Metro Diner of ‘Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives’ now hiring in Columbus
Metro Diner, the restaurant that tasted fame with its appearance on “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives,” is moving close enough to opening its Columbus location that hiring to staff the eatery is now under way.
The Tampa, Fla.-based company said Thursday it will employ more than 100 people at its 5524 Whitesville Road restaurant, which is the former Fuddrucker’s hamburger space at The Landings shopping center.
The 4,705-square-foot Metro Diner is projected to open by Jan. 16, according to Garrett Richardson, with Metro Diner’s marketing department, although that date could be tweaked based on completion of the build-out and equipment installation at the restaurant.
Metro Diner, which serves what it calls “classic comfort food with flair,” is now accepting applications for a variety of positions, which include assistant manager, kitchen manager, cooks, food preparation, servers, host and hostesses, table bussers and dishwashers. Those interested should fill out an application at metrodiner.com/employment. The site says the company offers “competitive benefits, paid vacation, and long-term career growth.”
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Metro Diner is a celebrity of sorts, having been featured in 2010 on “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives,” a popular Food Network road show hosted by bleach-blonde host Guy Fieri. The restaurant gained a following not only among locals, but tourists who had seen the segment.
Founded 25 years ago in Jacksonville, Fla., but now based in Tampa, Metro Diner serves a dinner and lunch menu that includes a meatloaf plate, chicken pot pie, metro pot roast, fried chicken and waffle, Charleston shrimp and grits, and fish and chips plate. There are nearly two dozen types of burgers and sandwiches, salads, soups and sides, as well as a menu for kids.
The breakfast menu also has fried chicken and waffle on it, along with breakfast pie, biscuits and sausage gravy, steak and eggs, huevos rancheros, omelettes, various types of Eggs Benedict, griddle waffles, breakfast sandwiches and a category called “eggs galore.”
“We serve breakfast, lunch and dinner all day, everyday,” Metro Diner marketing director Crafton Bryant said in a previous interview. “We’ve got these dishes that kind of bring you back to your childhood, the meatloaf, the pot pie, that are these really classic comfort food dishes. But then we have fried chicken and waffles. There’s fresh meat and strawberry butter. We serve the fried chicken with sweet and spicy syrup. So it’s a very hearty portions, delicious food, all made from scratch.”
Since the Food Network appearance, Metro Diner has been growing steadily and adding new locations. It opened a location in Macon, Ga., in late July and another in Birmingham, Ala., in late August. The company now has more than 40 active and future restaurant locations.
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This story was originally published December 7, 2017 at 2:25 PM with the headline "Metro Diner of ‘Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives’ now hiring in Columbus."