Tim’s Diner of Leominster, Mass.

One of my very favorite diners

Tim’s Diner, Water Street in Leominster, Mass. A circa 1950s photo showing the diner with the original name of Roy’s
Diner on the porcelain panels.
Photo Courtesy of Tim’s Diner

I first learned about Tim’s Diner when I saw an article that appeared in one of the local newspapers, possibly The Boston Globe, sometime between 1979 and 1980. I more than likely still have the news-clipping in my 5-drawer flat file but it would be a chore to dig it out. I believe it was written by Richard J.S. Gutman and the article was highlighting some classic diners in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. This article had been published just prior to when I started documenting diners with my photographs.

A little background on Tim’s Diner, it is a 1949 Silk City Diner (Car No. 4921) built by the Paterson Vehicle Company of Paterson, New Jersey. It was purchased by Roy Hemenway (or Hemingway) and originally named “Roy’s Diner”. In 1953, Tim Kamataris Sr. purchased the diner from Hemenway and rechristened the business “Tim’s Diner”.

With the shooting of my first diner photo on November 29, 1980 while visiting in Harrisburg, PA, I got back home and started taking more diner photos, blanketing the Boston area, up thru the North Shore, out towards Lawrence and Lowell, into the Metro-West area as far as Worcester. By the end of July of 1981 when I started to keep a “Diner Log”, I had started venturing further afield, documenting diners in Spencer, Orange and Northampton. Now granted, my entries into the Diner Log were sporadic at first and there were quite a few that did not get properly logged with info such as dates of first photos, etc. But I know I must have visited the Fitchburg-Leominster area along the Route 2 corridor, but did not get to Tim’s Diner until early September of 1981.

It looks like I had taken a trip on Saturday September 5, 1981, starting out in Leominster where I photographed Tim’s and the Central Square Diner on the way to getting photos of the Pizza Pub in Wilbraham, Taco Villa in Amherst and Ross’ Diner in Holyoke. The first three photos I shot of Tim’s Diner were the only ones I got of the diner when it still looked the way it came from the factory….

Tim’s Diner, Water Street in Leominster, Mass.
September 5, 1981 photo by Larry Cultrera

Tim’s Diner, Water Street in Leominster, Mass.
September 5, 1981 photo by Larry Cultrera

Tim’s Diner, Water Street in Leominster, Mass.
September 5, 1981 photo by Larry Cultrera

So not long after that first visit to Tim’s, tragedy struck when a motorist veered off the road, more than likely taking the turn too wide from Mechanic Street onto Water Street and hit the front of the diner. The original factory-built entryway was destroyed along with the stainless steel facade under the front windows being damaged beyond repair. Tim Kamataris Sr. made the decision to replace the entryway and facade under all the windows along the front and right side of the diner with brick. Ironically, a second car accident hit the front wall again within a fairly short time after the damage was repaired from the first accident, this time to the right of the new entryway. This accident caused more damage with the brick facade and wall behind it being pushed in by a few inches. The stainless steel panels above the windows and the trim at the corners of the diner were left intact which In retrospect would help with the eventual restoration that happened in the last year and a half.

Tim’s Diner with brick entryway and facade after the two
accidents. 2008 Photo by Larry Cultrera

Tim’s Diner with brick entryway and facade after the two
accidents. April 18, 2009 Photo by Larry Cultrera

Sometime in the early 2000s, I became friends with Tim Kamataris Jr. when I started to frequent the diner more often, usually with my pal Steve Repucci. Tim related to me how he always lamented the fact that his dad had put the brick on the diner. He expressed that he would love to restore the diner but knew it would take a lot of money to do it correctly and he did not see how he could raise the funds to do the job.

Yours Truly with Tim Kamataris Jr. at Tim’s Diner
January 12, 2013 photo by Steve Repucci

Interior of Tim’s Diner, Steve Repucci (with hat) sitting at the counter. March 26, 2011 photo by Larry Cultrera

Interior of Tim’s Diner, Steve Repucci sitting at the counter. March 26, 2011 photo by Larry Cultrera

Interior of the back dining room at Tim’s Diner.
March 26, 2011 photo by Larry Cultrera

Interior of the back dining room at Tim’s Diner.
March 26, 2011 photo by Larry Cultrera

from left to right -Yours Truly with my brothers Don & Rick
with Tim Kamataris and his sister Gail Kamataris-Prizio in the
background. January 27, 2020 photo from Larry Cultrera

Tim’s Diner with the walls prepped awaiting the new
stainless steel panels. November 18, 2022 photo by Larry Cultrera

Within the last two years or so, Tim found out that the diner was eligible for Government grants from the city of Leominster which made it possible to finally restore the exterior of the diner to a reasonable facsimile to the way it originally looked. He had a local contractor do the prep work by removing the brick work under the windows on the front and right side of the diner. The front wall to the right of the entryway under the windows was dismantled in order to pull the steel beam back out. The tile-work on the inside of the wall was replaced although not an exact match to the originals, it still looks good and the booths located on that wall help to hide it to a degree.

