Shop Around: Long-time Columbia eatery to close at end of month

Long-time Columbia staple Edna's #1 Drive-In at 3609 River Drive will close shop on March 31 after 54 years of business, restaurant manager Cynthia Boyd told The State.

"I'm very sad about it and the customers are very sad," said Boyd, who has been an Edna's employee for nearly 17 years. "It's just a hurtful thing for the community."

Edna's hot dog and burger stand was opened in 1962 by Edna and Raymond Schumpert. Edna passed away in 2009; Raymond on Christmas Eve 2015. The couple's daughter, Marie Rose Tyner, ran the restaurant before passing away at the age of 53 last summer. No other family members plan to continue operation of the restaurant, according to Boyd.

In an interview with The State following Edna's death in 2009, Raymond said his wife ran the restaurant with an ethic developed from living through the Depression.

"The Depression left a mark on people," Raymond told The State. "You thought more about responsibility, and she did."

A Walhalla native, Edna decided to open a hot dog stand where she charged 15 cents for a hot dog and 40 cents for a burger.

"It pretty much went well right from the start," Raymond told The State.

She continued working at the restaurant every day until just a decade before her death at the age of 81.

"She operated under the theory that people trade with you because they like you," Raymond said. "You've got to treat them like family."