Eat at The Arcade Restaurant, Memphis, Tennessee

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Martin Luther King, Jr., knew the Arcade on S. Main Street as a 24-hour diner, and he probably ate here when in town since he stayed at the hotel across the street. The night he was assassinated in April 1968, the owner, Harry Zepatos, had to quickly find a locksmith to lock the doors so they could close during the pursuing riots. The police asked them to reopen because they had nowhere else to eat. Zepatos’s father, Speros Zepatos, founded the restaurant in 1919 after arriving from Greece, and today it’s run by third-generation Jeff Zepatos, claiming to be Memphis’s oldest restaurant. You’ll find the best of southern fare, including breakfast all day—and you may spy something else on the menu: fried peanut butter and banana sandwich (bacon optional), which Elvis used to eat in his special spot by the back door.

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