Month: April 2011

April Vacation, 2011 – Part 3

Part 3 of my April Vacation, 2011 begins on Monday morning (4-18-11) before sunrise. I left Albany by way of U.S. Rte. 20 heading east. I drove into Pittsfield, Mass. and decided to see if Adrien’s Diner might be open. It was around 5:30 am and there was no one around. The operating hours were not posted so I was not sure if they were even opening (it was Patriots Day, a Massachusetts holiday, although not everyone gets it off). I decided not to hang around and coninued east toward the town of Lee. Once I got there, I saw that Joe’s Diner was open. I figured it was about time I checked it out as it is a somewhat famous place. Joe’s is not a factory-built diner but a small storefront type diner. It is famous for being the place where Norman Rockwell set his well known iconic 1958 painting, “The Runaway”.

The Runaway, a painting by Norman Rockwell

Joe’s Diner, U.S. Rte. 20, Lee, Mass. April 18, 2011 photo by Larry Cultrera

I had a pretty decent breakfast at Joe’s Diner and then got back on the road, continuing east on Route 20. As I mentioned in Part 1, I needed to get to 5 diners in the western part of Massachusetts on my way home from Albany for info and photos for my “Classic Diners of Massachusetts” book. My next destination was the Route 66 Diner on Bay Street in Springfield and it had been a while since I was last there. I did not need exterior photos of this diner as I figured the last ones I shot a few years ago were good. Unfortunately, owner Don Roy was not there, I was told he was in Florida. So I obtained a takeout menu and took 2 interior photos. Here is one of them below…….

Interior of Route 66 Diner, Springfield, Mass.
April 18, 2011 photo by Larry Cultrera

I left Springfield and jumped on I-91 northbound to get up to Northampton. Once I got there I headed back west on Route 9 to visit the Miss Florence Diner. I had not been to the Miss Flo since the Alexander family sold it 10 years ago. The place looked good and I got some new photos (exterior and interior). They had no takeout menus as they were actually having new ones being printed. I started taking notes from their extensive menu and thought this might take all day, and then one of the waitresses told me that the menu was pretty much all on their website. I got the name of the owner who was not there, (John Zantouliadis) and called him later in the week for some background. It seems he is not the person who bought the diner from the Alexanders, he is actually the second owner after them. (He also told me the takeout menu came in from the printers the day before) Anyway, here are some shots….

Miss Florence Diner. April 18, 2011 photo by Larry Cultrera

Interior of Miss Florence Diner. April 18, 2011 photo by Larry Cultrera

I went back to Northampton but continued past the center of town toward the Route 9 Diner in Hadley a few miles to the east. This is one of the newer diners in Massachusetts. It came to town as the Sit Down Diner, brand new from Kullman Industries, but the original owner went out of business and the diner was bought back by Kullman at auction and they turned around and found new operators, Chris Karabetsos and Archie Sideris who have been very successful with the business in the intervening years.

Route 9 Diner, Hadley, Mass. April 18, 2011 photo by Larry Cultrera

Route 9 Diner, Hadley, Mass.
April 18, 2011 interior photo by Larry Cultrera

I headed back to Northampton and drove north on Route 5 (King Street) to the Bluebonnet Diner. Jim Greco was given a heads-up by his son Tony that I was coming. Jim was very helpful and it is obvious he takes pride in the business that his dad and uncle started in 1950.

Bluebonnet Diner, Northampton, Mass.
April 18, 2011 photo by Larry Cultrera

Interior of the Bluebonnet Diner, Northampton, Mass.
April 18, 2011 photo by Larry Cultrera

The Bluebonnet has been added onto over the years and features a cocktail lounge as well as a huge function facility. Through all this, the diner section itself has pretty much stayed original with the exception of some updated windows and light fixtures. The diner is popular with regular customers as well as the out of town transient crowd that frequent it.

From Northampton I jumped back on I-91 to get up to Whately where the Whately Diner Fillin’ Station was awaiting me. This diner is a true 24 hour “truck stop diner” catering to truckers at Exit 24 off I-91. This is a “Princess” model built by Kullman Diners circa 1960 and was originally operated as the Princess Diner in Chicopee, Mass. It was bought in the early 1970’s by F.L. Roberts, a local company that has a chain of convenience stores, car washes and gas stations in the area. They moved the diner from Chicopee to Whately and ran it as the Maverick Diner for a time prior to renaming it to its current name.

