Boston Globe does 10 Worcester(built) Diners

Looks almost like The Boston Globe did a take on Diner Hotline’s top 10 Diners of Massachusetts from last July (see http://dinerhotline.wordpress.com/2009/07/20/diner-hotlines-top-10-massachusetts-diners-part-1/) with their article in the New England travel section today entitled “Ten diners stamped Worcester”  http://www.boston.com/travel/explorene/massachusetts/articles/2010/
03/07/ten_diners_stamped_worcester/

The difference being all the diners they chose were Worcester Lunch Car diners.

Ten diners stamped ‘Worcester’

by Patricia Harris and David Lyon

Rescued or refurbished, serving breaksfast or after the bars close, these lunch cars vintage 1907-57 still cook on all burners

The eight most comforting words in the American vernacular must be, “Can I warm that up for you, hon’?’’ Or so it seems when dawn is breaking, the grill is sizzling, and you’re hunched on a stool reading a newspaper over coffee.
Between 1907 and 1957, the Worcester Lunch Car and Carriage Manufacturing Co. built 651 diners. Only a fraction survive, but with their porcelain-enamel exteriors and real wood trim, they are as timeless as the reasonably priced comfort food on their menus. Here are 10 of them.

MISS WORCESTER DINER, Worcester

“I can’t believe how many people stand across the street and take pictures of this place,’’ says Mary Jane Simone, grill cook. “This diner has been sitting on this spot since 1948.’’ In fact, it was the showcase model for the Worcester Lunch factory across the street. Simone and owner Kim Kniskern brainstorm the inventive breakfast menu, which includes ethnic variations of eggs, home fries, and toast such as American (with steak tips), Polish (with kielbasa), and Polynesian (with fried Spam). Miss Woo regulars find the diner a comfortable groove. “I pretty much know what to throw on the grill when they come in the door,’’ says Simone. 300 Southbridge St., 508-753-5600. Breakfast $2-$7.95, sandwiches $2.25-$6.95, plates $6.95-$8.95. Cash only.

BOULEVARD DINER, Worcester

Thursday through Sunday nights after the bars close are the busiest times at this National Historic Landmark, says manager Lisa Carenzo. That and weekend mornings. Although it’s an all-night establishment (complete with glowing neon), the Boulevard rarely has the lonely feel of Edward Hopper’s “Nighthawks.’’ With just 14 stools and five vintage wooden booths, it’s always packed. Carenzo says the 1936 diner has been in her family since the 1960s; her grandfather had started as a dishwasher at age 12. Eggs, burgers, and tuna melts are on the menu, but regulars favor the lasagna, manicotti, and chicken parm sandwich. You can even get the meatballs, sausage, and sauce to go. 155 Shrewsbury St., 508-791-4535. Breakfast $4.65-$8.25, sandwiches $1.95-$6.95, plates $6.95-$11.25.

MORAN SQUARE DINER, Fitchburg

Owner Chris Giannetti can point out some rare vintage touches at his compact yellow-and-red diner, like the discreet brass and enamel plate that identifies it as #765 (which means it’s the 565th Worcester diner, since numbering began at 200). It was delivered to Fitchburg in 1940, and Giannetti has owned it for 16 years. He and his brother sanded and stained the oak panels to restore the interior wooden trim. Even his mother is involved. Giannetti handles the usual breakfast dishes, burgers, and sandwiches, but Mom makes the puddings, cobblers, and cakes. 6 Myrtle Ave., 978-343-9549. Breakfast $2.50-$6.75, sandwiches $2.25-$5.50.

BLUE MOON DINER, Gardner

In 2000, Jamie Floyd, formerly a waitress, traded her order pad for a grill cook’s spatula when she bought the Blue Moon (Worcester #815) and set about getting it listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Fifties memorabilia abounds and bygone stars make cameos on the menu. The Big Bopper breakfast, for example, includes eggs, toast, home fries, and a choice of homemade roast beef or corned beef hash. The Elvis burger is dressed with peanut butter and bananas. The wooden addition has the patina of age, but hardcore diner fans favor the 14 stools and five booths of the original dining car. Is it better to be an owner than a waitress? “The headaches are better,’’ Floyd says. 102 Main St., 978-632-4333, www.bluemoondinergardnerma.com. Breakfast $3.45-$7.25, sandwiches $3.95-$6.95, lunch plates

MISS MENDON DINER, Mendon 

Aficionados might remember this 1950 diner as northern Vermont’s Miss Newport. Car mogul Kevin Meehan rescued it from “a boneyard’’ and restored it to vintage glory as an amenity to his Imperial auto dealerships along Route 16. With re-chromed stools and a new entry crafted to match the original dining car, the Miss Mendon opened in January with an unusually extensive comfort-food menu. It’s already doing a bustling business, which shows that there’s no keeping a good diner down. 16 Uxbridge Road, 508-634-3000, www.missmendondiner.com. Breakfast $1.95-$10.95, sandwiches $4.99-$8.99, plates $8.95-$17.99.

