Watch: Crowds Gather for Final Day of Edna’s #1

Columbia, S.C. (WOLO) — Customers packed the parking lot of Edna’s #1 on Thursday for the restaurant’s final day.

Fast food favorites and countless memories is what kept customers coming back to the Midlands staple for more than five decades.

Raymond and Edna Schumpert opened the iconic eatery in 1959.

The couple’s granddaughter Christina says their hard work and good food was the recipe for success.

Christina tells ABC Columbia, “This was their life. I mean, my grandmother worked up here until she couldn’t anymore. My grandfather, I mean, this was his bread and butter his home away from home.”

The business has continued cooking through many changes over the years, but after a difficult loss last year the family has decided to stop serving

“With him dying and passing away and my grandmother they decided it’s probably best to let it go. Losing it is kind of like losing a piece of them too,” explains Christina.

That sadness is shared by the Columbia community who have come to love Edna’s #1 for more than the food.

“The staff, they’re down to earth good customer service, very warm and receiving. It makes you want to keep coming back,” says long time Edna’s fan Wanda Hymes.

A staff and family who say they’re forever grateful for the customers they’ve served.

Christina says, “My grandparents would be so proud they would be ecstatic, they know that they served the community well.”