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Archie’s Seafood Restaurant (Darien, GA)

Archie’s Seafood Restaurant, Darien, GA

Recently, on the US 17 Coastal Highway Facebook page, a frequent commentor left the following comment on a post with an image (by photographer Mike McCall) of the Jack Nelson Ford building in Darien, Georgia:

“For true nostalgia, we need a photo of the former ARCHIE’S seafood restaurant in Darien.”

Well, I went to the person who has photographed just about everything nostalgic in south Georgia, Brian Brown, of Vanishing South Georgia – who recently presented two posts (here and here, the latter includes a 1975 postcard) with photographs of Archie’s.  Here’s what Brian says about the place:

First opened at a nearby location in 1940, and once known as the Shrimp Boat Restaurant, Archie’s was long a Darien landmark and a favorite stop for travelers along the busy Coastal Highway (US 17). As traffic moved off 17 and onto nearby I-95, business slowed and the restaurant was closed by 2006.

Now here is my thought (for what it’s worth):  Highway 17 is far more interesting than I-95, and while I don’t wish for all of the interstate traffic to detour onto US 17, I do wish enough would detour off the interstate to keep places like Archie’s open.

You can find out more about Brian’s work at the following links (and yes, there are alot of them – he’s quite obviously a busy guy):

Vanishing South Georgia

Brown’s Guides:  Brian Brown Photography

Flickr:  Brian Brown Photography

Vanishing Irwin County

Daily Yonder:  Tar-Paper Shacks and Other Wonders

And Brian’s photographs have been featured in the following pages of US 17 Coastal Highway:  Vanishing Irwin County, Georgia Girl, Needwood Baptist Church, Midway Congregational Church and Cemetery, and Georgia Coast Rail-Trail.