CASEY’S DINER, Natick

Proof that good things come in small packages, 10-stool Casey’s is so compact that the entry is through a sliding door and there are no booths. There is, however, a window on one end, and cook-waiter Eric Slaney says, “Even when it’s 5 degrees outside, people are lined up at the takeout window.’’ Chances are they’re ordering either the diner’s famed steamed hotdogs or its juicy burgers. One of the oldest Worcester diners in these parts, it was built in 1922 and purchased by the Casey family in 1925. They’ve been running it ever since. Over the years the exterior has been reclad in wood, but the interior gleams with the patina of 85 years of good grub. 36 South Ave., 508-655-3761. Sandwiches $2.25-$3.90. Cash only.

FOUR SISTERS OWL DINER Lowell

Martha Kazanjian was 7 when her family bought the Owl in 1982, “but I tell people I was born in a booth,’’ she says. Kazanjian seems to know most of her customers by their first names, from the families who pile into the booths on weekends, especially after church, to the police and politicos who stop by for coffee on weekday mornings. No one leaves hungry. Grill cook Wayne Kasilowski says that “construction workers come in for breakfast so they can skip lunch.’’ Daily specials like American chop suey on Monday or baked haddock on Friday rarely change. “We have to keep on a schedule,’’ says waitress Kerrie Peasle, Kazanjian’s cousin. “The regulars are used to it.’’ 244 Appleton St., 978-453-8321. Breakfast $1.75-$10.50, sandwiches $5.50-$7.50, plates $6.25-$7.50.

LANNA THAI DINER, Woburn

This 1952 stainless steel and enamel beauty serves comfort food with a twist. Only open for lunch and dinner, the diner is dedicated to Thai street food. Instead of burgers and fries or eggs and hash, the kitchen whips up generous plates of pad thai and tamarind duck. Rather than banana cream pie, dessert might be deep-fried bananas wrapped in egg roll skin or ginger or green tea ice cream. Lanna Thai is one of the rare diners that specifies the heat levels of its dishes and proudly announces, “We do not use MSG.’’ 901c Main St., 781-932-0394, www.lannathaidiner.com. Plates $7.95-$9.95.

THE BREAKFAST CLUB, Allston

There might be a long wait for one of the six booths on a weekend morning, but this spacious 1954 stainless-steel diner has 20 stools, so you can belly up to the bar and watch the grill cook work a little magic as the waitresses stream in and out of the kitchen. While you await your order, you can scan the four large flat-screen televisions tuned to various sports channels. Pop culture memorabilia highlights the ’80s, the decade that gave us the teen angst movie for which the diner is named and the original “Diner’’ with a pre-degenerate Mickey Rourke. 270 Western Ave., 617-783-1212. Breakfast $2.99-$8, sandwiches $5.29-$7.49, plates $6.49-$12.89.

ROSEBUD DINER, Somerville

Walking into the Rosebud during the day is like stepping through a time warp to an era when the waitresses called everyone “dear’’ and “hon’ ’’ and the daily specials came with a terrific soup. Ask Helen DeFrancisco what kind of soup it is and she’ll say “good, homemade soup.’’ Although the Davis Square institution is known for its evening bar and music scene, the streamline restaurant section lives up to its billing as “Somerville’s home cooking diner since 1941.’’ Helen’s Famous Bloody Mary offers something of a variation on the theme. “I make my own hot sauces in four different flavors,’’ DeFrancisco says. “It started as a joke, but my customers wanted me to make them hotter. It just took off.’’ In fact, you can get one of Helen’s specialties at 8 a.m. six days a week. “On Sunday we can’t serve until 11,’’ she explains. 381 Summer St., 617-666-6015, www.rosebuddiner.com. Breakfast $1.25-$8.95, sandwiches $6.50-$7.95, plates $10.95-$16.95.

Notes from the Hotline, 3/6/2010

Photos by Kristen Nyberg to be on Display March 18, 2010

I have known of Kristen Nyberg (and been a fan of hers) for around two and a half to three years (since I’ve been on Flickr). Kristen is a very talented photographer currently residing in Marblehead, Massachusetts. She is also co-creator with Jill Rose of the very popular North Shore Dish, a blog devoted to providing a Web resource for restaurant and food information north of Boston, see….  http://www.northshoredish.com/.

When I first started checking out Flickr, Kristen’s photos immediately caught my attention. First of all she was shooting a lot of “roadside” stuff (local to the Boston area), but with a great eye for detail! You can view her Flickr photostream at http://www.flickr.com/photos/kristenlou/ to get an idea. Her subjects are not only limited to roadside and neon signs but include a whole range of subjects.

I asked Kristen in an email if the show was going to be a slide presentation and she replied… it’s a “gallery” type show, of mounted and framed photos. (Which also happen to be for sale, of course…) She went on to explain, while it’s not entirely diner themed (some arty farty shots, too) (love that term Kristen), there are lots of neon / diner shots that your readers might be interested in.

