Some restaurants are too iconic to ignore forever.

The Beacon Drive-in, which opened in 1946, is one of those restaurants.

The Beacon has such a cult-like following among longtime diners in the Carolinas and beyond that we had to revisit it and have to share it here. It’s often talked about as a must-visit spot in Upstate South Carolina, largely due to decades of memories people have made there with families and food.

It is also one of those restaurants that has somewhat of a divisive impact on food conversation. At the same time that some of our family members and friends talk fondly about experiences with staff and meals there over the years, we have family members who strongly dislike the place for what it is. They find the ordering process abrasive and the food greasy.

I visited the restaurant with my father in the summer of 2023, the first time either of us had been in many years. You should know as you survey the menu that it IS organized in a confusing and overwhelming way. There are many options (including burgers, chicken, fish, hot dogs and more), and what you call them almost won’t matter once you talk to the man at the counter. He, and the cooks, have their own lingo. He’ll ask you first if you’re eating there or taking your food out. Then you can tell him what you’re eating, proceed down the line to the pickup area where another employee will confirm your order, keep walking to get a drink and then pay at the end, almost cafeteria style.

My father and I clearly were not regulars, as we appeared very uncertain at the counter, so the man asked where we were from. When we told him, he yelled out, “They’re all the way from Cleveland County, North Carolina!” Yes, my anxiety finds that somewhat embarrassing, but Dad laughed and it was quite funny and memorable. It was a good story to tell my wife and mother when we got home.

Some people also don’t like the pile of onion rings and fries that cover your plate, often disguising the presence of your sandwich, if you order a meal “aplenty,” their special language for the combination. Dad and I found the onion rings to be flavorful, a bit sweet and not that greasy. (This IS a greasy spoon, after all.) The rings weren’t crunchy and crispy, which is my preference, but they weren’t floppy and soggy either. The fries were very good and hot.

Our cheeseburgers were excellent! The beef was tender, the chili was meaty and savory, the cheese was melty and the mustard tart. The only thing I’d change is the onions. I’d rather have chopped or diced onions instead of the sliced style The Beacon uses. The slices are just way too big and too strong. I couldn’t eat all of them, and they tried to overshadow all the other flavors.

The only other thing I’d change about our food is the tea. I was certain I had picked up lemonade or an Arnold Palmer instead of sweet tea. But the lemony tea is what The Beacon serves. It’s not my favorite, but it’s passable and refreshing.

The Beacon, most of all, is an experience. From the order taker, which the restaurant knows as “the caller” who sometimes literally says “call it” to customers, to the long ordering line, to the massive amounts of seating in various rooms throughout and the expansive parking lot, there are few places like The Beacon. It’s unique and one of a kind.

We left full and satisfied, and we added to the lore of The Beacon in our family with the caller’s “all the way from Cleveland County” quip. The Beacon is absolutely a place every cheeseburger lover in the Carolinas should visit for a #FoodieScore unlike many others.

The Beacon Drive-in, 255 John B. White Sr. Boulevard, Spartanburg, S.C.