A lot has changed over the past 60 years but a visit to the Blackfoot Diner is a step back into the past.
Edna Taylor opened the restaurant in 1956 with a strong commitment to customer service and good, homemade food.
She passed away five years ago but the Blackfoot Diner remains a family run business.
“I’ve been here 15 years, “ says manager and co-owner Tanya brown. “One day Edna just took me under her wing and showed me the secrets and how to run it.”
The walls at this spot at 1840 9 Avenue Southeast are filled with celebrity photos and a model train that circles throughout the day serving as conversation pieces for the customers.
“This place is unique,” says Marshall Evens who dropped by for a business meeting. “The interior, the lights, the train, the photos. It’s a very cool spot. I like how authentic it is.”
Many of the diner’s 38 employees have worked there for decades; Linda Holmes has been here for 27 years.
“I started when my son was three months old,” she says. “It’s a lot of fun. It’s a truck stop but we get a lot of families here. We have third generation customers coming in now.”
Holmes says everyone comes who walks through the door is treated like family.
“Edna helped and knew so many people,” she says. “If someone came in with no money she would buy them lunch. She had a big heart and would feed everybody.”
The menu has changed very little, if at all, over the past 60 years.
The gravies, sauces and pies are homemade and the reasonable prices and large portion sizes keep people coming back.
“I think it has to do with the customers”, says Brown. “You treat people how you want to be treated. Edna loved to serve them, loved to help them, she loved everything about it.”
When asked about the plan for the next 60 years Brown smiles and says if it ain’t broke; don’t fix it.
