Mrs. Wilkes' Dining Room

Mrs. Wilkes' Dining Room
Mrs. Wilkes' Dining Room
	The restaurant (on the right) in 2021
	Location within Georgia
Restaurant information
Established	1943
Street address	107 West Jones Street
City	Savannah
County	Chatham County
State	Georgia
Postal/ZIP Code	31401
Country	United States
Coordinates	32.072645°N 81.095934°W
Website	mrswilkes.com

Mrs. Wilkes' Dining Room is a casual restaurant in Savannah, Georgia, which offers a menu of Southern home cooking. Situated in a historic house dated to 1870, it is a popular dining spot in the city. The restaurant was owned and managed by Sema Wilkes for 59 years, from 1943 until her death in 2002 at age 95.[1]

History

Mrs. Wilkes' Dining Room was previously the dining hall of the Wilkes House, a downtown boardinghouse. Today the restaurant is housed on the ground floor of the same historic house, built in 1870, at 107 West Jones Street.[2][3] The restaurant was described by author William Schemmel as "a treasure hidden away in a historic district town-house."[4] Its longtime owner, Sema Wilkes, published several cookbooks.[1] Her family continues to run the restaurant today, but it is now open only for lunch.[5]

Mrs. Wilkes and her restaurant have been featured in newspapers and magazines.[1] Japanese chef Hoshinao Naguma was once apprenticed to the restaurant.[6]

Customs

Mrs. Wilkes' is noted for its homestyle traditions, in which guests are escorted in shifts of ten into the dining room, where a variety of dishes are freshly laid on one of several long tables.[7][8] There is no menu; dishes are selected by the restaurant and change daily.[7] Travel Holiday in 1993 recalled that the "tables were set with steaming bowls and platters of tasty Southern food".[9] Jeff Gordinier of The New York Times noted in a 2015 article: "it’s no secret that visitors mad for Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil make a beeline for Mrs. Wilkes Dining Room for fried chicken, candied yams and macaroni and cheese".[10]

The guests sit at the table and pass the dishes around to one another in the style of a family.[7][11] There are usually long queues waiting to get in.[7]

Notable guests

David Brinkley once broadcast directly from the restaurant[12]
President Obama ate at the restaurant with Mayor Otis Johnson and other guests in 2010, having baked beans, fried chicken, and sweet corn[13]
Robert Duvall, Kate Smith, and Gregory Peck ate at the restaurant[1]
The cast of Magic Mike XXL ate at the restaurant in October 2014[14]

Gallery

Mrs. Wilkes' Dining Room is located in a former boardinghouse known as the Wilkes House
Entrance to Mrs. Wilke's Dining Room

References

"'Everyone just loved that lady' Sema Wilkes Restaurateur 1907-2002". Savannah Morning News. November 1, 2002. Archived from the original on November 17, 2002. Retrieved November 30, 2019.
"Making Yourself At Home" - New York Times, October 16, 1983
McKee, Gwendolyn (1994). Savannah, where to go and what to do with children. Me and My Friend Publishers. p. 41. ISBN 978-0-9642753-0-0.
Schemmel, William (January 1, 2003). Off the Beaten Path Georgia: A Guide to Unique Places. Globe Pequot Press. ISBN 978-0-7627-2375-1.
Leon, Sarah (April 17, 2015). "Savannah In Style". wmagazine.com. Condé Nast. Retrieved September 11, 2015.
Harman, Jeanne; Harman, Harry E. (October 1992). Georgia at its best. Rutledge Hill Press. p. 69. ISBN 978-1-55853-202-1.
Cathy Swift; Van Robbins; John Miltiades (2008), Pigging Out in Savannah, p. 28, ISBN 9780595486328
Peffer, Randall S.; Miller, Debra (2004). Savannah, Charleston & the Carolina Coast. Lonely Planet. p. 80. ISBN 9781740597906.
Travel Holiday. Travel Magazine, Incorporated. February 1993. p. 6.
"At the Grey in Savannah, History Takes Another Turn". The New York Times. July 29, 2015. Retrieved September 12, 2015.
"Tybee Island: A quiet family getaway". Greenville Online. Retrieved September 12, 2015.
Jeanne and Harry Harman (1992), Georgia at its Best, pp. 69–70, ISBN 1558532021
Lesley Conn (March 2, 2010). "President Obama surprises diners at Mrs. Wilkes". Savannah Morning News. Archived from the original on March 5, 2010. Retrieved November 30, 2019.
"With Stripper Scenes Wrapped, the Magic Mike XXL Cast Feasts on Southern Food in Savannah". Greatideas.people.com. October 31, 2014. Archived from the original on September 6, 2015. Retrieved September 12, 2015.

External links

Official website
Official Georgia Tourism & Travel Site
U.S. President Barack Obama dining at the restaurant in 2010 – The Obama White House YouTube channel, March 2, 2010

32°4′21″N 81°5′45″W

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[SMN-1] "'Everyone just loved that lady' Sema Wilkes Restaurateur 1907-2002". Savannah Morning News. November 1, 2002. Archived from the original on November 17, 2002. Retrieved November 30, 2019.

[nyt83-2] "Making Yourself At Home" - New York Times, October 16, 1983

[McKee1994-3] McKee, Gwendolyn (1994). Savannah, where to go and what to do with children. Me and My Friend Publishers. p. 41. ISBN 978-0-9642753-0-0.

[Schemmel2003-4] Schemmel, William (January 1, 2003). Off the Beaten Path Georgia: A Guide to Unique Places. Globe Pequot Press. ISBN 978-0-7627-2375-1.

[5] Leon, Sarah (April 17, 2015). "Savannah In Style". wmagazine.com. Condé Nast. Retrieved September 11, 2015.

[HarmanHarman1992-6] Harman, Jeanne; Harman, Harry E. (October 1992). Georgia at its best. Rutledge Hill Press. p. 69. ISBN 978-1-55853-202-1.

[Swift-7] Cathy Swift; Van Robbins; John Miltiades (2008), Pigging Out in Savannah, p. 28, ISBN 9780595486328

[PefferMiller2004-8] Peffer, Randall S.; Miller, Debra (2004). Savannah, Charleston & the Carolina Coast. Lonely Planet. p. 80. ISBN 9781740597906.

[9] Travel Holiday. Travel Magazine, Incorporated. February 1993. p. 6.

[10] "At the Grey in Savannah, History Takes Another Turn". The New York Times. July 29, 2015. Retrieved September 12, 2015.

[11] "Tybee Island: A quiet family getaway". Greenville Online. Retrieved September 12, 2015.

[12] Jeanne and Harry Harman (1992), Georgia at its Best, pp. 69–70, ISBN 1558532021

[13] Lesley Conn (March 2, 2010). "President Obama surprises diners at Mrs. Wilkes". Savannah Morning News. Archived from the original on March 5, 2010. Retrieved November 30, 2019.

[14] "With Stripper Scenes Wrapped, the Magic Mike XXL Cast Feasts on Southern Food in Savannah". Greatideas.people.com. October 31, 2014. Archived from the original on September 6, 2015. Retrieved September 12, 2015.