All photos by IsaacCropsey.com
A DELICIOUS DILEMMA ON EASLEY BRIDGE
On the corner of Easley Bridge Road and Washington Avenue sit two restaurants, side by side. They both have similar menus and precisely the same name—Clock—but they are two entirely different businesses with two different owners.
How did this happen? The Saltbox team had no choice but to eat lunch and dinner at both of them to try to unravel the mystery. It was delicious.
We love them both. (We love everyone on the West Side.) But our experience led us to connect with one of the owners in particular—a guy who just goes by “Jimmy.”
If you’ve lived in Greenville for a while, you’re probably familiar with our many Clock diners. There’s the Clock drive-in by Bob Jones University, one near Haywood Mall, and the Big Clock of Berea—It feels like they’re everywhere!
But nowhere is that more true than Easley Bridge Road, where two different Clocks are next-door neighbors.
If you go into either of the Clocks and ask about the phenomenon, you’ll get pretty much the same answer: “That’s a long story.”
Even if you press, you won’t get much further than that. “People ask us all the time why there are two—we’re used to it,” said Jimmy, when I asked if I was bothering him with my questions.
After a couple of visits to both Clocks, all we really know is that the Clock closest to the corner, with the sign that says “Clock #5,” was the original Clock. It started in 1959 and was owned by Jimmy’s father. Today, it’s owned by Jimmy himself. The land behind it was bought sometime later by someone who was close to Jimmy’s father, and they started their own Clock.
One can speculate as to why the second restaurant started—there are various theories floating around Reddit—but for us at Saltbox, the end of the story is more fascinating than the beginning. Because the end of the story is this: Clock diners are so beloved by Greenvillians that both Clocks are thriving, serving customers all day, every day.
And at the original Clock—the one we really connected with—you’re served by Jimmy, who has put his heart, soul, and time into the restaurant.
He’s there day and night greeting customers and prepping food. They have a solid group of regulars, who dine in, a steady stream of take-out customers, and plenty of orders coming in from services like DoorDash and Uber Eats.
Sure, sometimes people get confused by the two-Clock situation. For example, once in a while people ordering online think they’ve ordered from one Clock, when really it was the other.
When that comes up, Jimmy clarifies by calling his restaurant “the bottom Clock,” since the other Clock in the next parking lot sits a little higher up.
When it comes to the bottom Clock, the best word to describe it is “classic.” It’s the original Clock on that street corner, and everything about it feels original—from the letter board menu to the glass lamp shades hanging over the tables.
There are huge windows that connect customers to the busy street corner and let in natural light. Local sports teams like Clemson are highlighted on the walls, and there are a couple of image machines you can play for a quarter or two by the register.
Everything is as clean as can be, but it carries the comfortable, comforting feel of a nostalgic 1950s drive-in.
What’s also classic is Jimmy’s friendliness. Jimmy took ownership 25 years ago, and he has some loyal fans.
As we were interviewing him, a couple waiting for takeout chimed in and said they’d been eating there for 20 years. When we came in asking questions and taking photos, he was kind enough to give us a smile, some sodas, and a couple of stories.
One thing we learned in our research is that some Clock diners focus on drive-in food, while others lean more toward meat-and-three offerings.
The “top Clock” seems to focus on the latter, while Jimmy’s Clock focuses on the former. Jimmy serves classic American food—burgers, chili dogs, sandwiches, fried chicken, and onion rings. All the classics, made to order.
We recommend that you run, not walk, over to the bottom Clock for the onion rings—and add a cherry milkshake to your order for dessert. You’ll make Jimmy’s day.