Kristen’s photo show Entitled…. Signs & Wonders will be on display one night only, Thursday, March 18th, 7 – 9 pm at Victoria Station Restaurant, located at Pickering Wharf in Salem, Mass. (victoriastationsalem.com)

Lebanon, NH’s White Owl Diner revisited

I recently heard from Josiah (Si) Lupton of Hartland, VT. I’ve known Si for over 20 years. He is an interesting person with many varied interests such as antiques, classic diners and classic cars. He sent me some photos of a small collection of memorabilia he has put together of the former White Owl Diner which operated in downtown Lebanon, NH. This was an April, 1932 vintage Worcester Lunch Car (#695).

I recall reading a little bit about this diner in Will Anderson’s book “Lost Diners and Roadside Restaurants of New England and New York” (page 125). In the caption under the photo he ran, Will says…. The White Owl was a fixture at 56-58 Hanover Street in Hough (pronounced “Huff”) Square for the better part of five decades. Opened as the Pollard Lunch in the 1920’s, it went through several ownership and name changes before becoming the White Owl with Charles C. White as proprietor, in the early 1930’s.

(As this diner is a 1932 vintage according to the Worcester Lunch Car Company workbooks and was named the White Owl at the factory, Will’s info overlooked the fact that there was an earlier diner on this site. Also, according to the Worcester workbooks the proprietor was Harry C. White – LAC).

Will went on to say… The White Owl it remained, surviving a major fire in downtown Lebanon in 1964, before being demolished to make way for a new bridge approach to Route 120 in 1970.

One of the photos that Si Lupton sent was a fantastic shot of the aforementioned 1964 fire in downtown Lebanon, check this out…

Si sent along an old city directory ad for the diner and it looks like it was being run by someone other than Mister White at this point…

Here are a couple of shots of a unique cup and saucer. You will notice the cup has 2 handles, I don’t know what that is all about. Maybe for a two-fisted coffee drinker?

Thanks to Si Lupton for sharing these images that helps us take a walk down memory lane!

Don Williams inducted into Country Music Hall of Fame

Some people may be wondering why I am posting about a performer being inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame on a Diner blog. Well let me assure you there is a “Diner” connection to this. In my collection of Diner Memorabilia, I have a sub-collection of 33 1/3 rpm vinyl record albums that feature “Diners” in their cover art, (case in point – the Abandoned Luncheonette album by Daryl Hall & John Oates). One of the other albums in the collection is actually a signed promo copy of Don Williams’ Cafe Carolina, see image below…..

In the photo on the album cover, Don is sitting at a table inside Loftis Lunch located in Nashville, TN. My pal John Baeder is credited with the “Art Direction” for this album and the photo was shot by John’s friend, “McGuire”. Right after John sent this promo copy to me circa 1984, I called John to thank him and also to ask him an important question about the photo, I asked him, was the photo on the album cover shot after the one John took of me in October of 1983. He said yes! It seems the photo below of me sitting in the exact same place may have been an inspiration for the album cover!

Larry Cultrera (me) sitting at the same table in Loftis Lunch
Photo by John Baeder, circa October, 1983

Loftis Lunch, Nashville, TN circa October, 1983 photo by Larry Cultrera

Loftis Lunch was a site-built diner-type restaurant circa 1930’s. I’m not sure it is operating anymore but it certainly was a unique place.

Anyway, I’d like to congratulate Don Williams for getting inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame. See the link below for more info.
http://blogs.tennessean.com/tunein/2010/02/23/jimmy-dean-ferlin-husky-billy-sherrill-don-williams-to-join-country-music-hall-of-fame/

Spencertown, NY’s Dan’s Diner to reopen

I have written about Dan’s Diner of Spencertown, NY twice in the past year and a half. The first was in my “Notes from the Hotline, 11/15/08″ where I told about the diner finally opening after a lengthy restoration. See it here at….. http://dinerhotline.wordpress.com/2008/11/15/notes-from-the-hotline-111508/

Then in April of last year I followed up with a report of its sudden closing, see it here at…. http://dinerhotline.wordpress.com/2009/04/28/dans-diner-closed-already/

Within the last 2 weeks I received a comment on the second post from Dottie “Lou” Kratt about her hopefully happy news on what’s going on with Dan’s Diner. I asked her to elaborate with some more info for this post on Diner Hotline. Here is what she wrote…

Hi Larry,
As far as I know, Jennifer Strome opened the diner in November of 2008 and closed the second week in January 2009. It has remained closed until our opening, hopefully March 2, 2010. We will open Wednesday thru Friday 6am to 2pm and Saturday and Sunday 7am to 2pm. Serving breakfast from 6 to 11:00 and lunch 11:30am-2:00pm. We will be closed Mondays and Tuesdays. In the summer we will also be serving lunch on our patio. We will be serving daily specials, including soup-of-the-day. We are also developing a line of frozen home-cooked dinners under the label of “What’s for Dinner?”. If you have any questions, let us know. Oh yeah, it will be under the new management of Jamie Abitabile and Dottie “Lou” Kratt.
Thanks for taking interest in our new venture.
Lou

I would like to wish Lou Kratt and Jamie Abitabile good luck with their new endeavor and I hope that they can make a go of it in this beautifully restored 1920’s vintage Jerry O’Mahony diner!

