Beacon Drive-In

I had the same experience Posted by sjledford May 29, 2013. Terrible, probably the worst onion rings I have ever had. Please do not take it from a local, think twice if you are planning to drive out of your way to check this place out.

Huge portions. Classic small town burger joint.

This was by far one of the worst dining experiences of my life! The place was filthy, staff was rude, food was dripping with grease...literally dripping!!! Ordered a burger "a plenty" and the fries were soggy and the onion rings had grease dripping off of them, saturating the burger underneath! Never again will I eat here!!! Very disappointing!

Take it from a local, the Beacon is truly an experience and the food is true Americana drive in style. There are many selections and most have a favorite after trying so many. First, you must understand that your fries will not be crispy unless you ask for them that way. Truly, you want something a certain way, ask for it. Be prepared because ordering can be a little intimidating. It is "Call it" and "Walk on". The pace they set can be very quick. They work hard to serve. Keep in mind about your side orders, the fries and onion rings will be cooked in oil and we locals love it that way. This is why you see so many comments about being crowded. We love the atmosphere, but we are there for the food. Yet, a local will tell you themselves, they can only eat the Beacon every so often because of the "Grease" quotient. Don't want the grease, don't order the fries or onion rings. Another local point of view, the hamburgers are not their best offering. It is just an item on the menu. The most popular is the Hash sandwich or the Slice sandwich. Both can sometimes be a little dry (every day can't be perfect) so ask for heavy/extra sauce. For visitors passing through, this place requires many visits to find your favorite sometimes. Finally, there is the tea. The tea is wonderful if you like a little lemon to it. They also have a couple different flavors especially if you buy it bottled in the store. I have had a store bought selection and it is good, but often tea can go sour sometimes in the bottling process. The real deal is getting it fresh from the restaurant which you can buy by the gallon made that day. So, if your looking for your meal to be like McDonald's or your service to be like a fine restaurant, just keep on moving, this place is not for you. If you love real Diner style food, then be ready for the experience and the atmosphere. Take time to talk to the people. Most will have good stories about coming to the Beacon since they were young.

Went on a friday night, they were hosting a car show, AWESOME CARS. The place was packed. I thought I would be there forever. I was surprised at how fast the line moves. They have this down to a science. Every person behind the counter was concerned about getting my food to me as quickly as possible. I got the cheeseburger and fries, again Awesome. The lemonade was perfect. Worth the trip.

We were visiting family in the Spartanburg, SC area and since I am a huge DDD fan, we visited the Beacon on Friday, 8/10. Well, the ordering experience is about as good as it got. I enjoyed the counter person saying "walk talk" while giving my order. I had the Chili Cheese Burger with onions and it was so so. The fries and onion rings were not so great at all. They need to be cooked a little longer as they were flimsy and way too greasy. The best thing that I had was the sweet tea and the sweet potato tots.

"A Plenty"... plenty of grease.  Fries were not crispy at all were just soak on oil.  Onion rings were ok but really greasy too. Thumbs down for me.

I love it! The food was excellent!

I fully concur that this place is all about the experience. We were there on a busy Friday evening with JC yelling out the orders. That alone warranted a bonus star for my rating. Otherwise the food was OK but unremarkable. I had BBQ hash and my wife tried a grilled pimento cheese sandwich, both ‘a plenty.’ The ‘a plenty’ gimmick makes an already greasy dish downright soggy with grease. The sweet tea, though, was superb. We would stop in again the next time we’re in Spartanburg, but only if it was on another busy summer night. The menu has a lot of options. And I’ll know better than to order my meal ‘a plenty’... and to have some Tums handy. 

I worked 2 blocks from the Beacon for 7 years.  I ate there my first day of work.  It was awful.  A year later I thought I hit them on a abd day.  It was sickening.  I waited two years before being coaxed ito it again.  I fell ill  This stuff is not meant to be eaten by humans.

