David Williamson, Jr. and W. T. “Dub” Massey, two of the Friendship 9 | Kaylin Dettman/Visit York County

One lunch counter connects the Civil Rights era to today

There is no single piece of furniture in the American South with a history as fraught as that of the lunch counter, but in Rock Hill one particular lunch counter has come full circle; instead of dividing a town along racial lines it now serves as a place for everyone to gather over good food. It has found new life as the centerpiece of Kounter Dining, and its story is as important to the restaurant as the food.

Kaylin Dettman/Visit York County, SC The preserved lunch counter.

On January 31, 1961, nine young Black men walked into McCrory’s Variety Store in downtown Rock Hill and sat at the lunch counter. The nine men were arrested and went on