I have been rather delinquent in posting recently. In part due to laziness and also because I have been contemplating this post, I just needed to scan a bunch of slides for it. A few months ago I scanned some slides for Michael Gabriele that he may or may not end up using in his forthcoming book – The History of Diners in New Jersey for my publisher, The History Press. Two of the slide boxes I left out purposely to remind me about this post and get busy scanning.
Well that really did not spur me into action and they sat (and sat). Finally a little over a week ago I got off my rear end and started scanning because Memorial Day Weekend was fast approaching and the post I wanted to write was about a Diner road trip I took on Memorial Day Weekend in 1986!
When I had scanned the slides of Paul’s Diner of Kearny, NJ for Mike G., I looked at the other slides in the box and remembered that trip. I also realized there was one other box of slides (as well as 5 slides in yet a third box) that were associated with that trip. So today I completed the scanning process and decided to get on with this post before the weekend is over!
Memorial Day Weekend in 1986 was May 24th thru 26th (Saturday to Monday). These road trips were usually taken with either Steve Repucci or David Hebb (or both). I believe this was a Dave Hebb trip….. well anyway, we more than likely took off early as I usually liked to do on Saturday, May 24th and made it down to Fairfield, CT and Larry’s Diner, as it was the first one photographed on this trip. That Saturday was pretty overcast, weather-wise as the photos will show.
I had already been to Larry’s 3 years earlier according to my Diner Log, so it was not listed in the log on this trip in 1986. We may even have had breakfast here but more than likely it was at the very least a coffee stop and photo op. This diner was built by the Jerry O’Mahony Co. in the early 1930’s and was still in extremely original condition at this point.
Larry’s Diner, U.S. Rte. 1 in Fairfield, CT – Right Front corner
May 24, 1986 photo by Larry Cultrera
Larry’s Diner, U.S. Rte. 1 in Fairfield, CT – Left Front corner
May 24, 1986 photo by Larry Cultrera
Larry’s Diner, U.S. Rte. 1 in Fairfield, CT – Left front showing the interesting
addition to the diner – a lunch wagon sized annex with a frosted window!
May 24, 1986 photo by Larry Cultrera
Larry’s Diner, was moved around the corner from this location in the 1990’s and completely gutted on the interior to become the front of another restaurant. The outside was also changed.
Our next stop was George’s Diner at 71 Main Street in Norwalk, CT. This was a Mountain View Diner that was also fairly original inside and out with one exception, there was a brick facade under the windows facing Main St. and on the entryway. The rest of the facade was intact. The diner is still there and operating under the name “Family Diner” now.
George’s Diner, 71 Main St. in Norwalk, CT
May 24, 1986 photo by Larry Cultrera
George’s Diner, 71 Main St. in Norwalk, CT
May 24, 1986 photo by Larry Cultrera
Down the road a piece just off U.S. Rte. 1 in Cos Cob, CT was a small 1920’s vintage barrel-roofed diner called Thanh’s Diner. It had formerly been known as Pal Joey’s Diner. This was believed to be an old Tierney diner built down the road in New Rochelle. This diner does not exist anymore.
Thanh’s Diner, just off U.S. Rte. 1 in Cos Cob, CT
May 24, 1986 photo by Larry Cultrera
Thanh’s Diner, just off U.S. Rte. 1 in Cos Cob, CT
May 24, 1986 photo by Larry Cultrera
A diner I had first read about in the book Diners of the Northeast by Donald Kaplan and Allison Bellink was the Chinatown Diner, a late 1940’s vintage diner (could be a Kullman but more than likely DeRaffele) located at 301 Halstead Ave. in Harrison, NY. It had been serving primarily Chinese food as well as an American breakfast menu when Don and Allison had visited it. By the time I finally got there in 1986, it had become an upscale bistro called the Silver Spoon Cafe.
