1985, Heiner's bakery was distributing 75 varieties of bread, rolls, and buns. In 1996, the company was acquired by Earthgrains Company, which itself was purchased by the Sara Lee Corporation in 2001. The company is currently owned by Grupo Bimbo, but the great-grandson of its founders still serves as plant manager. Heiner's Bakery currently distributes bread through West Virginia, Ohio, parts of Virginia, and eastern Kentucky.

19. The French Tavern (1924-1980)

For more than fifty years, the French Tavern was regarded as one of Huntington’s finest restaurants. Founded during the 1920s by Belgian immigrant George Weydisch, the eatery originated as a joint restaurant and grocery store on the city’s west side. It was renamed the French Tavern when the Weydischs moved it to Piedmont Road around 1932. In 1936, the restaurant moved again to 2349 Adams Avenue, where it remained for nearly four decades. With a menu offering hand-cut steaks, fresh seafood, and homemade bread, as well as blue plate specials each Sunday, the French Tavern soon grew into one of the city’s most popular eateries. After the Weydischs retired, the restaurant was operated by Ida Weydisch’s son, Henry Bode, and his wife Frances. In 1974, it was passed to their son George Bode and his wife, who moved it to a former supermarket at Adams Avenue and West Nineteenth Street. The new location featured a large dining room as well as a supper club, along with private banquet rooms. After over fifty years in business, the French Tavern closed in 1980.

This Tour is a Walking Tour.

Historic Huntington Restaurants and Food History Tour

Created by Emma Satterfield on April 30th 2020, 9:29:41 pm.

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Explore the past and present of Huntington, West Virginia’s food scene with this tour. While some restaurants, such as Jim’s Steak and Spaghetti House, have been in business for decades now, many other former local favorites have had to close their doors over the years. From delis to drive-ins to cafeterias, and from hot dogs to Chinese food, the restaurants on this tour cover a wide range of venues and cuisines.

Entries on This Tour

Historic Huntington Restaurants and Food History Tour

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