Notes from the Hotline, 2-9-2010

Worcester Lunch Car #850 now known as Route 104 Diner

Last year the diner located on Route 104 in New Hampton, NH was auctioned after being closed for a short time. The last diner completed by the legendary Worcester Lunch Car Company (WLC #850), had been operating as Bobby’s Girl Diner since it was placed at this site in 1994, was bought at the auction by Alex Ray and is now trading as the Route 104 Diner. 

Reopened October 8, 2009  after some cleaning and updating, the Route 104 Diner is actually being run as a venture between Plain Jane’s Diner of Rumney, NH and Alex Ray’s Common Man family of restaurants based in the Granite State. Besides Plain Jane’s Diner, The Route 104 Diner joins 2 others within this group, The Tilt’n Diner of Tilton, NH and The Airport Diner of Manchester, NH.

I have photos of this diner dating back to the early 1980’s covering almost its entire history. When this diner left the Worcester Lunch car factory in May of 1957, it was delivered to 2760 Hartford Avenue (U.S. Rte. 6) in Johnston, RI and the owner was Lloyd Hopkins (of No. Scituate, RI). It operated as Lloyd’s Diner until it closed in 1988.

Lloyd’s Diner of Johnston, RI circa 1980’s photo by Larry Cultrera

Lloyd’s Diner ready to leave Johnston, RI, circa 1988 photo
by Larry Cultrera

It then was moved to South Weymouth, Mass. to become part of Sh-Boom’s Dance Club. After a brief time, Sh-Booms closed and it morphed into a different night club and the diner was sort of disguised.

WLC #850 as the front of Sh-Booms Dance Club, Aug. 1989 photo
by Larry Cultrera

This did not last long either and the diner was again moved, this time into storage at O.B Hill’s yard in Natick, Mass. where it awaited possible sale to the Fat Boy’s Diner chain in England. 

WLC #850 in storage at O.B. Hill’s yard, June, 1991 photo
by Larry Cultrera

The deal with Fat Boy’s Diners did not pan out and the diner was actually sold to Alexis Stewart, daughter of Martha Stewart. Ms. Stewart had the diner transported to Bridgehampton, NY on Long Island where she hoped to get approval to set it up as The Delish Diner. Her plans ran into a roadblock when the town fathers basically dragged their feet and eventually nixed the concept. It did not fit into their town apparently. The diner ended up sitting in a field for 2 years.

WLC #850 sitting in Bridgehampton, NY, June 1992 photo
by Larry Cultrera

In 1994 Bob and Gloria Merrill decided to get back into the diner business. Circa 1990, the Merrill’s had successfully moved, set-up and operated the former Bell’s Pond Diner, (long closed in upstate New York) as Glory Jean’s Diner in Rumney, NH (now Plain Jane’s Diner). They sold that diner after a couple of years to operate a different business but within a year or so decided they missed running the diner and started looking for another one.

They finally settled on WLC #850 and purchased it from Alexis Stewart. The diner was moved ironically within walking distance of my wife Denise’s sister and brother-in-law’s home in New Hampton, NH where I photographed it right after it got on site……..

WLC #850, soon to be Bobby’s Girl Diner, circa 1994 photo
by Larry Cultrera

Not long after the diner got on it’s new foundation I stopped in to talk with the Merrills whom I had met a few years before. The attached buildings were being built and they were there with a contractor. They pointed out that the diner was missing 2 stools over on the left end of the counter. I told them when I saw it on Long Island 2 years before, it still had them. Someone had broken into the diner and ripped them right out of the floor!

They asked me if I knew where they could get 2 stools like that. They said that someone had told them that the stools in the diner were not original factory installed stools, and I would almost agree. They were not the typical stools that Worcester used. Ironically I told them that the person who told them that these were not factory installed was basically wrong. They wanted me to explain how I knew and I told them I had 2 just like them that had been removed from WLC #849, the former Georgetown Diner (now operating as Fat Boy’s Diner in London, England). They were being stored at my mother’s home in Medford, Mass. and I immediately told them I was willing to sell them for short money as I had no plans for them. Needless to say they were ecstatic! They were able to complete the diner and open it.

Bobby’s Girl Diner, photo by Larry Cultrera

The Merrills again operated this diner for quite a few years before selling it to new owners who ran it until recently. The diner was closed for a short time before the auction last year.

After learning of the new ownership, I had been planning on checking it out to see what changed. Denise and I went up to her sister’s home in Laconia for a couple of days (this past weekend) and we finally got over to The Route 104 Diner for breakfast on Saturday. The first thing I noticed was that the awnings were removed and they did something else that surprised me, they extended the parapet above the windows! Normally this is something I hate to see but this modification was done very sympathetically.

