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Graziano's Pizza
Pepperoni Roll + Pizza Bread — $18.49
You can grab a shrink-wrapped pepperoni roll at any WV gas station, but Graziano's bakes theirs to order — soft bread around sticks of pepperoni until the dough soaks up the spiced oil. Their own menu prices the made-to-order roll at $9.99; add a Pizza Bread at $8.50 and two people share a hot $18.49 spread. Two rolls is a photo-finish $19.98, and a 16-inch cheese pizza to split is $14.59 — every route works.
📍 14 River Walk Mall, South Charleston · ⏳ Tue–Sat 11–9 (closed Sun–Mon)
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Husson's Pizza
Junior Pepperoni Pizza + 2 Drinks — $11.99
The Kanawha Valley's homegrown pizza chain, and the best verified two-person deal on this page: Meal Deal #8 on Husson's own posted menu is a 12-inch junior pepperoni pizza with two medium Pepsis for $11.99. Prefer more pizza? The 18-inch large cheese — "largest Large in town," 12 slices — is $17.00, and two half-sub meal deals (5-inch sub, chips and a drink each) run $13.98. Watch the loaded pies: a large Deluxe is $29.50.
📍 301 36th St SE (Kanawha City) + 4010 MacCorkle Ave SW · ⏳ Check hours
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Ellen's Homemade Ice Cream
Two Soups — $12.50 · Wrap + Soup $14.50
The Capitol Street ice-cream maker is also one of downtown's cheapest lunches, and the math is straight off their own carryout menu: soup is $6.25, so two bowls are $12.50; a hummus veggie wrap plus a soup is $14.50; and the sleeper hits are a $4.50 pepperoni roll and a $4.75 grilled cheese. Save room — two small ice-cream cups add $9.90.
📍 225 Capitol St · ⏳ Mon–Thu 11–8, Fri–Sat 11–9, Sun 12–8
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Cozumel Express
Six Shredded-Chicken Tacos — $15.00
Capitol Street's quick-Mexican counter, priced off its own SpotOn ordering menu: shredded-chicken tacos are $2.50 each, so six of them — three apiece — land at $15.00. A cheese quesadilla ($8) plus a chicken quesadilla ($10) is $18.00, and Friday–Saturday birria tacos run $3.75. Honest note: the burritos and combo plates blow the budget, and two chicken quesadillas hit $20.00 on the nose — stay on the tacos.
📍 241 Capitol St · ⏳ Check hours
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Los Agaves
Two-Item Combo + Quesadilla — $18.70
South Charleston's 20-year Mexican standby, with the full menu posted on its own site: the build-your-own combo — any two of taco, burrito, enchilada, tamale, chalupa or tostada, with rice and beans — is $10.95, and a shredded-chicken quesadilla is $7.75, so two people eat for $18.70. The stealth play: à la carte steak burritos are two for $12.00. Two burrito bowls at $10.50 each break the cap by a buck — split differently.
📍 508 3rd Ave, South Charleston · ⏳ Mon–Thu 11–9:30, Fri–Sat 11–10 (closed Sun)
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Olive Tree Cafe & Catering
Two Mediterranean Sandwiches — $17.00
South Charleston's Mediterranean deli prices its whole menu on its own site: the Mediterranean Veggie sandwich is $8, the Mediterranean Chicken Salad is $9 — $17.00 for two — and the 7-inch Godfather runs $10. Prefer grazing? Falafel ($8), a small fatoush ($6) and a side of Olive Tree fries ($3) also total $17. Watch the salads: adding chicken, gyro or shawarma is $8 a pop and pushes a pair past the line.
📍 333 2nd Ave, South Charleston · ⏳ Check hours
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Pies & Pints
Small Grape & Gorgonzola — $14 (light meal)
Born in the New River Gorge, and the cult pick is still the grape-and-gorgonzola pie. But reprice alert: per their own menu the large 16-inch cheese is now $20.00 flat — exactly at the cap — and the large Grape & Gorgonzola is $26. The honest under-$20 route is the 10-inch smalls: Grape & Gorgonzola $14, White Pie $13, plain Pizza Pie $12. That's a light meal for two, not a feast — and add pints and all bets are off.
📍 222 Capitol St · ⏳ Sun–Thu 11–9, Fri–Sat 11–10
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Trivillian's Pharmacy & Soda Fountain
Slaw Dogs at a Pharmacy Counter — call for prices
A working pharmacy with a genuine old-fashioned soda fountain — perch at the counter for a slaw dog, a sandwich and a hand-mixed soda or shake. It's pocket-change territory by every account, but Trivillian's publishes no prices anywhere it controls, so we won't print a number. One quirk that matters: the fountain keeps shorter hours than the pharmacy.
📍 215 35th St SE (Kanawha City) · ⏳ Fountain: Mon–Fri 9–5, Sat 9–3 (closed Sun)
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Super Weenie
Downtown's Hot Dog Specialist — call for prices
Charleston's downtown hot-dog counter on Quarrier Street, and the highest-rated cheap eat in the city on Google (4.9 stars across 200+ reviews). This is where you get the full West Virginia dog — chili, mustard, onions and the non-negotiable slaw. Its only web presence is a Facebook page our checks can't read, so no prices to print — but hot-dog-counter math rarely hurts. Call ahead.
