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gainesvilletimes.com
Midweek Edition-March 1-2, 2023
Rachel Estes Features Editor | 770-718-3421 | life@gainesvilletimes.com
More than a pit stop
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Photos by SCOTT ROGERS I The Times
Customers line up at the counter Wednesday, Feb. 22, at Nichols Diner. The popular restaurant, which has its roots as the Dairy
Mart in Oakwood, has been in business for 20 years.
Oakwood diner marks 20 years of family business
Nichols Diner owner Alan Nichols, left, chats with a customer
Wednesday, Feb. 22.
Ice cream is scooped into a cup for a milkshake Wednesday,
Feb. 22, at Nichols Diner.
BY DONNELL SUGGS
dsuggs@gainesvilletimes.com
Nichols Diner’s motto is
simple, summed up by a
sign hanging over the reg
ister that reads, “Proudly
making every order fresh.”
In its 20th year in busi
ness, the South Hall diner
continues to serve break
fast and lunch the only
way owner Alan Nichols
learned how during his
nearly 40-year career in
the restaurant business: one
plate at a time.
“This is a destination
instead of just being a pit
stop,” Nichols, 59, said.
“We still do things the same
way.”
The special for the day
was a grilled cheese sand
wich with the choice of veg
etable soup or chili and a
drink. The rest of the menu
offered customers the usual
breakfast and lunch items
that have made diner fare
a staple of American life:
sausage, chicken or bacon
biscuits, grits, eggs, coun
try-fried steaks, hamburg
ers, hot dogs, tater tots and
fries.
“This is institutional food
and it still matters how we
serve it every day,” Nichols
said.
Nichols Diner was
opened by Craig Nichols in
2003 and taken over by his
brother, Alan Nichols, in
2020. The family has owned
and operated restaurants
for decades, and the tran
sition would have been a
normal one if not for the
COVID-19 pandemic.
“We opened on Jan. 10,
2020, and it wasn’t even a
month in before our lobby
was shut down and every-
Nichols Diner
Where: 3603 Southland
Drive, Flowery Branch
Hours: 6 a.m to 2 p.m.
Monday-Friday; 7 a.m.
to 2 p.m. Saturday
More info: nicholsdiners.
com
thing changed,” said Alan.
The restaurant moved to
a drive-thru only format
like many in Hall County
and the nation at large.
“Everything I worked
for was hanging on by a
thread,” Alan remembered.
“We’re doing well now
because I was blessed with
the staff I have.”
There are 12 full-time
employees at Nichols
Diner, and all managed
to keep their jobs despite
pandemic-induced changes
to the workflow and the
current rise in costs of food
and supplies.
“We have some real loyal
people,” he said. “We have
all come back and I think
we’ve caught our groove
again.”
Back to the future
On the wall of the diner
hangs a framed black-and-
white photo of the long-
closed Dairy Mart circa
1963. Alan and Craig took
over the business, a burger
and fries joint similar
to what Nichols Diner is
today, in 1988.
“That’s where everything
started,” Alan said, a smile
creeping across his face.
How everything will con
tinue may have a lot to do
with the future of Nichols
Diner’s ownership.
Grant Nichols, 22, is the
next generation of his fam
ily’s restaurant legacy.
Fresh out of college, Grant
is managing Loretta’s Coun
try Kitchen, Alan’s other
restaurant. There’s hope
that Grant takes over Nich
ols Diner one day, accord
ing to Alan.
“I’m hoping to make it
to 40 years; I’m at 39 right
now,” said Alan of his time
in the business. “If my son
is going to take it over, we’ll
know soon, but there will be
some sweat equity where
he becomes owner over
time.”
As he talked, customers
and even an area vendor
stopped by his table to say
hello. The years of relation
ships are what it’s all about,
he said.
“You develop friendships
■ Please see NICHOLS, 2B
Mama knew
my sweetness
needed practice
Of course, I occasionally encounter rudeness in
folks. Usually, I’m in a bubble
of some kind when I’m jolted
right out of it by rudeness
or, in some cases, as Mama
would say, “downright
meanness.”
Usually, readers who com
ment on my commentaries
write to me and, even if they
disagree, it is with grace and
genteel respect.
Yet, about every four
years, I get one where I
suspect there is something
wrong in the person’s life more than something I’d
written. The reaction is too strong and twisted, with
such anger, that the person’s good sense just takes
momentary leave.
