TRACK’S END
Address: 3435 Amnicola HighwayHours: 24/7Phone: 423-321-8010
The Casey Jones breakfast at Track's End. (Photo by Mark Gilliland)"You just missed the lunch rush," said Track's End lead server Paula, as I slid into one of its window booths.
A few minutes later, when General Manager Stacy Cofer joined me, she echoed the same sentiment.
"It's just been nonstop today!" she told me.
That was, in part, I learned, because of its daily special: pot roast, which is offered every Wednesday.
"We almost always sell out," Stacy said. "Meatloaf days do well, too. But so does chicken and dressing - "
In fact, each of Track's End's daily specials is a big hit. The revolving lineup features lasagna on Monday, meatloaf on Tuesday, pot roast on Wednesday, chicken and dressing on Thursday, and spaghetti on Friday.
Track's End also stays busy because of the adjoining accommodations for traveling-railway workers. The black-and-white-checkered diner is attached to a private hotel for these workers - for whom the diner is literally at the "track's end."
Though the freights never stop, they do tend to slow down on Christmas Day, said Stacy. Typically open 24/7, Track's End takes this opportunity for its own short break. The diner will close on Christmas Eve at 2 p.m. and then reopen Christmas Day at 5 p.m.
Then, it is sure to be nonstop business as usual: Coverall-clad rail-workers at the bar enjoying hearty vegetable casseroles, men and women in shirt sleeves indulging in scratch-made desserts.
"Oh, that carrot cake. We sell out almost every day," said Stacy.