Whately Diner Fillin’ Station, Whately, Mass.
April 18, 2011 photo by Larry Cultrera

Interior – Whately Diner Fillin’ Station, Whately, Mass.
April 18, 2011 photo by Larry Cultrera

After Whately, I scooted back home by I-91 and Route 2. I was out again the next morning and visited Buddy’s Diner in Somerville. I used to be a semi-regular here but have not visited it in a while. This is a 1929 vintage Worcester Lunch Car that has been at this location since the early 1950’s. Currently owned by Nicole Bairos, it is primarily operated by her cousins Kim Bairos & Niko Makrigiannis as well as short order cook extraordinaire, Jose Ramirez.

Buddy’s Diner, Somerville, Mass. April 19, 2011 photo by Larry Cultrera

Interior – Buddy’s Diner, Somerville, Mass.
L-R behind the counter, Jose Ramirez and Niko Makrigiannis
April 19, 2011 photo by Larry Cultrera

The next short roadtrip was out to Worcester on Thursday for more photos and info for the book. This time, Denise went with me. First stop was Blanchard’s 101 Diner. I have written extensively about this diner in a few previous posts since they opened over 3 years ago, (wow, it’s that long?). It was great to see Chris Blanchard. I got some new shots, inside and out plus a copy of their menu.

Blanchard’s 101 Diner, Worcester, Mass.
April 21, 2011 photo by Larry Cultrera

Interior – Blanchard’s 101 Diner, Worcester, Mass.
April 21, 2011 photo by Larry Cultrera

Next stop was a few miles to the west on Route 9 – to Spencer, Mass. and a visit to Charlie’s Diner Bar & Grill. Charlie’s was moved from its long-time operating location on Plantation St. in Worcester a number of years ago. It stayed in storage for a couple of years before it found a home in Spencer. Within the last 2 years they added on to the existing structure with a bar & grill to expand the operating hours. From what a very tired Steve Turner told me, the new addition to the business has been a success.

Charlie’s Diner Bar & Grill, Spencer, Mass. The section with the dormers to the right is the Bar & Grill addition.
April 21, 2011 photo by Larry Cultrera

Interior – Charlie’s Diner Bar & Grill, Spencer, Mass.
April 21, 2011 photo by Larry Cultrera

After Charlie’s we went back to Worcseter and our final destination of the Boulevard Diner. If one was ever to look for a museum quality working diner, this is it! The Bully is almost hard to describe, from the fantastic food, to the condition of the building, to the people who patronize the place and the people working behind the counter….. this diner has it all! I spoke with Jim George for quite a while, and we had a great conversation! He mentioned that he recently started making his own Italian Sausage again after many years of purchasing the product of a local meat purveyor. He said when he was a youngster working for his dad at the diner, making the home-made sausage was one of his regular duties and now he has come full circle. I will tell you, he had my mouth watering!

Jim George, behind the counter at the Boulevard Diner
April 21, 2011 photo by Larry Cultrera

Interior – Boulevard Diner, Worcester, Mass.
Denise Cultrera in the foreground. April 21, 2011 photo by Larry Cultrera

Boulevard Diner, Worcester, Mass. April 21, 2011 photo by Larry Cultrera

We actually did eat lunch at the Boulevard, but no Italian food (darn). Denise and I split a wonderful BLT on toasted Italian Bread with french fries! Well, that was it for my vacation week, the rest of it was spent winding down to Easter weekend and doing a little writing.

April Vacation, 2011 – Part 2

I left off the last post (April Vacation, 2011 – Part 1) checking out Dewey’s Diner and Inga’s Diner on Fuller Road in Albany, NY. Next up was the Farmer Boy Diner on Central Avenue (Rte. 5) in Colonie. This was not a new diner for me but a new version of one I photographed back in October of 1982. The original one I photographed was a 1972 vintage Paramount Diner (I originally guessed this was a Swingle but the owner told us Paramount) and was replaced by the current one in 1992.

1972 vintage Farmer Boy Diner. October 2, 1982 photo by Larry Cultrera

1992 vintage Farmer Boy Diner. April 16, 2011 photo by Larry Cultrera

After leaving the Farmer Boy Diner, we shot over to U.S. Route 20 to get over to Duanesburg and see Joe Merli’s little set-up of old wagons, trucks, trains and buildings. Chief among the items Joe has is another old diner I photographed, circa 1981…. the old 9 & 20 Diner from Schodack, NY, south of Albany. He moved it here in 2009 and it is now on a cement pad with a tarp over it.