The Route 104 Diner, photo Feb. 6, 2010 by Larry Cultrera

The Route 104 Diner, photo Feb. 6, 2010 by Larry Cultrera

The Route 104 Diner, photo Feb. 6, 2010 by Larry Cultrera

We had a decent breakfast with wonderful service from our waitress, Althea! I went back to the diner mid-morning to shoot these photos and met the General Manager, Mark D. Grotheer. The diner was packed at that point (as the amount of cars in the parking lot can attest). You can check the Route 104 Diner out on the web as well as the other diners and restaurants in The Common Man chain at the website http://www.thecman.com/restaurants/,
I highly recommend this place!

The Airport Diner, another part of the Common Man family

To continue on this theme, I also got a chance to stop by The Airport Diner in Manchester, NH. This as I stated above, is also part of The Common Man chain. Opened since 2005, it is not a factory-built diner like The Route 104 Diner or The Tilt’n Diner. This is built on-site as part of the Holiday Inn on Brown Avenue just off exit 2 of I-293 near the Manchester-Boston Regional Airport. Unfortunately they were completely packed at noontime on Sunday when we stopped there on the way home. There was a line of customers waiting to get in. So I will have to check it out some other time but at least I got some decent photos!

The Airport Diner, Manchester, NH, Feb. 7, 2010 photo
by Larry Cultrera

The Airport Diner, Manchester, NH, Feb. 7, 2010 photo
by Larry Cultrera

Paugus Diner of Laconia, NH now operating as
The Union Diner

We also got to check out the Union Diner on Union Avenue in Laconia. It had changed hands last year after being operated as the Paugus Diner since arriving from it’s first location in Concord, NH many years ago. This is Worcester Lunch Car # 831 and was originally named the Manus Diner. I had heard from Bob Higgins recently about his recent visit to this diner and as I recall, he was not impressed. I have to say that I did not have any problems with the food or the service but of course, we usually get to these places first thing in the morning and as was the case here, we were the first customers of the day.

The diner still seems to be in great shape and is 95% original. I stopped by a couple of hours later to shoot some photos and the place was mobbed!

Union Diner, Union Ave., Laconia, NH, Feb.7, 2010 photo
by Larry Cultrera

Diner Hotline (& me) are mentioned in a Philadelphia Inquirer article on the upcoming reopening of Camden, NJ’s Elgin Diner

Elgin Diner photo circa June, 1993 by Larry Cultrera

While  Denise and I were visiting her sister Sarah in Laconia, NH on Saturday evening. I borrowed Sarah’s laptop computer to check my email. Among the emails was a post from Glenn Wells on his Roadside Fans Yahoo Group message board with text from a Philadelphia Inquirer article. The article was about Camden, NJ’s Elgin Diner. It said the diner was soon to reopen which is welcome news to classic diner afficianados who know this diner. As I was reading, I was surprised to see that myself and this blog were mentioned!  Matt Katz the staff reporter who wrote the Phiily Inquirer article must have seen my post from March of last year, see it at…..
http://dinerhotline.wordpress.com/2009/03/22/camden-njs-elgin-diner-in-trouble/. Thanks to Matt Katz for the mention!

You can check it out at http://www.philly.com/philly/news/local/83701632.html

Update on Virginia’s Triangle Diner

The Triangle Diner, notice the t-111 plywood box w/roof covering the original diner roof.

I mentioned the Triangle Diner of Winchester, VA in a post, Dec. 25th, 2009.
See here… http://dinerhotline.wordpress.com/2009/12/25/winchester-vas-triangle-diner-named-state-landmark/ . It had recently received Landmark status from the Commonwealth of Virginia and is being nominated for listing on the National Register of Historic Places.

In the post from last week where I updated my list of diners that are on the National Register, I had a question on the amount of diners that were listed in Virginia. You see I was aware that Marc C. Wagner, (Architectural Historian for the Virginia Department of Historic Resources) had done the research for the Diners of Virginia, MPS survey back in the mid-1990’s. His research covered all the diners that were located within the state and provided the basis for future nominations for listing on the Register. The Tastee 29 Diner was previously put on the Register a few years before but only 2 diners, the converted Trolley Cars in Chatham, VA were placed on the Register since the Diners of Virginia, MPS was authored.

I corresponded with Marc right after I posted the update last week and he sent me some info basically verifying what I had discovered and also brought me up to date on what’s happening with the Triangle Diner. He told me that they were hoping to get the paperwork sent to the Federal folks within a week or 2 and that the listing on the National Register could be as early as April, 2010.

Regular readers of this blog might recall in my post from Dec. 25th that I mentioned in passing about my hopes that the new owner Mike Lessin would have the roof (and t-111 box) masking the original roof removed from the diner. Well guess what? Marc just sent these photos and I am really glad to see this!

