4-Way Celebrates 80 Years

"Where Everybody Knows Your Name" is the theme song for the 1980s sitcom Cheers, but it fits the little red diner in downtown Cartersville we all know as .

It's been 80 years for one of my personal favorites, and although the current owner doesn't know the exact day the first patrons sat on the bar stools to eat, today is the celebration. From 5:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., the eatery is offering half-price hamburgers and hot dogs.

One all the way with slaw and a small fry. That's my usual order, along with a water or sweet tea. And the folks who work at 4-Way know I'm talking about a hamburger, not a hot dog.

I'm confident a bunch of those "all the ways" and "one and two withouts" will fly off the counter and you may just see a line around the corner. While many of today's takers will be repeat customers, maybe some new folks will experience one of the many gems in Cartersville.

At the now famous diner featured in Southern Living and a number of other publications, television programs and websites, they do things a bit different. Although there's still no phone, the elderly man working behind the counter with hamburger buns on his wrist is no longer around.

Instead of slopping chili on a hamburger laid in the palm of one's hand, the ladies and one avid Georgia football fan use plates to fashion one all the way — and that's with chili, mustard and onions.

If you get it to go, it's better in a box, and the diner that once fell victim to a fire now offers those instead of wrapped burgers, dogs and steak sandwiches.

We may never be able to use our debit cards at 4-Way, but the fact the establishment hasn't changed much over the years far outweighs that tiny inconvenience. The old-fashioned, fresh-cooked food and small town feel of the little bar stool diner with a back room once reserved for African-Americans is a tradition in our town.

Is it lunchtime yet?

In the comments below, share your memories of the "iconic" diner also features here.