The White Spot (North) Is Famous!

In May 2005, I was contacted by a Mr. Henry Mitchell of Chatham, VA, whose wife Patricia had just finished a short article on the White Spot for their dining guide of Charlottesville. During their research, they came across the White Spot (North) and were intrigued by my fascination with this little diner. After several e-mail exchanges, they asked if they could include my retrospective in their guide, which of course I was delighted to agree to. Please stop by and read my fuzzy memories when you get a chance.

The White Spot diner is the culinary mecca of Charlottesville, VA, where I went to school. It's a little hole in the wall just before the railroad bridge on The Corner, downtown Charlottesville's row of shops and restaurants across from the University. For me, the draw of the White Spot was that you could walk in at any time of the day or night and see a cross-section of Charlottesville: the cop on the beat, the mailman, and local small businessmen and townies. And they always greeted us college students with a warm, inviting smile.

The White Spot's gastronomic fare is centered around its famous grill, mostly burgers and fries and such. The Spot is known for the Gusburger (a cheeseburger with a fried egg on top) that was apparently invented years ago by a Dr. Gus, who would come over from the University of Virginia Hospital across the street and order one every day for lunch. Gusburgers have fed college students for decades.

But the pièce de résistance was breakfast featuring Nat Pritchett's world-famous sausage gravy. Nat learned how to make sausage gravy in jail, which just added a cachet to the experience for us. Sausage gravy was always served over toast with scrambled or runny fried eggs on top. Yeah, I know, it's a wonder we survived to graduation. But there's something to be said for a place you can walk into at any time of the day or night, order breakfast, and have no one ask any questions.


Test Your White Spot Knowledge

Here's a quick trivia quiz for my old college buddies to see if they can clear away the cobwebs of their memories. Good luck!

  1. How many stools are there in the White Spot?
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    Eleven.

  2. True or False: Counter jockey Fred Wood once shot himself in the leg while cleaning Pete Johnson's gutters.
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    True. You can't make this stuff up. Fred was cleaning Pete Johnson's gutters to earn a few extra bucks with a pistol holstered at his side and more than a couple of beers in his belly. He fell off the ladder and the pistol discharged into his leg. This was fodder for jokes for weeks, as I recall. Of course, Fred was also rumored to have signed up for a second tour of duty in Vietnam because a buddy of his dared him to.

  3. What was Nat's full name?
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    Nethaniel Bacon Pritchett.

  4. True or False: John Taylor's lifelong dream was to own the White Spot.
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    False. Although John did eventually buy the White Spot with Fred Shiflett from John's father-in-law Pete Johnson, his lifelong dream was to become a professional country/western singer. According to buddies who saw him perform, he was very good.

  5. True or False: Nat went to jail for something he didn't do.
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    True. He didn't pay his alimony. Get it!?! This was Nat's classic joke which somehow never ceased to be funny to us.

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