Kokomo’s 50’s Diner

Have lived in McNairy County my whole life and driven by this little place a million times and never stopped. Finally decided to give it a try last night and have kicked myself ever since for not trying it sooner! GREAT food and atmosphere, the owners are friendly and constantly checking to make sure customers are satisfied. We stopped by on a Saturday evening and it was pretty busy but my wife, two kids and I were seated immediately and only waited about 12 minutes for our food to arrive, made fresh to order. Examining the décor alone, records, paintings, and pictures, are enough to make the wait time unnoticeable I had the Foghorn Leghorn chicken sandwich and my wife had the John Wayne burger, both were extremely delicious. My kids had the kid’s chicken strip and fries, they are VERY picky eaters. The only chicken that they’ll usually eat is McDonald’s chicken McNuggets, but they LOVED their chicken strips! The crinkle cut fries are run of the mill but I definitely recommend the seasoned curly fries (just as good as Arby’s), and you HAVE to try the fried green beans with ranch! The kid’s loved their chocolate shakes and my wife enjoyed her Charlie Brown and Peanuts. The sweet tea really surprised me, most places have their’s way too sweet for my taste and I have to get it half and half but Kokomo’s sweet tea is sweetened to perfection in my opinion. The ONLY things that keep me from giving it 5 stars is: the young waitress seemed nervous and very shy, also with a variety of delicious-​sounding dessert items; the two my wife really wanted to try, the strawberry and cream cheese fried pie and the hot fudge cake, were both unavailable. Overall, this is a wonderful, cozy little place to eat and it will definitely be a staple of my family’s weekly supper routine.

Lets play a game of word association shall we? When i say Quaint, Tasty, Burgers what comes to mind? You are wrong if the answer isnt Kokomo 50’s diner. This place is a small diner with a lot of charm. Pictures of classic cars, Elvis, and records adorn the wall while the 50’s tunes are a playing. The staff is super friendly and talked up their burgers as some of the best around.
Guess what? They were right to do so.
I ordered a Big Bubba with swiss and mushrooms and my wife ordered a turkey burger. We both agreed that our burgers were the best of those type we had eaten… EVER. Thats saying alot considering the amount and all the locations we have had them. (I hunt these places like a crazed burger headhunter) The shakes and old fashioned sodas were also a nice high point of our stop to this business.
The only thing that kept me from giving this place 5 stars is the side orders (no bundling fries with the burgers). They have to be ordered separately and for the price do not offer enough. A minor point but since i cant give half a star you will have to imagine its cut in half.
In summary: If you find yourself anywhere near Adamsville, TN and want a burger and/​or shake between 11 – 8 Weds-​Sat. GO!

I recently moved back to Adamsville and this is a new restaurant to me. My wife and I tried it out for a date night one evening. It was great! I had the John Wayne burger and curly fries which were excellent. Great flavorful burger. The fries could have been seasoned a little more but still enjoyable. My wife had the «new» Foghorn Leghorn grilled chicken and bacon and it was even better than my burger! She ordered the Fried Green Beans on a tip from a previous Unilocaler and they were amazing! We will be frequenting this place often!

I’d seen this place the last few times I visited my Mom and kept meaning to try it. I’m sorry I didn’t go sooner. It’s a small place, but I love the décor. One of the booths looks like the back of a pink Cadillac and the other looks like car seats from the 50’s. The tables are Formica and the chairs are chrome. The color scheme is real and hot pink with a little lilac thrown in and silver glitter on the ceiling. The walls are covered in vintage signs, Elvis, Betty Boop, James Dean, etc. There are at least 100 photos of customers enjoying their meals and ice cream. The menu is standard fare for a burger joint, but with cool names like the Dagwood. My party melt was cooked to order and tasty. I enjoyed my onion rings and a few bites of my Mom’s sweet potato fries. I got a strawberry and cream cheese fried pie to take home. I ate it about an hour later and it was fabulous. I’d like to go next time just for dessert. The portions I saw other people get we’re huge!

«Everybody knows a little place like Kokomo
Now if you wanna go to get away from it all
Go down to Kokomo» — Beach Boys 1988
If you’ve ever searched for the mythical Kokomo from the Beach Boys song, you know that it doesn’t exist on a map; however, I know a little place.
I’m not sure how languid beach getaways and a 50’s diner come together. Maybe it’s somewhere between «Beach Blanket Bingo» and «Blue Hawaii». Kokomo’s 50’s Diner is between the towns of Selmer and Savannah, Tennessee.
Placed in a brightly colored cement block building off of HWY 64 in Adamsville, TN is the coolest, quaint 50’s diner I’ve been to in quite some time. I’m a big fan of 59 Diner in Houston, TX and I will not compare the two!
Kokomo’s is clean. Pink flamingos are kept to a minimum and between the 50s era regalia are photos of Kokomo patrons having fun, pictures courtesy of the owner I’m told. It’s difficult to be objective when a picture of your 99 year old great aunt, about to dig in to a Strawberry shake, in a traditional fountain glass with whipped cream and sprinkles, is on the wall, next to an almost life size Elvis picture marking the men’s restroom. The restaurant is FUN. It has a life of its own. There has been great attention to detail; detail that tells of a labor of love.
Burgers, small but spot on. Fried green beans, spicy curly fries, sweet potato fries… all good. The green beans are a new favorite of mine. Give me a basket and a diet coke and I’m good to go, but don’t forget the ranch dressing.
Perhaps it’s because the dessert options are nearly double the size of other food options, or because I wanted to feel as giddy as many of the ice cream covered faces of kiddos in pictures on the walls, I knew I wanted dessert! I asked the owner if the Butterscotch, Caramel or Peanut Butter Shake would have the most flavor. She answered, hands down, the Peanut Butter Shake. This confirmed my suspicion and oh heaven! Fortunately, the shake came out while Dad still had curly fries. Salty. Sweet. Salty. Sweet. Pure diner goodness.
Future trips to Tennessee will require a visit to Kokomo’s 50’s DIner. It’s comfort food, it’s fun.
Note: Don’t be in a hurry. If you are, call in and order ahead.
«Ooh I wanna take you down to
Kokomo, we’ll get there fast and then we’ll take it slow
That’s where we wanna go, way down in Kokomo.»