The former 9 & 20 Diner on U.S. Route 20 in Duanesburg, NY.
April 16, 2011 photo by Larry Cultrera

The former 9 & 20 Diner with an old Divco milk truck sitting next to it on
U.S. Route 20 in Duanesburg, NY. April 16, 2011 photo by Larry Cultrera

Here is something even older near the old diner and milk truck, an old milk wagon! On U.S. Route 20 in Duanesburg, NY.
April 16, 2011 photo by Larry Cultrera

We headed back east about a mile on Route 20 toward Albany and stopped for dinner in Princetown at the Chuck Wagon Diner. The Chuck Wagon is another transplanted diner that was brought here in 2007 by Tom and Sally Ketchum. The Chuck Wagon Diner (a Mountain View Diner) operated from 1956 to 1976 in Champaign, Illinois. It closed in 1976 and was auctioned off. The diner ended up in nearby Urbana, IL and operated as the Elite Diner in the 1980’s. It eventually closed and was moved, ending up in storage in Detroit, Michigan by 2002 where the Ketchums found it 5 years later. They spent some time restoring the diner and placing it on a foundation with an attached kitchen, diningroom, restrooms and full basement. Ironically there was a fantastic neon sign that had been on the diner back in the Champaign, IL days, and the crowning achievement was in being contacted by the person who bought that sign at the auction back in 1976. They offered to sell it to the Ketchums, who needless to say, were happy to get the sign and had it refurbished! The diner reopened in April, 2010 and the original owner was there.

Glenn Wells outside the Chuck Wagon Diner on U.S. Route 20 in
Princetown, NY. April 16, 2011 photo by Larry Cultrera

Chuck Wagon Diner on U.S. Route 20 in Princetown, NY
(with the neon sign turned on) April 16, 2011 photo by Larry Cultrera

Chuck Wagon Diner on U.S. Route 20 in Princetown, NY
April 16, 2011 photo by Larry Cultrera

It was cloudy and drizzly the next morning when I got an early breakfast at the Gateway Diner on Central Avenue in Albany. Denise and I had eaten here back in 2002, but I never photographed it. So this particular morning was not condusive to photos either so I came back in the early afternoon and shot 2 really nice photos.

Gateway Diner, Albany, NY. April 17, 2011 photo by Larry Cultrera

So, to get back to why I came out to Albany…… I have been a huge fan of Tommy James since his heyday in the mid-to-late 1960’s. I have caught at least 5, if not 6 of his concerts since 1979. He still puts on a fantastic show! In fact I would be willing to say that his voice is as good now, if not better than it was over 40 years ago. I brought my copy of his book along with an LP of his from 1977. This LP, Midnight Rider was actually autographed by Tommy back in 1979, but due to the fact that he signed it with a ball point pen, it has kind of faded over the intervening years.

I also brought a real collectors item from my collection, a “Picture Book” by “It’s a Visual Thing” that was put out about 1969. It was almost the size of a 33 1/3 record album cover but it had no vinyl. It was made up of a number of pages filled with photos from a publicity shoot for the band. There were a number of these put out for other bands as well, I believe Iron Butterfly may have been another band that had one made.

So, I went down the street from where I had been staying at the Travelodge to the Albany Marriott. This was where the Rock n’ Roll Expo was being held. I got there plenty early and was one of the first waiting for Tommy to show up. I met and spoke with his manager, Carol Ross-Durborow who was very pleasant. I also met Martin Fitzpatrick who was Tommy’s co-writer for the book. Tommy was detained by a TV interview but finally came in to the hall and said hi to me. He autographed the things I brought and spoke with me for a couple or 4 minutes. Then I handed my camera over to someone I had just met and they were able to snap a decent shot of Tommy and I!

Tommy James and Larry Cultrera. April 17, 2011 photo by Larry Cultrera

I went back to the motel hoping to take a nap, but I turned on the laptop computer and went on Facebook after checking email. I saw that Mike Engle was on and chatted with him, asking him if he wanted to do lunch. We ended up meeting at the Latham 76 Diner in Latham. I had driven by this place many times over the years (including once the day before) and felt it was time to finally make its acquaintance. I got there a few minutes before Mike and got quite a few photos, here are a couple….

Latham 76 Diner, Latham, NY. April 17, 2011 photo by Larry Cultrera

After lunch, Mike and I went our seperate ways. I went back to Albany and snapped those photos of the Gateway Diner, then went back to the motel. Right after I arrived, Glenn Wells called. He was done with his personal obligations for the day and wanted to take me on a little excursion down to the Taconic Parkway area. The first place we visited was the wonderfully restored 1925 vintage Jerry O’Mahony diner called Dan’s Diner. Yet again this was another diner I was familiar with at a previous location. Formerly operated as Moe’s Diner in Durham, CT, it was bought by Dan Rundell in 1993 and moved to his property on Route 203 in Spencertown, NY. Dan spent over 10 years restoring this. The diner reopened almost 2 years ago.

