K&W Cafeteria(s)

The news hit hard.  Kind of like the news of losing a distant family member or a friend you had not spoken to in years, but had fond memories of spending time together before life got so hectic that you lost touch - triggering a feeling of nostalgia mixed with regret.  If we only knew that the last time would be the last time.  K&W announced on December 01, 2025 that they were permanently closing all remaining locations.  

It is sad,  but not at all surprising.  The chain had been going downhill since COVID.  My daughter and I stopped by there to eat a few weeks ago for lunch.   It was like a ghost town.  The place that once buzzed with activity was quiet, desolate, and barely existing.  The food was expensive and yet sub par to what it used to be.  

To sum it up in one word: comfort.  K&W was synonymous with comfort - a warm inviting atmosphere, yummy smells of comfort food, the clanging of metal forks and spoons against plates,, and the chatter of friends and family.  

While I have eaten at several locations throughout my life, the one I frequented the most was the one in Friendly Center.  My mom and my aunt would drag me and my sister out of town with them shopping.  K&W was the place we always stopped at to eat lunch.  This location had two lines and two dining rooms.  When you first walked into the lobby you could either go left or right down a long winding hallway.  Sometimes the line would be backed up that far.  The flooring was the classic 80s brown tile with black grout lines.  The walls were brick on one side and wooden panels with "windows" adorned with fake foliage looking into the dining room.  The long winding hallway was lit with sconces glowing in a soft warm yellow lightbulb.  The rhymical sound the highchair made as the wheels hit every single one of those grout lines THU-THWACK echoed loudly.  The long winding hallway emptied into a winding line similar to that of an amusement park.  My sister was in the high chair and I had to stand still and be good.   My mom always got a veggie plate.  My aunt always got the roast beef and ranch potatoes or the ham and apples  if they had it.  As a child I always had to split the chicken n dumplins and mac n cheese with my little sister.  Occasionally my aunt would buy a slice of egg custard pie and share it with us.  

Whenever we went to Myrtle Beach, we would eat at the K&W there.  Whenever we would go shopping in Danville, VA, we would eat at the K&W at Piedmont Mall.   I moved and there was a K&W near my first apartment.  I got married and moved again and there was a K&W about ten minutes away.   I met my father-in-law for the first time at K&W.   My husband and I ate breakfast there before leaving for our honeymoon.  When they started serving breakfast we would bring our daughter with us to eat breakfast there on Saturdays.  She loved their cheesy grits.  I can still see her in my mind with her little red bib with grits streaked across her face holding up her spoon and smiling.  When my daughter was in first grade she loved K&W.  She asked if she could have her birthday party there.  The answer of course was no.  She loved their baked spaghetti paired with a soft roll.  My favorite was the chicken pan pie and their mac n cheese.   My dad would always get chicken livers and onions with gravy.

K&W was comfort.  Now like an old childhood friend, it is lost in nostalgia.