SALEM, Va. – A familiar spot in downtown Salem got a makeover recently. Now, it’s open for business. We’re getting an early taste of West Salem Diner!
“You know we were thinking what is Salem missing what does Salem need, and a good breakfast option was definitely one of the things that was missing.”
Jo Jo Soprano and his crew are filling the void, and the public is responding accordingly.
“We’ve had a great first week of being open, the response from the Salem community has been outstanding.”
This early success is partially due to the happy hour each morning!
Soprano explains, “We do what we call a reverse happy hour. So it’s a lot of third shifters that get off at 7am so that’s when we start our happy hour here at West Salem Diner.”
It’s 5 o’clock somewhere, right?! No matter the hour, you can tap into your creative side with a mimosa flight.
“You have your traditional mimosa of course which is usually with orange juice. We do offer pineapple juice, cranberry juice, as well as grapefruit juice.”
This breakfast spot has quickly gotten a hold on your staples like the Eggs Benedict. Soprano tells us that everyone is raving about the hollandaise sauce in addition to the biscuits and gravy.
While West Salem is becoming known as a breakfast spot, the top seller early on is a burger with cheese, garlic aioli and all the fixin’s!
“Our smash burger has been our most popular item, that is of course part of our lunch menu which breakfast and lunch are available all day long.”
New smells, new flavors and new ideas are helping to preserve a building that’s stood the test of time - like many others - in Salem’s downtown area.
“A lot of buildings in this town have been around for 100 plus years and to be able to take one and keep the historic look to it but still give it a nice makeover and have it look like something like this; it’s a great feeling.”
West Salem Diner takes the place of West Salem BBQ, connected to El Jefe. It’s open daily from 7 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.