This whimsical menu cover of a Queen Bee and her King Bee larking about on the hexagonal cells of a honeycomb was the front cover of the menu of a chain of beloved diners in North Carolina.

They were owned by Yates Louis (YL) Honey who started his career in the 1930s by opening an ice cream shop in Winston-Salem. In 1935, he opened the Green Gables restaurant in Gastonia and, along with his brother-in-law Salem Suber, another Green Gables in Charlotte.

YL, as he was known to his friends, went on to establish the Minute Grill, Charlotte’s first drive-in, and in the 50s or early 60s it evolved into Honey’s. In the 60s and 70s, there were further Honey’s locations in Chapel Hill, Greensboro, Gastonia and Durham.

The last Honey’s, owned by Buck Dickerson who had started as a waiter and became a manager before acquiring the restaurant with his brother, closed in 2013.

 Hordes of loyal customers came to say goodbye and sit for one last time in the dark green booths, including one couple who drove 11 hours from Ohio for a final meal.