​When is the last time you have traveled to downtown Franklin?!  Situated in the lovely and historic Southampton County, Franklin is filled with all the charms of a Southern City.  This downtown features edgy industrial buildings and the tales of its once bustling railroad station, the pristine Blackwater River, beautifully large and ornate homes that you know have been passed down through many generations of local families and, of course, a main street filled with locally owned and operated shops and restaurants!  
 
Whatever charming aspect of this community attracts you, while visiting, you must have something local and delicious to eat!   As usual, The Salty Southern Route knows just the place!  Situated on Main Street, right in the middle of town, is Fred’s! This restaurant and watering hole has been a Franklin/Southampton staple since 1945 when Fred came down to help his uncle run his bakery.  Only five years later Fred took over the business and turned it into The Franklin Arcade, a convenience store that sold beer and sandwiches at the bar!  
 
Over the years the business has been remodeled into a cafeteria style lunch restaurant, it has featured a pool room and expanded its main dining room and kitchen.  Fred’s has even continued to serve the community after a fire in 1984 and the infamous Hurricane Floyd that flooded downtown Franklin in 1999. 
 
Now a days Fred’s has kept all the charm and sense of community of its past and features a large dining room, full bar, comfy booths, a full scale menu featuring breakfast, lunch and dinner and even an all you can eat breakfast buffet and fish fry on the weekends!
 
Need we say more?  Put traveling to Franklin/Southampton County on your list of fun things to do this winter and while you are there be sure to dine at Fred’s!
 
P.S.  Since you are traveling on The Salty Southern Route, your pork and peanut thematic driving trail, be sure to try The Eggs Frederick, a split biscuit topped with country ham over medium eggs and/or the VA Ham Steak for dinner!
 
107 South Main Street Franklin, Va 23851
 
Check out these links to their website and Facebook for hours and more information!
https://www.partyatfreds.com
https://www.facebook.com/whereinthehellisfranklinva/

Hey!  Be sure to check out the bar top when you stop in!  When the restaurant re-opened in 2000 after the flood, the original Fred's sign was made into the bar top and customers were allowed to autograph it!  Pretty cool, huh?!  (Featured in the picture below)

​Are you looking for some simply southern and delicious cuisine?  If so ride The Salty Southern Route to Suffolk and stop by Holland's! Starting with the growing and sale of their own produce in the Old City Market downtown, this family business has been serving fresh and tasty food for over 40 years.   
 
Convenietly located on the corner of East Washington and Commerce Street in Suffolk’s downtown, this newly renovated corner shop is the perfect mixture of modern and warm charm.  As you walk through the door you are greeted with an inviting host/hostess and drawn into a space that includes a number of welcoming tables and small bar where you can order food for dining in or whet your palette while chatting it up with good friends.  You may also catch the sweet scent of country hams being cooked on site in their ham room by Mary Lou, who has been cooking up deliciousness at Holland's since their beginnings!  

While Holland's is very different from the produce stand of 40 years ago, it has kept an endearing feeling of community that so many businesses are missing these days!  And they have only added to their services over the years!  Holland's services now include in-store dining, off premise full-scale catering, and a long list of classic country to-go items prepared fresh from scratch every day.  

So stop by Holland's and grab yourself a mouthwatering pork chop or BBQ platter, a ham or catfish sandwich and a homemade cake or pie!  And these items are just the tip of the iceberg!  They even sell breakfast!  

Open Monday through Saturday from 8am until 4pm. 
Closed on Sundays.

Check out  these links to view Holland's hours and full dine-in and catering menus!

http://www.hollandsproduce.com/index.html
https://www.facebook.com/hollandssuffolk/
www.saltysouthernroute.com


#loveva #ridetheroutefromnutstosnout
@visitvirginia

  
 

As you travel along The Salty Southern Route through Surry you are sure to come across Edwards Ham Shop!  Situated off of Rolfe Highway, just outside of Surry's downtown, this shop has been providing locals and visitors alike with high quality ham products since it's opening in the 1980s!  But, this Virginia staple didn't just start with the shop!  When you purchase an Edwards Ham or ham product, you can rest assure that you are purchasing from the experts!  Since Sam Wallace Edwards Sr. started selling ham sandwiches on the Jamestown-Scotland Ferry in 1925, the name Edwards and ham has gone hand in hand.  

Edwards built his first smokehouse in 1926, after the success of those first sandwich sales, and as his family continued to grow so did the business.  Over the years, the family business would add additional smokehouses, develop smoked bacon and sausage, as well as work on perfecting the pork curing process.  The Edwards smokehouse products has expanded from their first and very successful Wigwam Ham to include Surryano ham and most recently adding dry cured lamb!

