Michiana's Menu: South Side Soda Shop brings a retro diner with a modern twist

GOSHEN, Ind. -- This week on Michiana’s Menu, we’re taking you out to a nationally-recognized, retro diner, with a modern twist. So iconic, it even gets a stamp of approval from celebrity chef Guy Fieri.

Welcome to South Side Soda Shop, a Goshen staple that is famous for its old school feel and made-from-scratch comfort food classics.

Most items on the menu are homemade in-house including all of the pies. The kitchen cooks up anywhere from 12 to 30 a day! The lemon meringue ranks number 1 in all of Michiana.

Then, there’s the highly-acclaimed chili kicking its winning streak up a notch. All of the recipes date back decades and offer customers a timeless taste of tradition.

“We have people from the 40’s the diner opened in 42, we have people bringing in children and grandchildren and sharing the experience they remember from the 40s and 50s,” says Nick Boyd, owner.  

Nick and Charity Boyd first opened South Side Soda Shop in 1986. Another diner sat in its spot back in the 40s, until years before they moved in. Now, young or old, this diner just on the corner of main street, will always mean something. Especially for people like Ruth who have been regulars before it even became South Side!

“I have been coming here ever since I was a teenager,” says Ruth. “I am living in an assisted living now, and they said they were going to bring me here and I said yes!”

Here, everyone becomes family. The Boyd’s two daughters grew up working in the Soda Shop and now their own children are doing the same.

“Part of what makes the soda shop special is not only the food and the atmosphere, but really the community that we created in Goshen, we have wonderful customers that eat here weekly or biweekly and they have been able to watch our family grow,” says Nicole Boyd Lehman.  

And similarly, to a family, they are all there for each other especially at a time when it is needed most.

“We were closed for five months when COVID started and we were getting telephone calls and emails from the community, um I am sorry um concerned about the soda shop and our family. We were concerned, but we knew this was not how the soda shop was going to end and the community came out and supported us”

At South Side--you can sense the love and appreciation…in the air…And in every bite of the philly cheesesteak, too.

You can find further information about how to visit here.