Remember Me?

Before Jack’s, before the trains, before the animal habitat, there was the Noccalula Nik Nak. What a great place!

If you are or were a fan of Mom and Pop burger joints, then you would have loved the Nik Nak. They had great burgers and fries, wonderful chicken fingers, and the best ice cream treats around. And it was all right here at Noccalula Falls.

People from all over came to eat at the Nak. I mean, just look at all the cars in the photo!

Walk up, order your food, try to get that table, or just order take-out for the family. If your parents were ordering, you’d be over next to the gumball machines trying hard to convince them you needed both a ring and a tattoo as well as your gum. (Those old machines had the best stuff in them).

And kids, that weird thing on the left of the picture next to the gum machine is what was known as a payphone. Very important technology in those times. Imagine this; you get to the Nik Nak and forgot what your spouse asked you to bring home. What could you do? I know this is shocking but there were no cell phones around here back then. That pay phone was a life saver!

The more you know! This was not a phone booth. It was simply a pay phone. The difference lies in the fact that you physically went into a phone booth, closed the door and had privacy. Not so with an ordinary pay phone.

All of us that grew up getting food from here were very sad when the doors closed. It was a piece of history that is largely forgotten these days.

It’s not just nostalgia to say that places like the Noccalula Nik Nak had a certain charm and character. Not only could you eat, drink and be merry, but you could make a memory that lasted a lifetime. At least it has for me.

If you like this type of blog post, please comment and let us know. Until next we meet…