Silver Spoon Cafe, 301 Halstead Ave. in Harrison, NY
May 24, 1986 photo by Larry Cultrera
Silver Spoon Cafe, 301 Halstead Ave. in Harrison, NY
May 24, 1986 photo by Larry Cultrera
When I originally wrote this post I thought the Silver Spoon Cafe was the final photo op of the day. But alas, it turns out I missed a couple of images of yet another diner that was previously logged (it did not show up in the May of 1986 section of the log, that is why I forgot to upload these). It seems we got over to the northwest corner of the Garden State and checked out Prout’s Diner in Sussex by late afternoon.
Prout’s Diner, Main Street. in Sussex, NJ
May 24, 1986 photo by Larry Cultrera
Prout’s Diner, Main Street. in Sussex, NJ
May 24, 1986 photo by Larry Cultrera
It looked like the weather was finally turning for the better before night came on and sure enough, bright and early on the morning of May 25th (my 33rd birthday), it was a very sunny day which made for a great breakfast and even better photos at Pal’s Diner on Rte. 17 in Mahwah, NJ.
Pal’s Diner, Rte. 17 in Mahwah, NJ
May 25, 1986 photo by Larry Cultrera
Pal’s Diner, Rte. 17 in Mahwah, NJ
May 25, 1986 photo by Larry Cultrera
Pal’s Diner is one of a very few diners I have photographed that was built by Manno Diners. It was moved in the 1990’s to Grand Rapids, Michigan where it continues to operate to this day!
The next diner photographed that morning (according to the order of slides in the box) was in fact another diner I had previously visited, the White Manna on River Street in Hackensack, NJ. This was the first of several “small” diners we documented on this trip. All of these particular small diners were built dating from the late 1930’s to early 1950’s. Most offered limited menus offering hamburgers, etc. Being that it was Sunday morning, it was not open at the point in time that I stopped. I was able to document it pretty well on the exterior but the fact that it was closed offered me a great opportunity to get some great interior “thru-the-window” shots as well.
White Manna, 358 River St. in Hackensack, NJ
May 25, 1986 exterior photo by Larry Cultrera
White Manna, 358 River St. in Hackensack, NJ
May 25, 1986 exterior photo by Larry Cultrera
White Manna, 358 River St. in Hackensack, NJ
May 25, 1986 interior photo by Larry Cultrera
White Manna, 358 River St. in Hackensack, NJ
May 25, 1986 interior photo by Larry Cultrera
White Manna, 358 River St. in Hackensack, NJ
May 25, 1986 interior photo by Larry Cultrera
White Manna, 358 River St. in Hackensack, NJ
May 25, 1986 interior photo by Larry Cultrera
White Manna, 358 River St. in Hackensack, NJ
May 25, 1986 interior photo by Larry Cultrera
Next up was another small diner….. the White Diamond on St. Georges Ave. (Rte. 27) in Linden, NJ. This looks to be built by Mountain View diners and I believe it was moved to another location not too far away within the intervening years since I documented it.
White Diamond, St. Georges Ave. in Linden, NJ
May 25, 1986 photo by Larry Cultrera
White Diamond, St. Georges Ave. in Linden, NJ
May 25, 1986 photo by Larry Cultrera
Another small diner and possibly the jewel of the bunch was the Short Stop located at 26 Washington Ave. in Belleville, NJ. One of the cutest diners I have ever photographed, this diner was bought quite a few years ago by Steve Harwin of Cleveland, Ohio’s Diversified Diners. As far as I know, Steve still has this one in storage.
Short Stop Diner, 26 Washington Ave. in Belleville, NJ
May 25, 1986 photo by Larry Cultrera
Short Stop Diner, 26 Washington Ave. in Belleville, NJ
May 25, 1986 photo by Larry Cultrera
We made it over to the Harrison/Kearny area after this and saw Max’s Grill, but probably due to the morning light and Max’s being on the wrong side of the street… I did not shoot any photos of it. Just up the street from Max’s on the opposite side just over the line in Kearny we came across another small diner, the Blue Castle System. This diner has since disappeared. There is a Shell Gas Station on the sight now according to Google street view.