The Summer of 2023, new replacement windows were installed but the stainless steel panels were not installed until early December. My wife Denise and I made a quick trip out on December 20, 2023 to document the diner with the completed restoration. This restoration included cladding the brick entryway with stainless steel as well.

Tim’s Diner with new stainless steel facade.
December 20, 2023 photo by Larry Cultrera

Tim’s Diner with new stainless steel facade.
December 20, 2023 photo by Larry Cultrera

Tim’s Diner with new stainless steel facade.
December 20, 2023 photo by Larry Cultrera

All in all, I am happy to say that I believe that Tim’s Diner looks much better and closer to the way it originally looked. It has been over 40 years and it was well worth the wait, a job well done!!!!

Down & Out Worcester Streamliner comes back to life!

I am happy to report that it is not all bad news with diners closing and or being demolished lately. There is good news coming out of Pawtucket, Rhode Island that happens to be a long time in coming to fruition.  A diner last operated in Middletown, Connecticut (closed in 1997) has been restored and re-opened as the Miss Lorraine Diner. Built as Worcester Lunch Car # 774, it was delivered to its first operating location, 357 Asylum Street in Hartford, Connecticut on August 12, 1941 and operated as Donwells Diner-Restaurant.

a newspaper ad announcing the opening of Donwells Diner

an old matchbook cover for Donwells Diner

According to Richard Gutman, the name of the diner came from the combining of the original owner’s names, J. Edward & Edith Donnellan and Chester L. Wells… hence the contraction, Donwells. I am not sure when the diner was moved to Middletown from Hartford, but I had heard stories that the original owners may have gotten into debt with some unsavory people who came and basically stripped the diner of any pieces of equipment that were moveable, including all the booths and tables.

Be that as it may, by the time WLC # 774 got to 200 E. Main Street in Middletown, the diner was a ghost of its former self. It was purchased by Stanley “Squeak” Zawisa to replace an older barrel-roofed diner he operated across the street as the South Farms Lunch, described as a 10 stool Worcester Lunch Car. I first came across Squeak’s Diner on a dreary Sunday afternoon diner road-trip with Steve Repucci and David Hebb on October 4, 1987. We had stopped at O’Rourke’s Diner (in Middletown) and were told of this other diner being in town.

Squeak’s Diner, October 4, 1987 photo by Larry Cultrera

Squeak’s Diner, October 4, 1987 photo by Larry Cultrera

Squeak’s Diner, October 4, 1987 photo by Larry Cultrera

We found out that it was not open on Sundays when we stopped to check it out, but on a subsequent visit on a weekday during another road-trip, I did get to eat breakfast there. I will say that I can recall that the interior was in sad shape and I never thought that this diner would ever survive.

Ironically, in November of 1987, I met Colin Strayer a documentary film-maker based in Toronto, Canada, at the opening of the new exhibit of “The Automobile in American Life” at the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Michigan. Colin eventually became the person who saved Squeak’s Diner after it closed. I contacted Colin Strayer in a recent email to verify when he moved # 774 and he related the next information…

Your recollection of when I moved Squeak’s is correct. I rigged it out by hand throughout September, 2003.  Moving took place on Columbus Day, 2003. I believe Stanley Zawisa finally closed Squeak’s Diner (WLC #774) in 1997.  I’m not where my paper file on it is.  But if memory serves me it was 1997. Stanley had gone through something like 4 realtors in the 4 preceding years, without any success.

As I recall, Stanley tried to sell “the business” for $175,000. for several years.  In the end, I acquired just the diner, plus a provision I fill in the hole and grade to ground elevation, as well as clear away all the debris. There was a lot of old equipment in the basement, as well as a few pieces from the South Farms Lunch, a 1920s 10-stool WLC diner that had been located across the street. (The following photos were courtesy of Colin Strayer and depict Squeak’s Diner being moved from Middletown to a storage site in 2003.)

2003 photo courtesy of Colin Strayer

2003 photo courtesy of Colin Strayer

2003 photo courtesy of Colin Strayer

2003 photo courtesy of Colin Strayer

2003 photo courtesy of Colin Strayer

2003 photo courtesy of Colin Strayer

2003 photo courtesy of Colin Strayer

WLC 774 was a project I really wanted to do myself.  I had first come across WLC 774 in 1986. I accidentally stumbled upon Squeak’s one day 33-1/2 years ago while trying to locate diners painted in John Baeder’s 1978 book “Diners”.

It was diner love at first sight. 774 was one of the largest of its type ever made by Worcester Lunch Car Co. I hounded Stanley Zawisa for 17 years.  I really wanted to restore 774 — to be a part of it.  My enthusiasm got the better of me.  I sold it to Jon Savage for less than I’d spent on it to date.  I did so, because Savage impressed upon me he had the resources to restore it to the level of Lamy’s at Henry Ford Museum.

 Going back to spring, 2010, I’d proposed restoration would take 3 years.  Savage thought it could be done faster. It’s now been 9 years.  I also proposed the name Miss Lorraine Diner, which I understand Savage adopted.