Workers removing plywood box and roof from the Triangle Diner
Photo courtesy of  Mike Lessin by way of Marc C. Wagner

Workers removing plywood box and roof from the Triangle Diner
Photo courtesy of  Mike Lessin by way of Marc C. Wagner

Workers removing plywood box and roof from the Triangle Diner
Photo courtesy of  Mike Lessin by way of Marc C. Wagner

Workers removing plywood box and roof from the Triangle Diner
Photo courtesy of  Mike Lessin by way of Marc C. Wagner

With the inclusion of RI’s Liberty Elm Diner, it’s time to update the List of diners on the National Register of Historic Places

Liberty Elm Diner, AKA Central Diner of Providence, RI was just
placed on the National Register of Historic Places

I cannot believe it has been almost 2 years since I posted a list of Diners that were on the National Register of Historic Places! In fact that post was March 5, 2008. When I posted it, it seems I missed at least 1 diner that was on the Register (I forgot that it had been added). Since then a couple of more diners have also been added, so I want to update that list.

This search brought up 39 listings either as individual listings or as part of multiple listings. So I want to clarify at least for now, up to today what diners are on the Register. I have not listed them in order of the date of listing but here goes…..

Connecticut
Skee’s Diner 
589 Main St.  Torrington
Listed Sept. 6, 2002 

Pennsylvania
Park Dinor 
4019 Main St.  Erie
Listed Mar. 18, 2004

Utah
O’Mahony Dining Car No. 1107
(operating as the Road Island Diner) 
981 W. Weber canyon Rd.  Oakley
Listed Aug. 21, 2009

Virginia
29 Diner 
10536 Lee Hwy.  Fairfax
Listed- Oct. 29, 1992   
Bill’s Diner 
1 Depot St.  Chatham
Listed Dec. 16, 1996  (Diners of Virginia MPS) 
Burnett’s Diner 
19 S. Main St.  Chatham
Listed Dec. 16, 1996   (Diners of Virginia MPS)
 

Minnesota
Mickey’s Diner 
36 W. 9th St.  St. Paul
Listed Feb. 24, 1983

Massachusetts
Agawam Diner
166 Newburyport Turnpike  Rowley
Listed Sept. 22, 1999 (Diners of Mass. MPS)
Jack’s Diner
(operating as Lanna Tai Diner)
901 Main St.  Woburn
Listed Nov. 22, 2000 (Diners of Mass. MPS)
Al Mac’s Diner 
135 President Ave.  Fall River
Listed Dec. 20, 1999 (Diners of Mass. MPS)
The Rosebud  (Rosebud Diner)
381 Summer St.   Somerville
Listed Sept. 22, 1999 (Diners of Mass. MPS)
Corner Lunch 
133 Lamartine St., Worcester
Listed, Nov. 15, 2000  (Diners of Mass. MPS)
Miss Worcester Diner 
302 Southbridge St.  Worcester
Listed Nov. 21, 2003 (Diners of Mass. MPS)
Boulevard Diner
155 Shrewsbury St.  Worcester
Listed Nov. 22, 2000 (Diners of Mass. MPS)
Chadwick Square Diner
95 rear Prescott St.  Worcester
Listed Nov. 26, 2003 (Diners of Mass. MPS)
Ann’s Diner
(operating as Pat’s Diner)
11 Bridge Rd. (US 1)  Salisbury
Listed Dec. 10, 2003 (Diners of Mass. MPS)
Miss Toy Town Diner
(operating as the Blue Moon Diner)
102 Main St.  Gardner
Listed Dec. 4, 2003 (Diners of Mass. MPS)
Capitol Diner
431 Union St.  Lynn
Listed Sept. 22, 1999 (Diners of Mass. MPS)
Shawmut Diner
943 Shawmut Ave.  New Bedford
Listed Nov. 28, 2003 (Diners of Mass. MPS)
Salem Diner
70 1/2 Loring Ave.  Salem
Listed Sept. 22, 1999 (Diners of Mass. MPS)
New Bay Diner
(Operating as the Rte. 66 Diner)
950 Bay St.  Springfield
Listed Dec. 4, 2003 (Diners of Mass.MPS)
Al’s Diner
14 Yelle St.  Chicopee
Listed Dec. 14, 2000 (Diners of Mass. MPS)
Miss Florence Diner 
99 Main St.  Northampton
Listed Sept. 22, 1999 (Diners of Mass. MPS)
Casey’s Diner
36 South Ave.  Natick
Listed Sept. 22,1999 (Diners of Mass. MPS)
Whit’s Diner
(operating as Lloyd’s Diner)
184A Fountain St.  Framingham
Listed Dec. 4, 2003 (Diners of Mass. MPS)
Wilson’s Diner
507 Main St.  Waltham
Listed Sept. 22, 1999 (Diners of Mass. MPS)
Town Diner
627 Mount Auburn St.  Watertown
Listed Sept. 22, 1999 (Diners of Mass. MPS)
Ted’s Diner  (Now demolished)
67 Main St.  Milford
Listed Nov. 29, 2000 (Diners of Mass. MPS)
Monarch Diner
(operating as Four Sisters Owl Diner)
246 Appleton St.  Lowell
Listed Nov. 28, 2003 (Diners of Mass. MPS)

