Wings was launched in 1929 by Brown & Williamson as a popular ten-cent economy brand. Wings cigarettes were a product of the Great Depression. While regular cigarettes cost 25¢ for two packs, Wings packs sold for 10¢ each

The pinball machine is a Bally 41 "Derby," made in 1941. The war had stopped any new machines from being made until 1946.

https://www.ipdb.org/machine.cgi?id=3057

In many states, dance halls were considered venues that offered live entertainment or social dancing, which often required special permits or licenses distinct from those needed for cafes or restaurants.

These licenses were more restrictive than those for cafes, and could regulate things like hours of operation, crowd control, and sometimes even the types of music played.

I don't know about the 1940s in Virginia, but it may be that the sign was just a legal formality, so that the owner of the diner could reasonably claim that the establishment was NOT a dance hall.

Dynamics between the two at the foreground is "movie like".

The cafe is equipped with a jukebox, but apparently for listening only. The juke is out of the frame but is apparently a Packard "Pla-Mor" and we can see the matching wall speaker and a pair of wallbox-type selectors mounted on the counter. Packard (no relation to the car company) was one of the smaller players in the jukebox game.

[The Two Jukes are on the counter. - Dave]

There's so much good here (from left to right, top to bottom):
- Coca-Cola ad.
- Blackout blockage on the top three panes of the window?
- "No dancing" (of course).
- BC Headache Neuralgia Powders promotion (as a pendulum!)
- On the wall, traces of dirt/tobacco where the two-by-fours are revealed as a result of minimal wall insulation, limited cleaning (if any), and "smoke 'em if you got 'em" habits.
- Flipped-up back of the brim of our pinball wizard, quite the fashion plate.
- "41 Derby" pinball game.
- "Just in case" tires by the pinball game. It's wartime, and tire rationing is in force.
- The dreamy look on Noah Booher's face. How many more miles to go?
- Hats!

Enjoy!

It seems like a lot of trouble to put in at least two-coin operated receptacles along the bar so you could select a song to be played from the speaker mounted in the corner. And, does your hard-earned nickel get priority over the nickel that's in the pinball machine? Because the guy who spent his hard-earned nickel there will want to keep playing, creating an unharmonious blend. And, if the pinball player wins an extra game, is he not allowed to dance a little jig in celebration?

For all the manly trappings in this photo, the two bowls along the bar are surprisingly pretty, with scalloped bases and flowers on the side. Those must be from the tearoom down the road that shut down.

The cellophane revolution has reached U.S. Route 11, where a rich variety of stale industrial baked goods can now be sold in hygienic packaging to the driver on the go. This includes Merita bread (still in production, it seems), which was the subject of some bizarre early Jim Henson commercials.

What a great picture. Although I don't understand why there is a set of tires in the diner.

... before Sam and Ben ever dance again with some photographer hanging around.