I’m not a controversial writer. There are too
many strong opinions and too much ugliness in this
world already. In the 22 years that I have written
this column, which has been read by millions, I
have sought to be kind, funny, strong enough to
make the content interesting and, mostly, just to
tell a good story.
A few months ago, a memory came to me and
made me laugh: Mama. From the time that I was
old enough to leave the house and be driven by a
girlfriend’s mother, or when I was old enough to
leave on a date or drive myself, Mama would say,
without fail, as I opened the door, “You be sweet,
now. Hear me?”
It was embarrassing, especially with the first guy
I dated regularly, Philip. One night, he helped me
into the car, then he slid in on his side and I asked,
“Does your Mama always tell you to be sweet?”
He laughed as he started the car. He always had
an endearing sense of humor. “Nay, she knows I
can’t be sweeter. If I did, flies would be stuck to me
all the time.”
I wrote a column on my dear Mama’s words and
even joked, “You would think she might say, ‘Be
safe.’ No. ‘Be sweet’ was more important.”
That evening, an email that wasn’t sweet came
to me as well as the editors of the Gainesville
Times. I assured them that I would share it with
my readers across the South:
“Hello Ronda,
“I do hope that you penned your column ‘Thou
Shalt Be Sweet’ intending to be humorous. If that
was not your intention, then I would like to tell
you how offensive your column was. In this time
of women being subjected to the fantasies of cer
tain men who would like to see us barefoot and
pregnant and living in the 1950s, to imply that the
most important quality a woman can possess is to
be sweet is beyond my ability to politely ignore.
The sweetness that you hold so dear has routinely
caused the ‘southern woman’ to be looked upon by
the non-southern world as phony and insincere.
“I am so happy that I was raised in a home in
which girls/women were expected to be intel
ligent, strong, honest and kind and in which the
only thing that was sweet was sugar (and we were
warned to have as little of that as possible).
“Sweet as a leading attribute may have been
desirable a very long time ago, but in today’s world
the emphasis on it is misplaced. Give me a fair,
honest, generous woman who doesn’t sugarcoat
her opinions with syrup. Really, don’t you think
that women, southern or otherwise, would much
rather be recognized for their brains and accom
plishments than for having sugar syrup running
through their veins.
“Debbie Hasten.”
My mama never wasted time teaching what
she already knew I possessed — I was the second-
highest academic scorer in first grade. Through
the years, I won numerous academic and extracur
ricular awards, perfect attendance in class and
Sunday School, and many professional awards,
especially in sports writing where I was usually the
only woman. My family has long practiced putting
others before ourselves and sharing whatever we
have.
But sweet?
Mama KNEW I needed work on that.
Ronda Rich is the best-selling author of several books,
including “What Southern Women Know About Faith.”
Sign up for her newsletter at www.rondarich.com. Her
column publishes weekly.
RONDA RICH
southswomen@
bellsouth.net
EVENTS
University of North Georgia Jazz
Band. 7:30-8:30 p.m. March 1.
Hoag Student Center, 82 College
Circle, Dahlonega. 706-864-
1423, cherri.helms@ung.edu.
Symphony No. 100 “Military Sym
phony”. 7-9 p.m. March 2. UNG
Shott Performance Hall, 82 Col
lege Circle, Dahlonega. 706-864-
1423, cherri.helms.ung@gmail.
com. Free.
Sinfonietta. 7:30-9 p.m. March 2.
Nix Fine Arts Center, 238 Georgia
Circle, Dahlonega. 706-864-
1423, cherri.helms@ung.edu.
Lake Lanier Boat Show. 10 a.m.
to 6 p.m. March 3-4; 11 a.m. to
5 p.m. March 5. Margaritaville at
Lanier Islands, 7000 Lanier Is
lands Parkway, Buford. 678-960-
2908, info@lakelanierboatshow.
com. $15.
Dahlonega Literary Fest. March 4.
Dahlonega Baptist Church, 234
Hawkins St., Dahlonega. 706-
265-9212, set1@windstream.net.
$20.
Live Animal Showcase. 11 a.m. to
2 p.m. March 4. Elachee Nature
Science Center, 2125 Elachee
Drive, Gainesville. 770-535-1976,
sam@elachee.org.
