According to owner Gregory Bolton, Bob and Edith’s Diner will open its new Manassas location by the end of the month.
The Manassas location is the first one to be located “this far out” in Northern Virginia, said Bolton, a second-generation family owner of the family business.
“We’ll get in there on the 27th or 28th, get everything set up, close for New Year, and then we’ll get it going full-time in January,” said Bolton in an interview with Potomac Local News.
The diner has six locations, most located inside the Captial Beltway, all in Virginia. Bolton said the Manassas location, the company’s 7th, will look like the others, with “clean,” stainless steel and blue tile interiors.
“It’s the classic 1950s diner experience,” he said.
Breakfast accounts for 65% of the company sales, with big sellers being fresh eggs, pancakes, French toast, and home fries. “We cut them fresh here every day,” said Bolton.
Dinner and lunch shifts are busy, too, with many delivery drivers popping in to pick up orders and take them to those who order online.
Bolton said he’s had to pay his staff more to overcome the staffing crunch that has been felt across all businesses in the past two years following coronavirus lockdowns.
The diner will open at the Manassas Corner Shopping Center, 9221 Sudely Road in Manassas. Soon after opening, the diner will serve food 24 hours a day.
Afterward, the company plans to open new locations along the Interstate 95 corridor, to include Lorton, said Bolton.
Robert L. Bolton “Bob” ‘s wife, Edith, opened and bought Gary’s Donut Dinette in Arlington in 1969 and expanded it. In 1995, the couple’s child, Greg Bolton, and his wife, Victoria, became the sole owners.
