Country cooking with a culinary twist. That's what you'll find in a recently opened diner in Huntington.
9th St. Diner is owned by chef Joel Hamilton.
"My dad always wanted me to do this since I went to culinary school," said Hamilton, who worked as a chef in fine dining for several years. "Some dads and sons build a car. We built a restaurant."
The diner is also a step back in time for people in Huntington.
A wall is covered with memorabilia and a counter top is a bowling lane from the old Colonial Lanes Bowling Alley.
"If you want a good source of history of Huntington, we have a map of the region from the 60s. It's just a good vibe of the Huntingtonian," Hamilton said.
Hamilton said he combines his culinary skills with country cooking.
"I try to put a lot of what I learned from culinary school from fine dining into country-style cooking. I've been making bread 15 years," he said.
One of the "go to" sandwiches is the hot ham and cheese with hand cut fries.
"It's almost like hillbilly hibatchi style hot ham and cheese sandwich," Hamilton said. "The cheese makes it's own sauce, and you'll need a fork because it's messy."
The 9th St. Diner also caters to the popular "9th Street Live" music event in downtown Huntington once a week.