| Weaver D's Delicious Fine Foods | |
|---|---|
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 The restaurant's sign in 2006 | |
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  Location within Georgia | |
| Restaurant information | |
| Established | May 1986 |
| Owner(s) | Dexter Weaver (original) |
| Food type | Soul food |
| Dress code | Casual |
| Street address | 1016 East Broad Street |
| City | Athens |
| County | Clarke County |
| State | Georgia |
| Postal/ZIP Code | 30601 |
| Country | United States |
| Coordinates | 33°57′31″N83°22′02″W / 33.958710°N 83.367324°W |
| Seating capacity | 40 |
| Other information | Automatic for the people |
Weaver D's Delicious Fine Foods (colloquially known as Weaver D's) is a soul-food restaurant in Athens, Georgia, United States. Founded in 1986, replacing the former Riverside Cafe, [1] it came to international attention six years later when local band R.E.M. named its eighth studio album, Automatic for the People , after the phrase the restaurant's owner Dexter Weaver says to his customers instead of "you're welcome." [2] [3] [4] The restaurant is named Weaver D's as a throwback to Weaver's school days, when he was always at the end of the teacher's roll call. [1] It can seat 40 customers. [3] In 2007, the James Beard Foundation named it an American Classic, a designation given to small restaurants who provide "good, down-home food" and "unmatched hospitality." [5]
R.E.M. lead singer Michael Stipe, a regular customer at the restaurant, approached Weaver with Bertis Downs, the band's manager and attorney, to get permission to use the restaurant's slogan. [2] [3]
"We had been burglarized the night before and had already been struggling. I wasn't the juvenated person I normally am when I sat down with them. At first I thought they were salesmen. When they introduced themselves and told me what they wanted, I began to smile." — Dexter Weaver, 2017 [2]
The automatic for the people slogan was used later in 1992 by Al Gore during a presidential campaign in Athens. [3]
The star-shaped metal sculpture on the album's front cover, photographed by Anton Corbijn, was taken in Miami, but fans of the band came looking for it at the restaurant. [3]
At the height of its popularity the restaurant served around 300 lunches, [3] but it began to struggle financially from 2012, [5] battling against the possibility of foreclosure. [2] A worker came to shut off the restaurant's gas supply on September 28, but Weaver managed to defuse the situation. [6] Local residents rallied, donating money and bringing more customers to the restaurant. [2]
Another Athens band, the B-52s, are also fans of the restaurant. "I once sent food to them in Reno by FedEx," explained Weaver in 2003. [3]
Weaver was born in Athens in 1954 and grew up in Baltimore, Maryland. He returned to Athens in 1980. [1] In 1999, he released an autobiography–recipe book titled Automatic Y'all – Weaver D's Guide to the Soul. [3]