The porch of the Kennedy Meadows Store (559 850-5647) is rightly celebrated as the Times Square of the PCT world. Aside from the store, there's very little for a hiker in this remote hamlet, the gateway to the High Sierra. No motels. Irelan's and Grumpy Bear's, the only food-service establishments in the area, are hit-and-miss according to PCT journals. Of the two, Grumpy Bear's seems the more reliable. (I didn't have a need to try either.) As of 2006, the store was running its own modest grill operation during peak hours and the the dinner shuttle between the KM campground, the store and Grumpy Bear's was not running.
If you need a full-service town, with real food and real beds, before the long haul into the southern Sierra, consider getting a ride waaaay down the hill into Ridgecrest. We found it to be a worthwhile detour.
