Jimmie's

Another destination for the Athens high schoolers with driver’s licenses and access to a car was Jimmie’s Restaurant at 839  Mercer Street in Princeton beside the Lavon Theater.

Sam/Said Mosrie (1899-1972) was born in Syria.  He and his wife Wadih owned and operated The American Cafe from the 1920s to the 1940s. In 1944 Sam’s cousin James Mosrie bought the restaurant, remodeled it and named it Jimmie’s Restaurant. Jimmie’s son Foued later ran the restaurant until it closed in the 2010s.

Jimmie’s served the regular family style meals, soups, salads and sandwiches. There was a jukebox and each table had a remote control where you could insert your coin, either 5 or 10 cents. It had the songs listed behind a glass covered front and two rows of buttons on the bottom A - K and 1 - 9 so you could pick which song you wanted to play.

At one time the Mosrie’s owned, operated or managed several restaurants and establishments on Mercer Street in Princeton and in Bluefield. They included Mosrie Quick Lunch, Central Grill and Billiards, Grand Hotel, Jimmie’s Restaurant, Courthouse Lunch, New Bridge Cafe and the Fair Hotel on Mercer Street.

Jimmie’s Restaurant stayed closed from the 2010s until  it was bought in 2022 by Kevin Hall who was a former chef at The Greenbrier Hotel. He remodeled it trying to keep it as close to the original as he could. 

If you get a chance to visit, “You’ll spot all of your classic breakfast, brunch, lunch, dinner, and dessert favorite diner dishes…plus a few brand-new dishes that will quickly become old favorites.” ---Jimmies Restaurant Facebook page.