Dan’s Diner, Spencertown,NY. April 17, 2011 photo by Larry Cultrera

Glenn and I went over to Ancram, NY and had a little something to eat at the West Taghkanic Diner, a beautifully preserved Mountain View Diner. Unfortunately, this is the second time I have visited this place in the middle of the afternoon and the light for photographs is not really perfect at that time of the day. But I made the most of it.

West Taghkanic Diner, Ancram, NY. April 17, 2011 photo by Larry Cultrera

The final destination for our little Taconic Parkway trip was the newly transplanted Elizaville Diner. Here is yet another diner I have photographed at a previous location… as the former Eat Well Diner of Lebanon, PA. I had never had a meal or been inside this diner at the old location, so this was a treat. The new owners did a wonderful job of bringing the diner back to life. They removed the mansard roof that had been installed (back in the 1970’s, I presume) and there was minimal damage to the structure.

Elizaville Diner, Elizaville, NY. April 17, 2011 photo by Larry Cultrera

That’s it for the New York part of the vacation, the next post will be about the diners I stopped at on the way back through Massachusetts (April Vacation, 2011 – Part 3) coming soon!

April Vacation, 2011 – Part 1

This is the first time in about 3 years that I was able to take a week’s vacation in the early spring. I generally like to take a week in April and another week at the beginning of August when I can. So last Saturday I took a roadtrip out to Albany, NY by way of Route 2. This road has been a favorite of mine since I was young. You see my Dad used to love to take the family on “short rides”. Some were longer than others, but one in particular stands out. He got the family (with the exception of my older brother) into the car one day and said we were going on a short ride and we ended up in the Berkshire Hills on the Mohawk Trail (Rte. 2). To those unfamiliar with this area, we lived near Boston in eastern Massachusetts and the Mohawk Trail is in the extreme northwest corner of the state! Now that’s my kind of a short ride!

So continuing with this years April vacation, I was heading out to Albany to attend a Rock n’ Roll Expo. This Expo was basically your everyday vinyl record and rock n’ roll memorabilia collectors show. There were also performers at the show including Starz, a 1980’s band and also a John Lennon tribute band called “Imagining Lennon”. But the draw for me was that Tommy James (of Tommy James and the Shondells fame) was going to be there signing copies of his autobiography “Me, the Mob and the Music”, as well as a “meet and greet” with fans.

Denise decided not to accompany me on this trip, so I was on my own. Even though I missed her company, this was probably just as well as I needed to revisit some diners in the central and western areas of Massachusetts (on my way out and also coming back) for info and new photos for my “Classic Diners of Massachusetts” book and she would not have enjoyed all the stops at the diners. This trip out to Albany would provide a good opportunity to get some of that out of the way! So on the way out I stopped at the Blue Moon Diner in Gardner for breakfast. Owner, Jamie Floyd knew I was coming because I gave her a heads-up a day or so before on Facebook.

I got some great info and photos as well as a delicious breakfast while visiting Jamie. This is a diner I highly recommend if you are in the area!

Jamie Floyd, owner of the Blue Moon Diner in Gardner, Mass.
April 16, 2011 photo by Larry Cultrera

Interior of the Blue Moon Diner, April 16, 2011 photo by Larry Cultrera

Exterior of the Blue Moon Diner, April 16, 2011 photo by Larry Cultrera

After leaving the Blue Moon, I continued heading west and got to Adams, Mass. about 9:00 am. I was expected at the Miss Adams Diner by owner Philomene Belair. We had been in contact for quite some time in the recent weeks. She had already sent me all the info I pretty much needed for the book and I wanted some new photos. Philomene and her husband Ric reopened the diner a little over a year ago on February 15, 2010. I am happy to report that it looks like this beleaguered diner is in good hands, and that hopefully down the line that they will have the money to bring the interior back to a semblance of what it used to be.

Interior of the Miss Adams Diner. Hopefully the Belairs will be able to restore the ceiling, getting rid of those LP vinyl records that were glued to the original formica panels by a previous owner!
April 16, 2011 photo by Larry Cultrera

The crew at the Miss Adams Diner, Left-Right Ric & Philomene Belair, Richard “Pip” Belair (Ric’s Dad) and Kelly Cross.
April 16, 2011 photo by Larry Cultrera

Miss Adams Diner, April 16, 2011 photo by Larry Cultrera

I spent a little over an hour visiting with Philomene and then continued on to Albany. I was driving into Troy, NY and called Glenn Wells to let him know I was in the area. When I told him where I was, he said you are about to go right past the “Famous Lunch”! Sure enough, he was right. I said I would call him after I visited Bill Brown over at the Miss Albany Diner and got off the phone. I went around the block and found a parking lot right next to the Famous Lunch and went in to try out a couple of their neat little hot dogs with “Zippy Sauce”, I had heard so much about.