New York
Halfway Diner
(operating as the Village Diner)
39 N. Broadway  Red Hook
Listed Jan. 7, 1988
Munson Diner 
Lake St. (NY 55)  Liberty
Listed April 12, 2006
Lil’s Diner (Miss Albany Diner)
893 Broadway  Albany
Listed Nov. 6, 2000

North Carolina
Sam’s Diner
2008 S. Virginia Dare Trail  Kill Devil Hills
Listed Jan. 27, 1999

Ohio
Silk City Diner #4655
(operating as Kim’s Classic Diner)
303 Washington St.  Sabina
Listed Aug. 10, 2005 

Vermont
Miss Bellows Falls Diner
90 Rockingham St.  Bellows Falls
Listed Feb. 15, 1983 

Rhode Island
Modern Diner
364 East Ave.  Pawtucket
Listed Oct. 19, 1978
Poirier’s Diner
1467 Westminster St.  Providence
Listed July 17, 2003
Central Diner
(operating as the Liberty Elm Diner)
777 Elmwood Ave.  Providence
Listed Jan. 13, 2010

Colorado
Davies’ Chuck Wagon Diner
9495 W. Colfax Ave.  Lakewood
Listed July 2, 1997    

There seems to be some confusion, either by diner owners or other interested people about which diners are actually listed on the National Register of Historic Places. I will site three examples of claims in this matter.

1. The last 2 operators of Worcester Lunch Car #690, currently operating as the Lunch Box Diner 0f Malden, Mass. have told me that the owner of the property (as well as the diner) imparted to them that their diner is on the Register. I did some investigating and figured out that it was in fact included in the research for the Multiple Listing Submission survey (along with most of the diners in Massachusetts) but up to now it still has not been put on the Register.

2. I have read for years that Collins’ Diner in Caanan, CT claims to be on the Register. In fact, they are only part of an Historic District that is listed on the Register (not individually listed).

3. I recently saw that Brian O’Rourke of O’Rourke’s Diner has been quoted that his diner is also on the Register, (it’s not).

Take note that one of the diners, (Ted’s Diner) is actually still on the Multiple Listing Submission for Massachusetts even though it was demolished shortly after being placed on the Register. Also, there was one other diner that made it to the Register years ago, the Clarksville Diner formerly of Decorah, Iowa (by way of Clarksville, NJ). This diner was removed from the Register after it was sold and subsequently moved to France.

Also, I thought there were more diners from Virginia included on the National Register, but a search of their database only brings up the three I have listed above. The Diners of Virginia MPS survey included virtually all the diners in the state but to the best of my knowledge, only those three made it to the Register. If someone knows anything more concrete on this, I would be happy to ammend this list!

Sneak preview of Miss Mendon Diner

Miss Mendon Diner, exterior photo Jan. 17, 2010 by Larry Cultrera

The newly refurbished Miss Mendon Diner located on Route 16 in the midst of the sprawling Imperial Cars multi-dealership complex in Mendon, Mass. will have its Grand Opening this coming Wednesday (January 20th). The Miss Mendon Diner, a 1950 vintage, bright red Worcester Lunch Car (Car #823) had spent all of its operating life way up by the Canadian border in Newport, Vermont as the Miss Newport Diner. It closed in Vermont a number of years ago and was subsequently sold to Dave Pritchard of Salisbury, Mass. who had it transported to his storage yard where it sat for a few more years.

Antique Neon sign that was bought on Ebay. Kevin Meehan had it refurbished with a new paint-job, lettering and neon.

Pritchard sold the diner around 2 years ago to Kevin Meehan, the owner of Imperial Cars who brought it out to Mendon, a few miles west of Milford, Mass. Meehan spent a considerable amount of money to set the diner up on a new foundation with a good size kitchen/restroom building that also has room for 4 more booths with a handicap-accessable entryway.

Meehan did this place up right, he replaced the original porcelain panels that said “Newport” with newly painted panels that said “Mendon”. The paint job was so good it really fooled me, I thought it was porcelain when I visited the site in September. The interior of the diner got a sprucing-up as well with a newly installed replacement ceramic tile floor, which though different from the original small blue ceramic tile, compliments the natural woodwork that Worcester Lunch Car Company was famous for.

Miss Mendon Diner, interior photo Jan. 17, 2010 by Larry Cultrera

Miss Mendon Diner, interior photo Jan. 17, 2010 by Larry Cultrera

The addition that houses the 4 new booths also has the same tile floor but more importantly also has woodwork and booths that replicate what Worcester would have done perfectly! The whole place also features art deco light fixtures that seem to go well, even though it is not what Worcester would have used. The original stools have been stripped and re-chromed making them appear brand-new.

