Walking into the newly reopened old-fashioned diner Roy’s Grill is like stepping into the 1950s – literally – when the longtime Rossville staple began serving up home-cooked food and good conversations.
Roy’s Grill in Rossville is building a strong customer base under new management. Clockwise from left are manager John T. Arnold Jr., serving customers Tricia, Scott and David Stevens, of Lookout Valley, and Terry and Jennifer DeWitt, of Ringgold. The Stevens family recommends the meatloaf and vegetables and the DeWitt family likes the hamburgers and homemade potato chips.“I heard Roy’s Grill was originally a Krystal in the late 1930s and 1940s. Some say it became Roy’s Grill in 1949,” said new manager John T. Arnold Jr. “Roy worked for Krystal’s and acquired the property. Roy was here from the ’50s to the ’80s. It’s nostalgic. There were a lot of neon lights in Rossville at that time.”
Arnold said he dreamed of running Roy’s years ago. He previously held management jobs at Southern Star Takeaway on Signal Mountain and at Merv’s in Chattanooga.
“We are doing really good business here,” said Arnold, who now walks to work from his rental house just behind Roy’s. “We cook from scratch every day.”
He said people often order the 8-ounce Roy’s Super Burger, a Philly cheesesteak or the meatloaf. He said he often orders home-cooked vegetables when not cooking for others.