Restaurants & Diners

Big_John · Jul 2, 2024

Toolmanmike · Jul 2, 2024

Maid Rite. The franchise is still alive and this one is still in business. They serve wonderful homemade pie too.

LocuMob · Jul 2, 2024

The Rapidan Dam Store. Opened in 1910, same year as the dam was made. Owned by the current owners since 1972. It was sadly torn down last week after heavy rains eroded the shore, and breeched the dam. The family lost their house to the river a couple of days before. They were able to remove equipment, chairs & tables, and memorabilia from the store before the county tore the store down.

I only went there once, last year. A old time place where you waited patiently for them to take your order, serving up great burgers and fries, and pie that people came back for. The wife was serving pie to the many onlookers, who were watching the river slowly take away land.

You can see the store, just to the left of the bank of the river.

Toolmanmike · Jul 2, 2024

LocuMob said:
The Rapidan Dam Store. Opened in 1910, same year as the dam was made. Owned by the current owners since 1972. It was sadly torn down last week after heavy rains eroded the shore, and breeched the dam. The family lost their house to the river a couple of days before. They were able to remove equipment, chairs & tables, and memorabilia from the store before the county tore the store down.

I only went there once, last year. A old time place where you waited patiently for them to take your order, serving up great burgers and fries, and pie that people came back for. The wife was serving pie to the many onlookers, who were watching the river slowly take away land.

View attachment 669170

You can see the store, just to the left of the bank of the river.

View attachment 669171

That's a sad story!

LocuMob · Jul 2, 2024

Toolmanmike said:
That's a sad story!

It is.

A worthless but of information, the dam is 87 feet high, so that water downstream is about 60 feet deep or more in the picture above. It may have been ten feet deep at the base of the dam before this occured. That is a tremendous amount of water in the picture above.

I was on the dam looking down and it seemed higher, and as someone interviewed on TV said, you didn't feel like you were in Minnesota. There isn't anything like it nearby, or anywhere that I know of in this state. It will be torn down after this, it was likely beforehand, but this event sealed it's fate.