UPDATE 11/2021: The building that housed the Louis' Lunch restaurant that was featured in the Zippy strip is now the Daily Green, a vegetarian and vegan Restaurant.
The following information about Louis' Lunch is from the Gainesville Restaurants website:
Exploring Gainesville, one might believe that it has little history, at least in a culinary sense. It seems as though sometime around the mid-70's, some enterprising young fellows looked around, realized there were no restaurants, and finally opened a few.
And that's where Louis' Lunch comes in. Opened shortly before the Great Depression, a family business for about 80 years, this is a piece of Gainesville history. And it's also incredibly easy to miss. From Main Street and University, go South on Main Street, take a Left onto 5th Avenue, and Louis Lunch will be to your left on the corner of 2nd street and 5th Avenue.
In Gainesville's downtown before downtown eventually shifted and left it behind, it is now buried amongst houses. Normally a place such as this would go out of business. But they're doing something right, and that's keeping the locals coming.
Atmosphere:
It looks it's age. Don't expect a spotless stainless steel and white tiled floor sort of place. This is a burger joint. The burger goes down on an old flat top, and the fries are fried in a pot. This is old school, and it's awesome because of that.
Service:
Friendly. We went during a very slow time, but I can't imagine they would be any less friendly while it was busy. You go up to the counter to order and they let you know when the food is done. Pretty simple stuff.
Menu:
About what you would expect. Shakes, fries, a wide variety of burgers, onion rings, and other assorted goodies.
Food:
Delicious. The fries are not seasoned heavily, so if you enjoy them salty you might want to put some on yourself. They however are fresh, hot, and enjoyable.
The burgers are fried in such a way that the edges are crispy while the interior is still juicy. It makes for a delicious burger, with plenty of onion, lettuce, tomato, and mustard. This seriously is exactly what you want from a fast food burger. It's sloppy, a little greasy, but phenomenal.
The shake was very good, though not exceptional.
Price:
Incredibly cheap. Cost is not an issue here. Bring cash though.
Overall:
Go. This is part of Gainesville's history, one that relies on customers to stick around. Try it and realize why it's been around for so long.