Good food and fun at the Guignard Diner

It has not been around as long as some people might think, but 23 years of fine "country cookin' with all the fixin's" for breakfast and lunch crowds makes Guignard Diner a classic Sumter business.

Co-owners Wayne Lowder and Mickey Brewer opened the diner in July 2001 at 439 N. Guignard Drive, and not much has changed over time with the restaurant, they said.

It is still a staple for good food, friendly service and finding out what is going on around town, according to customers.

Guignard Diner has 20 employees - when including full-time and part-time - and serves about 400 to 450 customers per day, according to Lowder. That translates to about 2,000-plus customers per week for the restaurant, which is open Monday through Friday from 6 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Many patrons are repeat customers, some coming in for breakfast daily as part of breakfast clubs that gather and socialize. Others may come for breakfast one day and then lunch the next day.

Both Lowder and Brewer have been in the restaurant business for about 40 years each. Lowder puts in between 60 to 65 hours per week at the diner, he said, and serves as "a jack of all trades." He comes in early and stays late and can be found cooking, wiping down tables and handling all the paperwork involved with running a small business.

Lowder recently sat down with The Sumter Item to offer an insider's perspective on Guignard Diner.

Question from Item: What are staples and favorites on the menu?

Answer from  Lowder: "It's country cooking. We have lunch specials every day. Staples include fried chicken, pork chops and turkey and dressing. As far as vegetables and sides, staples include cabbage, hashbrown casserole and pineapple casserole, collards.

Breakfast is a standard menu every day, but favorites include pancakes. The pancakes are excellent. The Country Benedict is good - it's a split biscuit with two eggs and sausage/gravy over the top."

Item: Which is bigger, breakfast or lunch?

Lowder:"It's about the same. We probably serve about the same number of people. But breakfast is longer. We serve breakfast from 6 until 10:30 a.m. and basically lunch is only about three hours (11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.)"

Item: Who was your main competition in the early years of business?

Lowder:"Buster's and Big Jim's also was still open when we first opened. I guess Big Jim's was open for about five years after we opened. Cole's Restaurant had already been closed for a few years by then."

Item: What do you think makes the restaurant so popular?

Lowder:"I think it is the camaraderie in here. Everybody knows everybody, and some tables have kind of merged together over the years. Sometimes, tables have eight to 10 people at them now.

We try to focus on customer service as well."

Item: What is the secret to the diner's success and longevity in Sumter?

Lowder: "I will tell you a story as to why the motivation and drive have always been there for me.

We opened in July 2001, so this was probably around the first of July. We had just got the parking lot resealed and painted, and I was out there one day, and it must have been at least 100 degrees on that fresh black top, and I was putting the parking bumpers back out there in the parking spaces.

Then, an older gentleman drove up in a truck, and he asked what we were doing here? I told him, 'This is going to be a restaurant with breakfast and lunch and country cooking.'

He said, 'No dinner?'

I responded, 'No, sir. We are probably just going to be open 6 a.m. to 2:30 or 3 p.m.'

He said, 'You will never make it.' Then, he drove off.

That is when I knew no matter how many hours it took that I was going to make it.

Another factor that has helped us is being blessed with good employees. Some of our current employees have been here about as long as we have been open.

Another key is being willing to put in long hours. You don't walk in at 6 a.m. and leave at 2:30 p.m. There is a lot of time being here before and after that. I get here early and stay late with paperwork and all the extras."