On August 5, 1989, my absolute favorite eatery in the world came into existence. A quick Google search will tell you that the 33 Diner, 3024 Maynardville Highway, Maynardville, Tennessee, is rated 4.5 of 5 on Tripadvisor and is ranked number two of 14 restaurants in Maynardville.
One review states: “Great food. Love down home casual approach. Nice portions, home cooked goodness. You will leave happy.”
I totally agree with this review. 33 Diner is definitely a happy place for me. If you leave the 33 Diner still hungry, it will be your own fault.
It’s amazing how long it was before I became a 33 Diner addict. My mother and sister used to eat there, and my mother absolutely loved it.
The first time I ate there was in 2004 when my job took me to the Union County Board of Education central office. Only one building separates my work from this wonderful dining experience. Over the years I have shared many a happy meal at 33 with my brother J. C., my sisters Madalene, Helen and Marie, and too many other family, friends and co-workers to count.
There is nothing about the building itself that jumps out at the passerby. In fact, I’d say many people have passed it for years and don’t realize a restaurant is there. As owner Sue Neubert says, the building is old and needs repairs, but “You can’t eat the building.” Sue has no intention of being “high falutin’”. Her focus is on the quality of the food and the happiness of her customers.
Even so, 33 Diner has established its own personality, a good family environment. “We’re not trash, and we don’t put up with trash.”
There is a Norman Rockwell painting titled “The Runaway” that nostalgically represents that atmosphere. Rockwell portrayed a policeman sitting on a stool at a counter in a diner. Next to him sits a young boy with his red knapsack on the floor beneath him. Behind the counter is a man who works for the diner.
A Google search will tell you the identity of both the policeman who posed for the portrait and the location of the diner. When I see this picture, I have no trouble thinking of a Union County policeman talking to Sue’s brother Kenny.
I had the rare joy to spend one hour talking with Sue earlier this month. It’s hard for this hard-working lady to be able to give away an hour, though she did so graciously as she allowed me to interview her for this article.
Sue Neubert graduated from Gibbs High School in 1967. Sue said she felt “backward and ugly” when she started working, but she discovered her love for people helped her overcome those feelings.
She was no newcomer to the restaurant business when she opened in Maynardville. She previously worked for Ruth Mynatt at Mynatt’s/Amber Restaurant for about 15 years and operated the Southern Grill in Knoxville for around four years.
She also worked one summer for Bobbie Padgett at Amber’s after the Southern Grill lease ended. Thirty-three years ago Sue purchased the building and equipment that was then Shirley’s Kitchen from Leon and Shirley Kitts, and opened 33 Diner.
Sue said she didn’t know in the beginning if she could “make a go,” but her daddy told her she’d never know if she didn’t try. Thirty-three years later she’s still “making it go,” even in a struggling economy.
Sue told me several years ago that times were getting hard, that she’d had to go up a nickel on everything she sold. Sue related that once her menu prices rose ten cents per item, and it worried her to death.
During the past year the price of food has gone up in many cases 50 percent, and 33’s prices have also had to increase, though Sue has done her best to keep prices as low as possible without reducing portion sizes. Should you find your portion too small, just let Sue know and she’ll take care of you.
Other restaurants charge more than Sue for smaller amounts of food, but Sue says she’d rather keep prices reasonable and help customers as they help her by bringing her their business.
Good service and reasonable prices “keep customers coming back. Everybody wants what they pay for.”
Sue said that Ruth Mynatt (former owner of the Amber Restaurant) told her years ago that if you watch the pennies, the dollars will take care of themselves.
What’s the secret of 33’s success through 33 years of challenges such as recessions, roadwork, arthritis and a pandemic? Happy customers have spread the word. They know Sue’s interest is in people, not fancy buildings or getting rich. People are treated the way Sue wants to be treated. Sue says, “You have to be good to your customers.”
Why has Sue chosen to remain in business in Maynardville these 33 years? “I like what I do, and I love my people.”
I can personally testify that regardless of what I’ve ordered during the years, I’ve never left 33 Diner hungry or had even one bad dining experience. It’s also one of the few restaurants that will serve me buttermilk, though it’s not on the menu. I usually don’t even have to place an order. Sue and her crew almost always know what I’m going to order when I walk through the door.
There is no additional charge for condiments that are graciously provided in abundance upon request. I told Sue that 33 fed me so much they’re getting me ready for Cooke’s funeral home. I told her to make sure that Doug Osborne gives her a commission on my funeral.
The 33 diner is a family business. Sue’s sisters Gamilia, Nancy and Ginger, her brother Kenny and niece Chelsey have been familiar faces to patrons for many years. Their focus is on providing good, down-home Southern comfort food to the families of Union County and East Tennessee. Sue has also fed repeat customers from afar—California, Hawaii, and a professional hockey player from Canada.
Sue never married. It might be said her business and her customers have been her spouse. She said a preacher once asked if she was married, and she jokingly replied, “No sir. Why would I make one old man miserable when I can make a whole lot happy?”
Sue sure has made a lot of old and young men, women and children happy through the years with a lot of good cooking.
Work days at the diner are long. Though the diner doesn’t open until 5:30 a.m., Sue’s work days begin at 4:45 a.m. The diner closes at 3 p.m., but Sue can be found there most days until around 4:30 p.m.
Many other times I have noticed Sue’s truck after hours and on Sundays. She says that’s when she does the work that can’t be done during the day, such as cleaning filters.
To celebrate 33’s 33rd, Sue said she was just going to be Sue. She is going to pass out some ink pens, sell some t-shirts, and give a one-time 33% discount on one dessert to anyone who brings in this paper and shows her this article.
All things must end, and I dread the day that 33 will be only a memory. Sue said she wishes she had 33 more years to go, but the law of averages is against it. Sue says she’s been blessed and thanks God for good health and good customers. “I’m just having a good ol’ time.”
There is nothing to fear in the near future—so long as she remains healthy, she is going to continue to work.
If you’ve not already done so, I encourage you to make the 33 Diner one of your happy places.