Classic Auto Rides Monthly Cruise-
In. 4-7 p.m. March 4. Buford High
School, 2455 Buford Highway
NE, Buford, classicautoridesga@
gmail.com.
Jazz Concert. 7-8:30 p.m. March
6. Performing Arts Lobby, UNG
Gainesville Campus, Gainesville.
706-864-1423, cherri.helms.
ung@gmail.com. Free.
Purim in the Chocolate Factory.
5:30-7:30 p.m. March 7. Gaines
ville Civic Center, 830 Green St.
NE, Gainesville, lnfo@jewishhall.
com. $10-$18.
Gentle Yoga. 11:30 a.m. to 12:30
p.m. March 8, 15, 22, 29. Black-
shear Place Branch Library, 2927
Atlanta Highway, Gainesville,
dl9345@bellsouth.net. Free.
“John & Jen.” 7:30-10 p.m. March
9-11. UNG-Gainesville Ed Cabell
Theatre, 2900 Landrum Educa
tion Drive, Oakwood. 678-717-
3624, boxoffice@gainesvillethe-
atrealliance.org. $16-$24.
“Cinderella.” 7 p.m. March 9-11,
16-18. Mill Creek High School,
4400 Braselton Highway, Ho-
schton, mcea6855treasurer@
gmail.com. $15.
Family Fitness with Prime Personal
Training. 9-10 a.m. March 11.
Elachee Nature Science Center,
2125 Elachee Drive, Gainesville.
770-535-1976, sam@elachee.
org. $15-$50.
ONGOING
Alzheimer’s Caregivers Support
Group. 5:30-6:30 p.m. first Tues
days of the month. Grace Episco
pal Church, 422 Brenau Ave. NE,
Gainesville. 727-409-6608, char-
lenebestdewitt@gmail.com. Free.
Gold Rush Quilting Guild. 10 a.m.
to noon first Wednesdays of the
month. Friendship Baptist Church,
3513 Westmoreland Road, Cleve
land. alenekempton@gmail.com.
Turning Leaves Book Club. 11:30
a.m. to 1 p.m. first Wednesdays of
the month. Linwood Nature Pre
serve Ecology Center, 118 Spring-
view Drive, Gainesville. 770-535-
8293, karin.hicks@uga.edu.
Northeast Georgia Writers. 1 -3 p.m.
first Wednesdays of the month.
Gainesville Downtown Library, 127
Main St. NW, Gainesville. Talltales-
writer@gmail.com. Free.
Card workshop. 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
first Saturdays of the month. Hall
County Library System, Gainesville
branch, 127 Main St. NW, Gaines
ville. 770-532-3311 ext. 4011,
gkoecher@hallcountylibrary.org.
Ekphrasis for the Masses. Noon to
1 p.m. second Tuesdays of the
month. Quinlan Visual Arts Center,
514 Green St. NE, Gainesville. 770-
536-2575, info@qvac.org. Free.
War Stories Book Club. 4-5 p.m.
second Thursdays of the month.
Murrayville Branch Library, 4796
Thompson Bridge Road, Gaines
ville. 770-532-3311 ext. 171. Free.
Discovery Saturdays. 10 a.m. to
3 p.m. second Saturdays of the
month. Elachee Nature Science
Center, 2125 Elachee Drive,
Gainesville. 770-535-1976. $3 - $5.
Georgia Cross Stitchers. 10 a.m. to
4:30 p.m. second Saturdays of the
month. Hall County Library Sys
tem, Gainesville Branch, 127 Main
St. NW, Gainesville. 770-532-3311
ext. 4011; gkoecher@hallcountyli-
brary.org. Free.
Homeschool Day. 10 a.m. to 12
p.m. third Thursdays of the month.
Elachee Nature Science Center,
2125 Elachee Drive, Gainesville.
770-535-1976. $15.
Gainesville Lacers. 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
third Saturdays of the month. Hall
County Library System, Gainesville
branch, 127 Main St. NW, Gaines
ville. 770-532-3311, gkoecher@
hallcountylibrary.org.
Tea with Jane Austen: A Reading
Group. 3-4 p.m. fourth Fridays of the
month. Hall County Library Sys
tem, Gainesville Branch, 127 Main
St. NW, Gainesville. 770-532-3311
ext. 4011, gkoecher@hallcountyli-
brary.org. Free.
