Claremont Cafe

I used to love the burgers here until they changed to bun. Now the bun is bigger than the burger. Also, these people need to wear gloves. With all the food borne illnesses plaguing restaurants nowadays, I’d say it’s a good investment. More stars for improved sanitation.

A Catawba County institution that everyone must experience at least once. Locals swear by it, and many are raised on their food from birth. Everything is excellent and the staff is very friendly. Hamburgers, hot dogs, fish sandwiches, roast pork, onion rings are all favorites.

I grew up going to this little town café in Claremont NC. Burgers are hand patted daily. Slaw and chilli made from scratch daily. No matter what you get you will love it!

FREQUENT FLYER?
I used to work with a nice guy named, «David,» something or other — I forget. I have never been great with names; faces — yes, names — no. He raved about the cheeseburgers at Claremont Café. One day during lunch, two car loads of textile executives came here for lunch. That was in 1988. The food left such an impression on me, that today was my second visit…27 years later.
CHINESE FIRE DRILL ORDERING?
This place has no visual clues as to how one orders, pays, and gets one’s food. The place is just crammed full of locals, and everyone seems to know the drill.
I went in at 11:30 a.m. and took a seat at their «W» shaped lunch counter, which takes up waaaaaay too much room in the center of the restaurant. When I saw new arrivals placing their food orders, literally as one enters the front door, I got up and stood in line. Taking orders when one enters blocks the front door, so this is crazy. I asked a local what the process was, and he confirmed what I thought. He was basically, «how do you NOT know how to order here? Where are you from?» I told him that I was from the faraway land called Hickory. (15 miles away)
I placed my order for an all-​the-​way double bacon cheeseburger and a hot dog. An all the way burger here is the same as in many southern NC restaurants, which is basically hot dog toppings: mustard, chopped onions, hot dog chili, and coleslaw. I added a tomato for good measure. The employee, a female with one of those brown African earlobe gauges and a buzzcut, noted my request. She didn’t take my name, give me a number, ask me to pay, or anything. She said that someone would call out my order when it was ready, which is kind of a «loose» business practice if you ask me. I found the whole process somehow disconcerting.
HOW MANY PEOPLE CAN YOU CRAM INTO A PHONE BOOTH?
The occupancy sign says maximum of 75, but anything over 30 people standing in line (s) just makes this place a cluster **** to navigate.
Now keep in mind that all the «aisles» are no more than four feet wide. There is an impromptu line waiting to order, waiting to pay, waiting to get drinks, and waiting to pick up food orders. ALL of these people are standing, crammed together, blocking everyone else’s way.
And in the middle of it all is this HUGE «W» shaped lunch counter which desperately needs to be removed from the building. This place was NOT designed by a business school graduate, that’s for sure.
UNCERTAINTY RULES THE DAY
After about fifteen or twenty minutes waiting, I was fairly uncertain if I was going to receive any food at all. I was prepared to hate this place due to the sheer inconvenience of ordering and the darned crowd of people blocking everyone’s way.
THE EAGLE HAS LANDED
…and then my order was called, I paid $ 7.50 or so for an all-​the-​way double bacon cheeseburger (add tomato), a hot dog, and two canned sodas with a cup of ice. That price is more than reasonable.
BEAR IN MIND THAT THIS IS A *CASH ONLY* ESTABLISHMENT.
FLYING CHILI AND OTHER ASSORTED WEIRD THINGS
I grabbed a seat at their weird lunch counter and dug in.
The double bacon cheeseburger was ULTRA messy, twenty-​five white paper napkins messy, but DE-​licious. Chili, (hot dog type chili) was flying all over the place. The chili was greasy, and meaty, and it had a sweet taste which I found unusual, but it was a taste that I found pleasing.
The hotdog was nice as well. It was well made and contained plenty of mustard, chili, and onions. I have no earthly idea if it had coleslaw or not. I was blinding by all of the flying chili!!!
DRINKS? ASK CHESTY PULLER.
One gets their soda from an ice chest, which is alongside the lunch counter from Hades. The selection is Coke, Sun-​drop, Dr. Pepper, RC Cola, and I don’t remember after that.
MR CLEAN?
Their sanitation score today was 96.0%.
WHERE’S MY CAR, DUDE?
I parked on the street right next to the front door. Parking is free and there is plenty of it next to the restaurant, across the street, and behind the building.
SURVIVAL SKILLS?
I guess the trick to a place like the Claremont Café is to just dive into the deep end of the pool, and act as if you’re supposed to be there. Courtesy goes a long way here, especially since everyone is practically on top of everyone else, and one can hardly walk without bumping into someone else.
DENOUEMENT?
Was eating lunch here a hassle? Hell, yes. Was the food good? Hell, yes. Will I return before another twenty-​seven years passes? Probably so. Now that I know the drill, the hard part is over.

Cheap prices and great food… burgers are made fresh and not frozen yummy to die for…

For what it is, I have to rate is 4 stars. Know that before you come, your gonna go self serve, and your going to eat burgers, fries, tator tots, hot dogs, etc. The service piece isn’t quite clear, and it takes a few minutes to figure out you gotta serve yourself. Once you get thru that, order and get good, uphill from there. I had the double cheeseburger, loaded, and that it was. Didn’t realize we put chili in a burger when it’s «loaded». It was quite tasty, and the tots were very good. For local flare, this is a good choice. If you want fancy, not you place

Stopped in here yesterday because of a couple of reviews I had read. This is a bare bones, small town grill, with a hint of character, and a sense of better times. There are maybe 8 or 10 small, plain tables, and no counter seats.
You order at one end of the counter/​cooking area, just as you get in the door, and then proceed past the cooking area to pick up, and pay for your order — there is no table service.
The hot dog is not one I would order again, in fact, I left most of it uneaten — chili was sweet with too much of a tomato taste. Now, the cheeseburger was very, very good, and every morsel was consumed with gusto. It was nice and greasy, good size, and nice flavor. The fries were serviceable, no more. The prices are very reasonable.
Bottom line: if I were in Claremont, and wanted a cheeseburger, I’d stop by, but that’s about it.

Holy Cow — where has this gem been all my life. I just went today for the first time and had an amazing Pork Burger with Sweet Tea that was just right. I loved the ambiance, great local flavor.
Burger lovers and purveyors of fine divey diners across America don’t wanna miss out on this joint.
Me, myself, my Mother and Father and I all ate for $ 11. No Kidding.

Claremont, NC is a small town an hour west of Charlotte. The café resides in the middle of town and is, as far as I know, a family operation that has been running strong for at least a couple of generations. This is a prime example of classic American culture. This is a spot where neighbors, families, and friends come to eat breakfast and lunch and will most definitely see a friendly face.
For starters, the sweet tea is divine. Like Grandma would make it with a gallon of sugar. They also have Cheerwine which is a Carolina treasure. Try it. You’ll love it.
The food consists of hotdogs, burgers, chili, tomato sandwiches, ham sandwiches, liver-​mush (scrapple to some), breakfast sandwiches and a countless variety of other delicious choices. Everything is delicious and made just right. Killer tater tots and fries.
My Mom moved to Claremont years back and every time i’m in town I have to get my fix. It’s sooooo good.
Did I mention that it is super inexpensive. Word.
Awesome! Incredible!