Fenders Diner
“If these walls could talk, the stories they would tell.”
For over 100 years, the brick building where Fenders Diner currently resides has been serving the community. Today, locals gathered for a grand opening ceremony ribbon cutting.
Jay and Melissa Reeter, owners of Fenders Diner, have been looking forward to opening their restaurant to the community.
Fenders Diner has been around for 30 years and Jay said it took several months of renovations and “gutted” the building to restore it to the modern but 50s-themed diner. Fenders Diner is located on 631 Irvin St. in Cornelia.
One of the most important qualities about the diner, Jay said, is having a good chef that makes fresh, quality food.
Additionally, the Reeter family intend for Fenders to be a location where families go to “celebrate life” …whether it be birthdays, anniversaries or other.
“We wanted to create a place where people could go and have great food, an interesting environment and contribute to the new Cornelia downtown area,” Jay said.
Jay said the biggest challenge in getting Fenders open again was finding a chef that wanted to work. Due to COVID-19, it made it difficult on businesses – especially locally – and Jay accepted the challenge of building a quality team of workers to bring the diner to life.
Melissa said what she loves as an owner and a people-person, is the diner gives both her and Jay the opportunity to serve the community in several ways.
“We get the opportunity to change the environment and the atmosphere for the people that work here and make sure that they come to work, and they love being here. It’s important,” Melissa said.
Additionally, Melissa has enjoyed connecting with her staff and being able to build a family inside of Fenders. As a family business, they love to help and serve people.
“Everyone has a story and everyone’s here for a reason. I love these people,” Melissa said. “God has put us in the position to allow us to help people and that’s my favorite part.”
Fenders has several live bands and musicians coming up on their schedule, including a benefit concert on December 19.
ATLANTA – The Office of Insurance and Safety Fire Commissioner John F. King announced today that a Habersham County woman was found dead in a structure fire around 1:00 p.m. on Monday, October 19. The fire occurred at 1689 Heads Ferry Road in Cornelia.
When Habersham County officials arrived at the scene, the 22-year-old, 4,367-square-foot home had been enveloped in flames. Eyewitnesses say that the fire started on the home’s main level. The deceased woman, 64, was renting the residence and her body was found in the fire debris of the basement area. Upon further investigation, Habersham County officials discovered that she had been in a second-floor bedroom at the time of the fire.
“We are thankful for the bravery and hard work shown by Habersham County officials in this case,” said Commissioner King. “Because the home was on a hill side, the Habersham County Fire Department had to hand pull their lines to extinguish the fire.”
The Habersham County Sheriff’s Office is withholding the victim’s name at this time. Commissioner King’s State Fire Investigations Unit will continue assisting the Habersham County Fire Department and Habersham County Sheriff’s Office in this case. All authorities ask for prayers for the victim’s loved ones.
This death marks the 66th fire fatality in Georgia in 2020.
