End of a Long Line ... Outlasting EVERY other Howard Johnson's Restaurant in Virginia, Lexington was the last in the state. It served a final meal to the last HoJo's guest on September 30, 2001.

Apparently its last owner, Lex-Ex, had sold the complex in the early 2000s and its new owners did not see any value in keeping the restaurant a HoJo's. Interestingly the site was not remodeled or even disguised except that a new sign was posted proclaiming that the eatery was called the Hilltop Diner.