The best sweet tea I've found in the USA

My husband and I visited in January 2010 while on a Triple D weekend road trip. It is a greasy spoon drive-in, but it is really more about the experience. It was PACKED on Saturday night. People were huddled in the corner, deciding before they stepped up to order...because once you get to JC you MUST tell him what you want. lol. We ordered a burger a plenty. It was ok. BUT, the fried chicken was the best we've ever eaten. AND, we ordered fried hush poppers, which are like cheddar jalapeno hush puppies. they were great! We the fried chicken and hushpoppers so much we wanted to go back the next day, but they are closed on Sunday. It IS greasy drive in food, but we LOVED it! (Of course, JC made the experience. The owner saw us taking pictures and asked us where we were from. He didn't believe me when I said we had driven 4 hours to eat there. He gave us t-shirts. :) )

I stopped into the Beacon on my way from Charlotte to Atlanta, and part of me thinks I may have been better off not making the side trip. I arrived around 2:30, JC wasn't there.. disappointment. the fries and rings on my burger A-Plenty were kinda soggy and greasy. another disappointment. the sweet tea was delish, and I bought some to take with me. I might stop on my way through the area again to give it another go, I just hope that its better

food and service at the beacon is terrible.

This place is more about the experience than the food.  A basic greasy spoon known for the atmosphere and JC.  Burgers are memorable...  Don't miss it if you are in town!

Maybe we picked the wrong day to eat at the Beacon, but the food was awful.  The onion rings were cold and greasy and the hamburger had been sitting for a while before served to us....it too was cold.  The malt however was good....cold as it should have been. Needless to say we will not be going back there.

The fifth stop on our 2010 Triple-D family vacation tour took us to this out of the way local drive-in.  The atmosphere was fun starting with J.C. and his famous “Call-It” yell.  If was difficult to make a decision with their extensive menu.  My wife and I split the half fry “A-Plenty”. The chicken was cooked to perfection, juicy, and full of flavor.  The french fries were perfectly cooked and even though the onion rings had lots of flavor they were soggy.  The sweet tea was out of this world and I had to force myself to stop after three full glasses.   The chicken fingers, no trim, were cooked in a different batter than the fried chicken and were seasoned just right and were also delicious.  Our third entree was the club sandwich which had the perfect amount of each ingredient and was good down to the last bite.  We were very happy that we made this pit stop on our way down to Atlanta.         

from the guy yelling the order in to the sweet tea, not to mention the burgers. This is the perfect food if your hungry. I touched down here on a cross state trip with my Scottish mother. Great place if you want the true Americana experience.  

Locally famous, but food isn't memorable. 

I remember eating at the Beacon as a kid for the year we lived in Spartanburg. The onion rings were always awesome and the burgers were large and flat if I remember. The memory that is most prevalent are the bags of onions used to create a line, the sweet iced tea and a dude yelling "Chili cheese!" As a kid the chili looked too greasy and scary in a giant pot but I now regret not getting it. I also remember the Hog Sundae- 10 scoops of ice cream and a bunch of toppings!

I went there for the first time in years. Loved it. Had my normal chili cheese-a-plenty, and it's just as delicious as I remember.

Try finding something on the menu that isn't good. You just can't do it. From the fried chicken livers to the sliced pork sandwich, you just can't find anything that doesn't make your mouth water. The chili cheese burgers are to die for. Order a plenty and you have a belly busting meal. If you are driving past Spartanburg, you have to divert to The Beacon.

I remember going to the Beacon as a kid.  Anytime we were close to Spartanburg, we would have to stop.  Good old fashioned food!

you haven't lived until you have a chlicheese a plenty and for desert a pig's dinner

You want Old School Drive In excitement? Well, here it is so come and get it! Vegas

   Everyone there was very friendly. When you go, be sure you are hungry, you get a lot of food for your money. We got there just before dark, so it wasn't crowded, but there looked to be plenty of seating indoors & out. It was a nice August evening, so we ate out on the large patio. It is not one of the slick, & polished franchised places, & that of course is why it was featured. But it was all good, and if we are ever nearby again, we will be back.