Nan’s Restaurant was one of the restaurants that was listed in The Green Book for Atlanta. The Green Book was an annual guide created by Victor Hugo Green for Black travelers to use since segregation made travel difficult, and these businesses welcomed the travelers.
Built in 1958, the Dudley Motel provided respite for Black travelers along US Highway 80 in Dublin, Georgia. The motel hosted such luminaries as Andrew Young and Martin Luther King, Jr.
The Dudley family were prominent entrepreneurs in the community who developed not only the motel, but a cafe, gas station, mortuary, and cemetery for the African American community. For a thorough history on the family, and their history, please visit The Herbert “Hub” Dudley page. There are a lot of great photos there.
It was placed on the The Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation’s 2023 Places in Peril.
Herbert “Hub” Dudley was the son of Clayton and Katie Dudley, who started several businesses in Dudley. At the corner of Jackson and Truxton Streets, the family opened up a motel, gas station, and cafe to accommodate Black travelers.
Dudley opened up this space to provide food for the Black officers of the United Services Organization, hence the name “Retreat.” After the conclusion of World War II, Dudley continued to serve food, but now It was to the general public. Well-known acts such as Little Richard, Rosetta Tharpe, and James Brown stopped by the restaurant; sometimes, they entertained patrons. It was a full-service restaurant that offered such treats as fresh doughnuts, ice cream, and Coca-Cola.
