Phillips Grocery

Just as good as I remembered from 20+ years ago. Brought my husband to share in my memories. Good hamburger, fries and onion rings.

I was first introduced to Phillips by a former king of furniture manufacturing, an uncle who had played a major role in establishing the industry in the south in the ’40’s and ’50’s. When we drove him down to MS several years ago, for what would be his last visit to the place he knew so well, he asked that we stop in Holly Springs for a burger. I don’t think he’d been there in twenty years — and unlike everything else in this world, Phillips remained unchanged to a very appreciative old timer.
I’ve been back several times and have never been disappointed. The burgers are the best. Even the soft buns taste special. The soda pop is cold, the fries are simply seasoned, and I’m sure that if I ever have room for dessert, the pie would be amazing.
Here’s to things that never change!

Irked us today. Their sign says that they closed at 6PM but when we went in at 3:20PM they told us they were closing. That’s not cool.

Yum yum!

Now this is one neat place. Dust and cob webs on the store shelves, but a clean kitchen and hamburgers that melt in your mouth. Got us a couple moon pies for later and life is good.

Whenever I’m driving anywhere even remotely south of Memphis, my route always goes through Holly Springs. The building speaks for itself — I remember reading somewhere (correct me if I’m wrong) that way back when, it was a tavern that kept a handful of, shall we say, women of ill repute upstairs. What is it with burger joints that used to be brothels? Anyway, there’s a Civil War historical marker outside, and a beautiful old railroad depot that has a story all its own.
But as unique and interesting as all of that is, I don’t come here for the building. Phillips could be a clapboard shack in the middle of a field, and I’d still go out of my way for the burgers. They’re big, cheap, and the perfect blend of grease, toppings, and hand-​formed beef — better than any burger I’ve ever had in Memphis. I now consider onions, pickles, and mustard to be the holy trinity of cheeseburger toppings, and Phillips is the reason why. As other reviewers have mentioned, they also have glass-​bottled sodas, tater tots, and fried pies, which secures their place as just about the best old-​school comfort-​food restaurant in the world in my book. If you’re reading this in Memphis now, and you’re hungry, saddle up and head south on 78. It takes 45 minutes at most. You’ll thank me later.

Four visits now and we will keep coming back when we visit Memphis. It is an easy drive out for lunch and worth it. I can highly recommend the Fill-​up Burger but am already planning for the standard double burger loaded up well for next time. Get some fried okra and relax and enjoy.

Worth the trip from wherever you live on this planet. The atmosphere takes you back to another era — but not in a «cool, retro way» — in a real, timeless way. The standard burgers are served as nature intended — with pickles, onions, and mustard. They have tater tots. There’s a historic old railroad station house across the street. If I didn’t live on the other side of the country, I’d be there every week.

I had a big ham sandwich here for $ 2.45 – about the same price as the burgers. The other reviewers aren’t noting that this place looks like a simple sandwich shop from 1963. Or your grandfather’s dusty basement, especially if he was a collector of Coca-​Cola paraphernalia.

Delicious old school burgers just like my Nanny used to make when I was a little girl. I had the onion rings and my husband had the seasoned fries. Both were very tasty. We ate every bite and were stuffed. No room for a fried pie today. Next time!
One more thing, about the service… Friendly and fast, but they are not there to dote on you. So if you want a waitress dropping by your table every few minutes, you should go somewhere else. At Phillip’s, you order at the counter, pick a drink out of the cooler, and then return to the counter to pay when your order is ready for pick up.

This is the kind of place Triple D lovers love. It’s the epitome of a local joint that doesn’t look like much from the outside but is a really neat experience. They had good burgers and and a great atmosphere. It’s worth getting off 78 and trying to find this place… good luck with that.

Phillips was a lunch time excursion for burgers, and I think it’s worth the drive from Memphis. The burgers are just tasty, although mine was missing a lot of the nice crust that some other diners had. They’re certainly not small patties — listed as ¹⁄₃ pound, I think they’re probably every bit that, and someone else in my party that got the «double,» which listed as two ¼ pound patties, probably ended up with two ¹⁄₃ pound patties.
The clear winner here, though, is the Phil-​up. A ¹⁄₃^rd pound patty with ham and bacon added, two kinds of cheese, and really good veggies. I know that sounds funny, but the lettuce and tomato actually tasted like lettuce and tomato… not always the case anymore. If I was going back tomorrow (or any other day) the Phil-​up would be my go to standard. Also worth noting was that the fried okra is actually good. Could use salt, but not slimy like okra usually is. Let’s put it this way, if I can eat fried okra, you know it’s world class fried okra.
And the place is cute. Lots of Coca-​Cola memorabilia, some other assorted antiques and old signs, and it’s right across from the town’s train depot, which was raided and sacked by the Confederacy in the winter of 1862. So there’s a little history just across the street. This place is featured in «Burgers America,» so I’m a little surprised to see only three reviews as of this one.

It was interesting and fun. The hamburgers are from scatch and the fried pie was fun. If I really want a hamburger I’d probably pick it over McDonalds but I can’t say it was all that outstanding and the service was pretty glum.