📍 805 Quarrier St · ⏳ Check hours · (681) 265-0055
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Suzi's Hamburgers
South Charleston Burger Stand — call for prices
An old-school burger-and-dog stand on MacCorkle Avenue that South Charleston has kept busy for decades — 1,400+ Google reviews at 4.6 stars says the neighborhood has voted. There's no website and no published menu anywhere Suzi's controls, so we can't print the math; the phone works fine, and stands like this are usually the cheapest real meal on the block.
📍 239 MacCorkle Ave SW, South Charleston · ⏳ Check hours · (304) 744-3111
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Quarrier Diner
Breakfast All Day Downtown — call for prices
A proper downtown diner open 8am–3pm every day of the week, with breakfast served the whole time — kielbasa hash, eggs Benedict, breakfast burgers, blue-plate specials and milkshakes. The full menu is on the diner's own site, but without a single dollar figure on it, so there's no math we can print. Diner pricing plus a 3pm close makes this a lunch play, not a dinner one.
📍 1022 Quarrier St · ⏳ Daily 8am–3pm
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The Grill
Fried Bologna & Onion Rings — call for prices
A West Side counter-service comfort joint that nails the Appalachian basics — a properly griddled fried bologna sandwich, hand-battered onion rings, and pineapple upside-down cake with ice cream to finish. It has no website at all, so there are no owner prices to print; everything we've seen suggests two eat cheap here, but a one-minute phone call beats our guess.
📍 117 Washington St W (West Side) · ⏳ Mon–Fri 11–8, Sat 11–4 (closed Sun)
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Gino's Pizza & Spaghetti House
WV Pizza Institution — check the app for prices
A West Virginia institution since the 1960s — square-cut pizzas, spaghetti and garlic bread, done family-cheap across several Kanawha County stores. Full disclosure: Gino's own site lists calories but no prices, and its ordering pages block automated checks, so we can't prove the math this month. Split a large one-topping and you're very likely under budget — verify in the app or by phone first.
📍 305 D St, South Charleston + other Kanawha stores · ⏳ Daily · check hours
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Best of Crete Deli
Greek Deli, Tue–Fri Lunch Only — call first
A family-run West Side Greek deli — gyros, spanakopita, Greek salads, baklava — open Tuesday through Friday, 11 to 6, and that's it. It publishes no prices anywhere it controls, and the delivery-app signals we've seen suggest two deluxe gyros could nudge past $20, so don't assume: call, order the regular gyro, and you're probably fine. Worth planning around the narrow window.
📍 816 Beech Ave (West Side) · ⏳ Tue–Fri 11–6 only · (304) 343-3292
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Dem 2 Brothers and a Grill
West Side BBQ & Soul Food — call for prices
Charleston's smoked-barbecue-and-soul-food favorite — ribs, brisket, pulled pork, mac and greens. Important update: the downtown second location on Summers Street closed in July 2026, so head to the original West Side stand, which is very much open. Their ordering page blocks automated price checks, so we can't print the math — the phone can.
📍 423 Virginia St W · ⏳ Tue–Sat 10:30–7 · (304) 400-4977
Places we priced for this update that didn't make the page — with the numbers, rather than quietly skipped:
Bigger than one storefront, smaller than the home-page national list — regional chains with real Charleston addresses.
These chain deals work anywhere in the country, including Charleston.
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Buffalo Wild Wings
Pick 6 Meal for Two — from $19.99, dine-in
The Pick 6 builds a shared meal for two — two entrées, two sides and two drinks, chosen across wings, tenders and sides — from $19.99 per the chain's own Pick 6 menu page (announced August 2025). The fine print matters: it's a rotating promo at participating locations, the base price is one cent under our cap, dine-in is the format, and any upgrade pushes past $20 — so ask whether it's running before you sit down. Charleston's store is in Southridge.
📍 2501 Mountaineer Blvd (Southridge) · ⏳ Rotating promo · dine-in
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Firehouse Subs
Snackers & Small Subs — prices vary by store
Founded by two firefighter brothers in 1994, with one Charleston store: #1016 on MacCorkle Ave SE, open daily 10:30–9. The budget plays are the $5-tier Snackers line and the small 4-inch Hook & Ladders — historically a comfortable two-for-under-$20 — but Firehouse's site renders empty to menu checks and prices genuinely vary by store, so we won't quote another city's numbers at you. Price your order in the app against store #1016 before you go.
📍 5707 MacCorkle Ave SE Ste 100 · ⏳ Daily 10:30–9 · prices vary by store
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Olive Garden
Weekday Lunch Menu — check current prices
The Southridge location is the closest thing Charleston has to a sit-down chain lunch bargain: Monday–Friday before 3pm, the lunch-sized pastas and soup-salad-breadsticks combos have historically kept two people near $20. But honesty first — Olive Garden's site renders empty to every automated menu check, so we have no current owner price to print. Check the app for this store's lunch pricing before you commit; at dinner, two entrées will clear $20 easily.
📍 111 Cross Terrace Blvd (Southridge) · ⏳ Lunch menu Mon–Fri to 3pm