From time to time I understand there’s talk about 774 finally opening in Pawtucket. I would be interested to hear about any developments.  I talked to / communicated with Dick Gutman several years ago about it a couple of times. I believe Dick was involved doing some consultation.  Dick kindly informed me of this as a professional courtesy, which I much appreciated. I told him what had happened and gave him my blessings.

I tip my hat to the gentlemen who worked on it in Pawtucket from circa 2012-2014. He was an older guy Jon Savage knew. I stopped by several times back then to look at the progress. My view was this gentleman had done some really good foundational restoration work.  The structure was stripped and really straight back then. But his work was very slow-going and he eventually stopped work on it. By 2012,  I’d done $10,000. in (unpaid) consultation work.  Savage made a lot of promises,  but never paid me for my work.  Never understood that. The math makes no sense. 774 could have been running by 2015. By now, been running for 5 years. Not being involved in 774 restoration has been one of my life’s great disappointments.

So, the restoration of WLC #774 continued with some consultation/expertise provided by Richard Gutman along with another contractor who came on board by the name of  Joe Pacheco of Abby Road Construction. Pacheco along with his crew worked on site off and on for the next few years and the outcome came fairly close to bringing the diner back to the way it might have looked when it was brand-new. The restoration included all new recreated Worcester Lunch Car style booths and tables as well as the re-chromed stools. Also, Dick Gutman provided 6 stainless steel ceiling light fixtures that had once graced the interior of the Black & Gold Diner of Roslindale, Massachusetts. Unfortunately the larger #774 needed 8 ceiling lights so 2 more were recreated  and you cannot tell which are the old fixtures and which are the new ones.

Back in November of 2019 it was announced to the press that the Miss Lorraine Diner was being readied to start serving customers in a fairly short amount of time, I guess good things are worth the wait! Denise and I took a drive down to Pawtucket on December 29, 2019 where I got my first look at the place which was 98% done. Workers were finishing up the parking area around the diner in preparation for paving. The interior still needed the restored stools installed by the counter and the completely recreated booths/tables had not been brought in. Then the news came of the diner opening on January 28, 2020 and I made plans to check it out, that happened on Monday, February 17th when myself along with my brothers Rick & Don went down for breakfast. We met Mike Arena who had signed on to operate the diner, becoming  one of five diners and restaurants that he’s currently running. The other places include the West Side Diner, Broadway Diner, the Lighthouse Restaurant and Amanda’s Kitchen, open for twenty-four years and named after his daughter.

Exterior view of the newly opened Miss Lorraine Diner.
February 17, 2020 Photo by Larry Cultrera

Exterior view of the newly opened Miss Lorraine Diner.
February 17, 2020 Photo by Larry Cultrera

Interior view of the newly opened Miss Lorraine Diner.
February 17, 2020 Photo by Larry Cultrera

Interior view of the newly opened Miss Lorraine Diner.
February 17, 2020 Photo by Larry Cultrera

Interior view of the bar/dining room of the newly opened
Miss Lorraine Diner. February 17, 2020 Photo by Larry Cultrera

Interior view of the bar/dining room of the newly opened
Miss Lorraine Diner. February 17, 2020 Photo by Larry Cultrera

It seems that lately, good news is hard to come by on the Diner front, but here is one that finally seems to have a happy re-birth! I will be back to try some other meals, hopefully in the near future and for years to come…

 

SRO in Somerville, next up… North Dartmouth!

The Author Event at the Somerville Public Library was a success! It became a standing room only crowd! There were more than quite a few books sold.

Some of my family showed up in Somerville, left to right, my brother Don and his wife  Jane, my brother Steve, me and my brother Rick.
photo by Denise Cultrera

This was billed as the first “Meet, Mingle and Read” event at the Library and Library Director Maria Carpenter was very gracious and pleasant to work with. My new slide presentation was well received and there were quite a few members of the audience that participated in the question and answer part after the presentation. The library had some catered “diner-like” food for people to partake of (it was from the local “Sound Bites” restaurant, none of the 3 diners in Somerville could accomodate the request for food).

Some members of my family showed up for this including my brothers Steve, Rick and Don and Don’s wife Jane, as well as Denise’s cousin Maryann Bancroft and her husband Rick. Another old friend, Vinny Bordonaro stopped by as well as a former co-worker of mine Ed Lecaroz and his friend Beth. Old friend and owner of the Rosebud Diner, Bill Nichols was there along with David Hebb, one of my long-time diner roadtrip buddies as well as newer friends Glenn Wells and Mike Engle. Glenn and Mike get the long distance award for driving all the way from the Albany, NY area to attend! Many thanks to my wife Denise for all her help including the photos she shot. I think she is getting pretty good with the Nikon Cool Pix camera.

left to right, David Hebb, Mike Engle, Glenn Wells and myself.
photo by Denise Cultrera

This coming Saturday at 11:00 am, it is on to Baker Books in North Dartmouth, Mass. as well as a radio interview with New Bedford’s Shawmut Diner owner and local radio personality Phil Paleologos at 10:15 am on Tuesday, November 22 (WBSM-AM). Here is a link to the event page at Baker Books….
http://www.bakerbooks.net/events.asp