These days you can order Edwards products from anywhere, but you can't beat the feeling of charm and tradition as you peruse the shelves of Edwards hometown ham shop in Surry.  Here you will find friendly service, an array of sandwiches and snacks that can be purchased, a whole spread of their ham products for sale, as well as peanuts, jams and locally themed gifts.    

And what better time of year than now, the holiday season, to treat you and your family to one of the best hams around!  Stop by Edwards Ham Shop and discover part of what makes Surry and its surrounding counties special!

Check out Edwards website and Facebook to learn more about their history and for more product information!

https://www.edwardsvaham.com
https://www.facebook.com/EdwardsHamShop/

#ridetheroutefromnutstosnout
#loveva
@visitvirginia

 

The Virginia Diner has been serving delicious down-home cooking to people from all over the country since 1929 when it was a refurbished Sussex, Surry and Southampton Railroad Car! Situated on the major thoroughfare 460 in Wakefield, over the years, The Virginia Diner has added on room after room to accommodate all these folks.  If you haven’t been here, this needs to be your next stop on The Salty Southern Route!  
 
To start with, the charming mood that you are welcomed with at the diner begins with the journey. The beautifully quaint country drive through Sussex to The Virginia Diner takes you back to a simpler, more relaxing time.  Then, when you walk through the doors of the diner you will be pleasantly surprised by cases filled with homemade pie, local peanuts for purchase and to taste, antique peanut vendor roasters, local merchandise, and an atmosphere of red and white tablecloths with bentwood chairs and antique cast iron toys! 
 
Wrapped up in all this Southern Hospitality is, of course, delicious food!  The Virginia Diner serves breakfast, lunch and dinner.  Just to tantalize your taste buds, this diner offers everything from baked county cured Virginia Ham, biscuits, BBQ, omelets, spoonbread, collards, peanut butter milk shakes and their world famous Peanut Pie! And that is just to name a few!  
 
This holiday season is the perfect time of year for great friends, fun adventures and some down-home southern food!  So, jump in the car and ride The Salty Southern Route to The Virginia Diner! 
 
The Virginia Diner is open:
Monday – Thursday 7am to 8pm
Friday 7am – 9pm
Saturday 6am – 9pm
Sunday 6am – 8pm  
 
Catering is Available
 
757-899-3106
408 N. County Drive
Wakefield VA, 23888

#loveva
#ridetheroutefromnutstosnoute
@visitvirginia 
​
www.vadinerrestaurant.com/home.aspx
https://www.facebook.com/VirginiaDiner/

When you ride The Salty Southern Route through Suffolk, Virginia, be sure to stop at Brick & Mortar Brewing Company for some delicious local suds!  

Located on East Washington Street in Downtown Suffolk, Brick & Mortar is the city's first brewery!  The owners have taken their passion for home brewing and brought it to an edgy and comfortable spot where customers can not only drink delicious brews, but wonder around the amazing 3,000 square foot tasting room, play games and check out local artwork on the tables.   

But what about the beers?!  With a 10 barrel brewhouse and a total of 40 barrels of fermentation space, this Veteran owned and operated brewery is constantly putting out a fresh and creative beer for your delight!  Their latest release was the 7:01 Espresso Stout on November 24th.  This 8.2% full bodied stout has been aged with white oat and cold brew espresso and is sure to warm you up on these cold winter days!  Then, of course, a must have brew while riding The Salty Southern Route is Brick & Mortar's Peanut City Porter!  Suffolk, a.k.a "The Peanut City," finally has its own beer!  As a surprisingly light porter, this beer sits at a 4.7% ABV and hits the nose with the fresh scent of peanuts, exhibiting flavors of not only peanuts, but coco nibs and roasted barley leaves.  Then there is the Rt. 58 Bipass IPA and The Nansemond Pale Ale, just to name a few more!  

Also, this brewery is always having fun events!  A couple on the books this month include Santa's Workshop, Dec. 5th, Sweater Weather Holiday Parade Party, Dec. 12th, their monthly trivia night on Dec. 12th, the Prohibition Party on Dec. 15th and The Action Packed Christmas Movie Night on Dec. 20th.

212 E. Washington Street
​Suffolk, Va 

For a full list of events and beers check out their FB page and website!
https://www.facebook.com/BrickandMortarBrewingCompany/
https://www.brickandmortarbrews.com
https://www.saltysouthernroute.com


Brick & Mortar's hours are as follows:
CLOSED Monday & Tuesdays
5p - 10p Wednesday - Thursday
4p - 11p on Fridays
Noon - 11p on Saturdays
and
Noon - 8p on Sundays

#loveva #ridetheroutefromnutstosnout
​@visitvirginia