Miss Mendon Diner, interior photo showing dining addition with
replicated woodwork and booths, Jan. 17, 2010 by Larry Cultrera

Miss Mendon Diner, interior photo showing dining addition with
replicated woodwork and booths, Jan. 17, 2010 by Larry Cultrera

As I mentioned above, the diner will be open to the public this coming Wednesday and Doug “V.B.” Goudie of Boston’s Fox 25 Morning News will be there live with his “Diner Wednesdays” segment along with WTKK, 96.9 FM Talk’s Michael Graham. They expect to be fairly busy all day and ask that customers who show-up be patient.

To help the staff prepare for the onslaught of customers, General Manager Michael O’Donovan along with owner Kevin Meehan have held “mock-openings” for the last few days and we were lucky enough to get an invite for today! Denise & I drove out to Acton and picked up my travelling buddy, Steve Repucci and got out to Mendon. There were a handfull of invited customers on hand and I must say, a very friendly and capable staff!

I also met Bill Gladwin of Mendon. Bill and his wife were invited guests as well (I kept on looking at him and thought, boy he could be Mike Engle’s twin brother). Bill’s  website…… 
 http://anystandard.net/features/missmendon.html features a page about the Miss Mendon has some of the first photos I saw of the diner back in August which prompted me to make the trip out on Labor Day to see the progress with my own eyes.

So to get back to the Miss Mendon, as I said the staff was very attentive and friendly. The food was great! They brought out some freshly made raspberry danish as well as maple pecan danish, which was extremely light and flaky! Steve had their Smoked Salmon Hash with Poached Eggs, Toast and Homefries while Denise had a fresh, hot biscuit with butter (she eats light) and I had my usual 2 Eggs over hard with Sausage, Toast and Homefries. We were all satisfied with the quality of the food and the service. I highly recommend that anyone out in the area will not be disappointed!

Miss Mendon Diner, exterior photo Jan. 17, 2010 by Larry Cultrera

I was pleased to meet both Michael O’Donovan and Kevin Meehan this morning and I complimented them on their efforts to resurrect this beautiful diner. Kevin, in my opinion certainly chose a very capable and talented individual (in Michael) to be his General Manager! Michael’s attention to detail in helping to set the diner up, both physically and in the hiring of staff, not to mention his creation of the wonderful website at….
http://www.missmendondiner.com/  is a credit to Meehan’s search for the right personnel to man the operation!

The Miss Mendon Diner’s address is 16 Uxbridge Road (Rte. 16), Mendon, MA o1756. Telephone is 508-634-3000. Operating hours are Sunday thru Thursday 6 AM to 11 PM, Friday and Saturday 6 AM to 2 AM. Check out the website for all menu and other info.

Tony & Ann’s Pizza and the Rosebud Diner

The new location for Tony & Ann’s Pizza, Dracut, Mass.

I was checking Facebook yesterday morning and saw that Tony & Ann’s Pizza was reopening at 11:00 AM after a 7 year hiatus. I posted about this place last month, see it here… http://dinerhotline.wordpress.com/2009/12/12/legendary-tony-anns-pizza-to-reopen-after-7-year-hiatus/ . Denise and I were going out for an errand shortly after I saw the F.B. post, so we stopped for a mid-morning hot chocolate at Honey Dew Donuts on the way to do the errand in Wakefield.

With the errand done I said lets take a ride up to Dracut to see if we could try a Tony & Ann’s Pizza. Well we made it up there by 11:30 or so and the place was mobbed. In fact they could have used some traffic control from the Dracut Police Dept. I spoke with a lady who had come out of the store carrying 2 pizzas and she said it took 30 minutes just to order and another 45 to get them! We stepped inside for a second and it was just a crush of people. Denise said she wasn’t waiting and I concurred.

I had a hunch it might be crazy and I was right. So maybe another visit will be in order within the next 2 or 3 weeks when the craziness dies down. I spoke with Bob Philpot, a Tony & Ann’s devotee on Facebook yesterday afternoon and he got his pizza after a 2 hour wait. I asked him if it was worth it and he gave an enthusiastic thumbs-up. Charlie Terenzio, another facebook friend read my comment and answered he would wait at least a week before partaking of his favorite pizza!

Pizza at the Rosebud Diner’s Bar & Grill instead

Later in the afternoon I decided I still needed a “pizza fix” and asked Denise if she wanted to go over to the Rosebud Diner in Somerville. We have been meaning to try out the pizza they serve in the Bar & Grill behind the diner. So we went and sat with owners Bill & Helen and ordered a cheese pizza. We were delighted with what turned out to be a very tasty thin crust “bar pie”!
We were both hooked, and believe me Denise is kind of particular when it comes to pizza, she really liked it!

If you go down the walkway next to the side door of the diner,
it leads to the entrance to the Bar & Grill.

I highly recommend that if you are ever in Davis Square Somerville and visiting the Rosebud Diner, check out the Bar & Grill (which you can enter from the diner or thru the entrance to the right behind the diner). They open the Bar & Grill at 4:00 PM, Monday thru Friday and at 5:00 PM on the weekends. There are other items available on the menu that are not available in the diner and they have a full bar with some great draft and bottled beer on hand to go with the food.