Well butter me up and call me a biscuit!
As all y’all know, that’s the Southern way of expressing surprise. It’s country charm. Aunt Bea, Andy and Opie. (Just Google Mayberry.)
It’s true Southern hospitality. And it’s a real thing. Difficult to define, but you know it when you feel it. And you feel it as soon as you walk into Andy Walton’s twin diners — Anastasia if you’re on the island and Moultrie Creek if you’re on the mainland.
Each location feels like family – only better!
Walton radiates the type of effortless, pretension-free charm that’s become increasingly hard to find.
It comes naturally. Born in Forsyth, Georgia, he started cooking years back a the famed Waffle House, a Southern company founded in Georgia back in 1955.
The chain focuses mainly on Southern breakfast and comfort foods. Moving from frying pan to fire, Walton assumed management duties for 10 Waffle House stores – and he took their people-first policy to heart.
It went with him when he made the switch from breakfast food to seafood and side dishes, taking on leadership duties for eight Captain D’s, another Southern franchise.
While he loved his job — and his customers — the gig kept him on the road constantly, visiting locations that were hundreds of miles from home.
“My main goal was to provide financial stability for my family,” he said. “But one day I realized that I had no time to spend with my daughter. I was missing everything. They say realization hits you, and they’re right. It hit me hard.”
When Walton’s daughter moved to St. Augustine with her mother and stepfather, he hit the road with her.
“I always wanted a place…kind of like Cheers…where, when you walk in, they know your name,” he said. Walton took ownership of Anastasia Diner first. When Covid hit, he stayed in business solely because of the locals.
“They came in every day and kept this place going, and I decided then and there that I would be here for them in the same way they are there for me. We cater to locals. I open an hour earlier now because they asked me to.”
He later opened a Moultrie Creek location that quickly drew a loyal local following.
But don’t ask him to change his closing time. “When you walk through our doors, you’re going to be the most important person in my restaurants,” he said. “But, I’m going to leave here every day in time to pick my daughter up from school. No exceptions.”
Come 2 p.m., the front doors close shut for the day and the diner owner becomes dad once again.
And that’s what you’ll feel when you go to either Anastasia or Moultrie Creek Diner.
A sense of family. A warm welcome; a real smile; some country charm. Buttery biscuits, home fries and hash, omelettes stuffed with melted cheese.
Lunch items like Mama used to make.
And, if you’re a regular like Richie, a hot cup of fresh coffee will hit your table almost before you do.
It’s The Diner. It’s true Southern hospitality. And Andy Walton’s got it.