Famous Lunch, 111 Congress St., Troy, NY
April 16, 2011 photo by Larry Cultrera

The small hot dogs at Famous Lunch, photo from Famous Lunch website

Those 2 hot dogs I had were really scrumptious! If you are ever in Troy, you have to check this place out! The interior walls and ceiling are covered in green porcelain enameled steel panels! Their website is…. http://www.famouslunch.net/Welcome.html

I left Troy and drove a few miles down river to the Miss Albany Diner and visited briefly with Bill Brown. The place was hopping for an early Saturday afternoon!

Miss Albany Diner, April 16, 2011 photo by Larry Cultrera

I met up with Glenn Wells at the Halfmoon Diner which is about a mile from where he lives. It is a very nice 1989 vintage DeRaffele-built diner that is currently undergoing a slight remodelling (by DeRaffele). The owner, Peter was very welcoming to me when Glenn introduced us. He had very warm feelings of dealing with Phil DeRaffele over the years and could not say enough good things about him and his company!

Halfmoon Diner, Clifton Park, NY. April 16, 2011 photo by Larry Cultrera

We dropped my car off at Glenns house where I met his lovely wife Susan finally. We talked briefly and then Glenn and I left to shanghai Mike Engle from whatever he might have been doing! The first place Glenn took me was the Snow Man Ice Cream stand at 531 5th Avenue in Troy. I had seen photos of this place and wanted to get some for myself…..

Snow Man Ice Cream, Troy, NY. April 16, 2011 photo by Larry Cultrera

After shooting the Snow Man photos, Glenn drove over to the Country View Diner in Brunswick, NY. This is a 1980’s Swingle Diner that was updated more recently by DeRaffele.

Country View Diner of Brunswick, NY
April 16, 2011 photo by Larry Cultrera

We also went by Dewey’s Diner and Inga’s Diner which happen to live right next door to each other on Fuller Road in Albany. Dewey’s is a 1940 vintage Kullman Diner that has seen better days (certainly on the outside) and Inga’s is an on-site built diner.

Dewey’s Diner, Albany, NY. April 16, photo by Larry Cultrera

Inga’s Diner, Albany, NY. April 16, photo by Larry Cultrera

We visited 3 more diners last Saturday and I will continue this in the next post, stay tuned…..

Looks like possible problems for Lawton’s Famous Frankfurters in Lawrence

I have been keeping tabs on the progress of the future reopening of Lawton’s Famous Frankfurters at a new location in South Lawrence, Mass. The securing of this new location is in the works according to business owner Joanne Curley. They are hoping to start construction on a new building located on a vacant lot at the corner of South Union and Jamaica Streets in the very near future. Regular readers of this blog may recall I have posted a couple of times (back in December & January) about the closing of the business at its longtime location by the South Canal in Lawrence, see…… https://dinerhotline.wordpress.com/2010/12/14/lawtons-famous-frankfurters-may-close-by-dec-31st/ and….. https://dinerhotline.wordpress.com/2011/01/04/lawtons-famous-frankfurters-1929-2010/

Joanne Curley behind the counter at the original location of Lawton’s

I recieved a message thru Facebook the other day from Joanne, and she is very upset (rightfully so) about some recent developments that have popped up. In the message from Joanne, she wanted to let people know that something was happening at Lawton’s old location. It seems the owner of the property has advertised the fact that a new business is opening that would infringe on Lawton’s menu and reputation. Here is what she wrote…

WARNING: sign at old Lawton’s location “LAWRENCE FAMOUS FRANKFURTS coming soon” & they still are using Lawton’s old telephone number too!!!! Don’t be fooled folks, It Is NOT Lawton’s…it’s just a ploy to get you there~~ OMG…see how low some people are…Unbelievable!
Please pass this info on…Thank You…I will keep you posted with all Lawton’s info

In a further message she stated…

LAWTON’S needs your support: City of Lawrence licensing board meeting on Wed. 4/13 @ 7pm. Please try to attend~ The more people in attendance the better! Help us stop them~~old location owner is capitalizing on Lawton’s history by using a similar NAME, 1929 date is used in his new sign (the building was not built in 1929, just a ploy). He even has a similar Hot Dog pan out in front! HE also advertized my menu on Craigslist trying to Sell the building. Please pass this on..Thanks

Seems like a pretty low blow to me. I told Joanne I would help out by posting this on Diner Hotline. I am definitely in her corner and I hope the licensing board sees that this is wrong and should not be allowed to go forward!

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Month: April 2011