By: Jonathan Franklin and Zack Morrow, Senior Writer and Contributing Writer

After a long hiatus and many weeks later, WoffordSpoon is back and is under new management, sort of? This year, we have the pleasure of having guest writer (and eater) senior Zack Morrow join the WoffordSpoon adventures throughout the year as we continue to take you around Spartanburg’s finest restaurant scene.

For our first stop, we decided to venture out and go to Pappy’s Old Fashioned Barbecue, which sadly was closed. Ultimately, we chose to go to our next destination on our list: The ‘New’ Simple Simon – located off of S. Pine St. right across from the Skillet and down the street from Sugar and Spice.

“If you’ve ever passed a place on Pine St. and thought, ‘Wow, that looks like a converted Waffle House,’ this is the place you saw,” says senior Zack Morrow. “It has a classic diner feel—a true piece of Americana.”

Upon walking in, the smell of the food on the grill, the interesting décor in the restaurant and the offerings on the menu all made us feel like we’d taken a step back in time. Being open for over 57 years, Simple Simon has been around the Spartanburg area serving hundreds of hungry stomachs each week. Simple Simon’s offerings include sandwiches, burgers, omelets, breakfast platters and (very large) pancakes 24 hours a day (except between 3:00 p.m. and 9:00 p.m.).

“When looking on the menu, I immediately went straight for the breakfast section, seeing as breakfast is the most important meal of the day, right?” says senior Jonathan Franklin. “I ended up settling for the ‘Pancake Special’ with eggs and bacon”.

“After deliberation, I ordered the Patty Melt with a side of home fries,” said Morrow, “because I needed to go to the gym anyway.”

Both Franklin and Morrow agree that the service was friendly, and the music added an extra touch of authenticity.

“Our waitress applauded my choice of entrée: ‘That’s a good choice—good, good choice,’” said Morrow. “Though the wait was somewhat longer than Waffle House, the local vibe more than compensated for it.”

Both WoffordSpooners agreed that Simple Simon is definitely a place to check out, giving it a 4 out of 5 stars on the WoffordSpoon meter. So why not venture down the street and give it a try; you never know what’s in store!