Tucked in the back of a Kingstree truck stop, a food counter spawns a line around 11 a.m. Attire ranges from jeans to suits and scrubs, hinting at occupations.
No matter one’s profession, George’s Truck Stop is the place to be for lunch in Kingstree. After trying the food, it’s easy to understand why. Carving into the baked chicken, spooned with an extra barbecue bath before landing in a Styrofoam container, reveals tender white and dark meat, clinging to the bone.
Juice drips onto grains of seasoned rice, charged by bits of sausage. I find myself scooping up bite after bite faster than anticipated. Chatter fills the counter where lunches are ordered.
Behind a clear display, co-owner BJ Canavati helps build plates and sharpie prices on the top of containers. Scribbled scrips exceeding $10 are few and far between. Serving Kingstree residents Southern food for the last dozen years, George’s Truck Stop is one of a few landmark South Carolina establishments tucked inside a gas station or convenience store.
BJ Canavati checks in on customers Hardy Brown and Karen Brown at George’s Truck Stop on May 17 in Kingstree. Canavati and his brother own George’s Truck Stop which has a full restaurant in the back. “Everyone can sell gas, not everyone can cook food.
” He said. These destinations — some decades-old — are affordable, and they’re becoming harder to come by each year that passes. For residents of towns that surround the state’s biggest cities, home just wou.