Mary Mac's Tea Room
Atlanta, GA
Photo courtesy Kevin Powers

Check out the neon sign outside of Mary Mac's Tea Room. Mary Mac's is a classic southern eatery that has been in business in the Atlanta, GA area since 1945. According to the Mary Mac's Tea Room website, the restaurant uses the name "tea room" because back in the 1940's, it wasn't common for a female restaurant owner to open up a "restaurant". Many thanks to Kevin Powers for info. 02-09

The sign at Mary Mac's Tea Room has been welcoming hungry customers for generations, its bright arrow pointing the way to one of the city's best-known Southern restaurants. Atlanta once had more than a dozen of these tea rooms, but Mary Mac's is the last one still serving customers. Over the years it has grown from a small neighborhood eatery into a true Atlanta institution, while still holding onto the charm that made it famous.

The neon sign is reason enough to stop, but the food has been keeping people coming back for decades. Fried chicken, vegetables, cornbread, and other Southern favorites have made Mary Mac's a destination for both locals and visitors, and the restaurant has become as much a part of Atlanta as the street it sits on.

UPDATE: After a partial roof collapse forced the restaurant to close in 2024, Mary Mac's underwent extensive repairs and reopened in early 2025. The famous neon sign continues welcoming diners along Ponce de Leon Avenue. 08-26

Dailey's Downstairs (Gone)
Atlanta, GA
Photo courtesy Paul Bauke

Walking through downtown Atlanta, this sign almost makes you think you've stepped back a few decades. Daily's Downstairs may not have been an old business, but its neon certainly looked the part. Hanging along the sidewalk, the glowing sign had enough vintage style to catch your eye long before you reached the front door. 04-09

Despite appearances, Dailey's Downstairs wasn't a newcomer at all. It had been the street-level cigar and martini lounge beneath Dailey's Restaurant & Bar, a downtown favorite that opened in 1981. While the upstairs restaurant was known for fine dining, the downstairs lounge offered live jazz, exposed brick walls, and an atmosphere that made it a popular late-night stop.

Sometimes a great neon sign is all it takes to give a place some roadside personality, and this one certainly delivered. It looked like it had been lighting the streets of downtown Atlanta forever, even though it belonged to a much newer generation of businesses.

UPDATE: Dailey's Restaurant & Bar and Dailey's Downstairs closed in June 2009. The building remains, but the distinctive neon sign has since been removed. 08-26

Boudreaux's Back Yard (Gone)
New Orleans, LA
Photo courtesy Tony Craig

It takes a lot to stand out on Bourbon Street, but the sign at Boudreaux's Backyard managed to do just that. Featuring a cartoon Cajun fellow relaxing with food in one hand and a drink in the other, it fit right in with the fun, anything-goes atmosphere of the French Quarter. You almost couldn't help but smile as you walked past. 11-10

The shop sat right in the middle of Bourbon Street, surrounded by the music, crowds, and nonstop energy that make this part of New Orleans famous. While plenty of businesses relied on flashing lights to get your attention, Boudreaux's used a little humor instead. Sometimes a clever sign is all it takes to make a place memorable.

If you're strolling through the Quarter, it's details like this that make looking up just as much fun as looking in the shop windows. Around every corner there's another colorful sign, balcony, or neon display waiting to be discovered.

UPDATE: Boudreaux's Backyard has since closed, and the familiar cartoon sign has been removed from Bourbon Street. 08-26