Blue Castle System Diner, 829 Harrison Ave. in Kearny, NJ
May 25, 1986 photo by Larry Cultrera
Blue Castle System Diner, 829 Harrison Ave. in Kearny, NJ
May 25, 1986 photo by Larry Cultrera
Just down the street from the Blue Castle was Paul’s Diner, a 1940’s vintage Fodero. I have recently found out the diner is still there and operating as the Cardinal Diner. The only visible change I could determine was that it now sports a mansard roof that covers the original monitor style roof.
Paul’s Diner, 1002 Harrison Ave. in Kearny, NJ
May 25, 1986 photo by Larry Cultrera
Paul’s Diner, 1002 Harrison Ave. in Kearny, NJ
May 25, 1986 photo by Larry Cultrera
We got over to the Orange, NJ area shortly after and located the closed (taken for back taxes) Orange Diner on Lincoln Ave. behind the U.S. Post Office. This was a nice looking Mountain View diner. I do not know what happened to this diner other than the fact that the space is currently occupied by a parking lot.
Orange Diner, Lincoln Ave. in Orange, NJ
May 25, 1986 photo by Larry Cultrera
Orange Diner, Lincoln Ave. in Orange, NJ
May 25, 1986 photo by Larry Cultrera
Also in Orange we found the State Diner over on Valley Road. This 1950’s Kullman diner as far as I know is still there, although I do not know if it is currently in operation.
State Diner, Valley Rd. in Orange, NJ
May 25, 1986 photo by Larry Cultrera
State Diner, Valley Rd. in Orange, NJ
May 25, 1986 photo by Larry Cultrera
Next up was the nicely preserved 1930’s vintage Summit Diner located at the corner of Summit Ave. and Union Place in downtown Summit, NJ. This was typical of what the Jerry O’Mahony diner company was building by the late 30’s. The diner is still there and operating.
Summit Diner, Summit Ave. & Union Pl. in Summit, NJ
May 25, 1986 photo by Larry Cultrera
Summit Diner, Summit Ave. & Union Pl. in Summit, NJ
May 25, 1986 photo by Larry Cultrera
Here is the last small diner we saw that day… the 2nd of 3 White Diamond Hamburger places (we did not see the 3rd one located in Clark, NJ on this trip). This one was located at the corner of Bayway Ave. and Thomas St. in Elizabeth, NJ. I just checked Google street view and there is a Dunkin Donuts on the same location now.
White Diamond, Bayway Ave. & Thomas St. in Elizabeth, NJ
May 25, 1986 photo by Larry Cultrera
White Diamond, Bayway Ave. & Thomas St. in Elizabeth, NJ
May 25, 1986 photo by Larry Cultrera
White Diamond, Bayway Ave. & Thomas St. in Elizabeth, NJ
May 25, 1986 photo by Larry Cultrera
After Elizabeth, NJ we were back on the road for home and made one last stop for a photo op back in Norwalk, CT. This was for the former Norwalk Diner at that time operating as Cafe Osman. This looks to be a 1940 vintage DeRaffele diner, the type that resembled what Fodero was building at the same point in time. This diner had been altered by bricking up the facade under the windows. In fact the diner which was situated end-wise to the street had a door that was in the center of the facade facing the driveway/parking area that apparently was not used anymore. This door had been “bricked-up” as well with only the top half of the window showing. I do not know if this is still there.
Cafe Osman, Main St. in Norwalk, CT
May 25, 1986 exterior photo by Larry Cultrera
Cafe Osman, Main St. in Norwalk, CT
May 25, 1986 exterior photo by Larry Cultrera
Cafe Osman, Main St. in Norwalk, CT
May 25, 1986 interior photo by Larry Cultrera
The next road trip was not until August 1st of 1986when Dave Hebb and I photographed a couple of diners in Verbank and Millbrook… in eastern upstate New York.
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