The DINER.

[Barry]

Doumar's... home of the cone.

Barry

 

[scotrace]

Anyone have other pics and stories of small local eateries?

Not a diner, but a soda fountain, still giving out with Phosphates:

 

[Hannigan Reilly]

Flesor's Kandy Kitchen in Tuscola, IL. The family renovated and re-opened their soda fountain from 1901. They serve lunch, as well.

http://www.flesorscandy.com/newphotos/index.htm

 

[Rosie]

There was a GREAT diner my dad used to take me to when I was a kid called George's. It was very '40s, great architecture as I recall and had those old green milkshake makers. The same family owned it for years and they were the sweetest people. It was great, we would go after church almost every Sunday and whenever I had a doctor's appointment (my pediatrician, and dentist were in the same neighborhood). Sadly, because of gentrification, , their rent went up, and it has become a Payless Shoe Store and a coffee house.

 

[funneman]

Doumar's... home of the cone.

Hey Barry,

This looks like a place we used to go to in Norfolk, Va. Shredded pork BBQ with cole slaw on top. MMMMMMM. Pass the Tobasco!

 

[raiderrescuer]

Dallas Diner

When the Blue Garden was up and running they served excellent food. Unfortunately it died when a lot of the downtown businesses died plus they changed it to parallel parking, so now there is a lot less spots to park.

 

[Barry]

Hey Barry,

This looks like a place we used to go to in Norfolk, Va. Shredded pork BBQ with cole slaw on top. MMMMMMM. Pass the Tobasco!

Yep! That's it. My folks live down that way. The limeade is great too.

Barry

 

[funneman]

The Varsity in Atlanta

Anyone ever visit this landmark adjacent to Georgia Tech? The greasyest fries, the nastiest hotdogs, the poorest service and worst atmosphere!

As Yogi Berra would say "No one ever goes there, the place is always too crowded!"

 

[Salv]

Diners in the UK

A few original diners have been imported into the UK and are still in use.

This one was originally known as the Riverside Diner, and was located on the banks of the Susquehanna River, just north of Harrisburg, PA.

It was moved to London in the early 90s after a complete refurbishment, and it was in Covent Garden for a few years. It was put into storage when the site it was on was due to be redeveloped, and it finally ended up in a garden centre in Ashford, Kent, to the south-east of London.

There are some photos of the interior here.


This second diner was bought by the same company that bought the Riverview. As far as I know it was originally in Jersey and came to London just after the Riverview. It was first situated near Liverpool Street railway station, then moved 400 yards into the Spitalfields Market, then finally moved again to its present site at Trinity Buoy Wharf, directly across the River Thames from the Milennium Dome:

Interior photos here.

The company that owned these two had a third diner, which they put up in Golders Green in north London. That one was also moved some years ago, but I haven't managed to track it down.

 

[Dinerman]

whee... diners!

I'm a diner enthusiast. I write for a magazine about diners. I've been to almost 200 of them, and I'm only 15! I can look at a diner, and name which company manufactured it, the year (give or take a couple), and any modification that has been done to it.

For example... the red Fatboys is a late 1950's worcester diner
The blue and cream is an early 1940's O'Mahony
and the welcome diner is a late '40's Valentine.

can you guess why I'm Dinerman?

sorry, I'm obsessive, but that's just who I am.

you want to see more? go to roadsideonline.com
that's the magazine's website. I've got some stuff (reviews, art) at the link below.

 

[Salv]

Hi Dinerman - thanks for dating Fatboy's, there's very little information available at the diner itself, apart from the Worcester name on the original clock above the grill.

I bought an original postcard like this one of the Riverview Diner on eBay recently:

which I'll scan and print a copy of to give to the current owners.

There's another diner in London, but it's a new build in the classic style, and known as Starvin' Marvins

There's another thread in the Lounge with some photos I took in Florida while on holiday a couple of years ago of the abandoned Pelican Diner, and the new built Starlite Diner. These are within a mile of each other in St Petersburg - have you been down that way?

 

[Dinerman]

Hi Dinerman - thanks for dating Fatboy's, there's very little information available at the diner itself, apart from the Worcester name on the original clock above the grill.

It still has the original clock? You don't see that much. If they've ever been abandoned for any length of time, the clock tends to be one of the first things to go. I guess it could be also because old clocks break.

There's another diner in London, but it's a new build in the classic style, and known as Starvin' Marvins

That's built by DinerMite out of GA. I'm not a huge fan of that style, a little too retro for my blood, but to each their own.

There's another thread in the Lounge with some photos I took in Florida while on holiday a couple of years ago of the abandoned Pelican Diner, and the new built Starlite Diner. These are within a mile of each other in St Petersburg - have you been down that way?

" haven't travelled in the US as much as I want, but I always consult Diner City and Roadside Online before I go. "

Hey- that's me!


No, I've never been that way, but It's a shame to see those pictures. They're great shots of the diner, but it's always sad to see one bite the dust.
Thanks for the tips!

 

[Dinerman]

sorry- one more thing. do you know the addresses of any of the diners in the London area? We'd like to know or the magazine.

 

[Matt Deckard]

Nice to see you online Dinerman. We'll have to go eat sometime.

 

[Salv]

sorry- one more thing. do you know the addresses of any of the diners in the London area? We'd like to know or the magazine.

Sure - the Riverview Diner is at:
Bybrook Barn Garden Centre,
Canterbury Road,
Kennington,
Ashford, Kent TN24 9JZ
This is about 50 miles south-east of London - there's a map showing the location of Ashford here and the garden centre has a page about the diner on its website.

Fatboy's is at:
Trinity Bouy Wharf,
64 Orchard Place,
London, E14 OJW
This is about 5 miles east of London's West End (Covent Garden, Oxford Street, Soho etc.) - map here - the red circle shows the diner's location.

Starvin' Marvins is at:
BP Service Station,
Central Parade,
Western Ave,
Greenford UB6
This is about 8 miles west of the West End - map here.

 

[Matt Deckard]

I ate at the Pacific Dining car last week with MK. Quite a snazzy joint with well made steaks and waiters dressed to serve the elite.

The bread just kept coming.

 

[carebear]

When you're in Anchorage, you'll need to stop at:

The Lucky Wishbone (open since '56) for Burgers, fried chicken and malts.

-or-

The Arctic Roadrunner (since the '60's) for burgers, onion rings and great shakes.

-or-

The White Spot (another older one) originally a very 50's-60's lunch counter, it's moved a couple times just in my 35 years but the burgers are still great.

If I can find my patch cord, I'll get some pictures. Only the 'Bone really still has that vintage look to my eyes. (Anchorage being so young and the '64 earthquake causing such damage)

We've got one of the few remaining Art Deco theatres in the country though (4th Avenue Theatre) and some original townsite buildings.

Not a lot of vintage to be found....

 

[raiderrescuer]

Milk Ad...

From the Diner at the Oregon Cave Chateau:

 

[ledsled]

A tribute to O'Rourkes in Middletown, CT

I have not read all the posts in this thread, so my apologies if this has been mentioned already.

I was very saddened to hear the news earlier this week that O'Rourkes Diner in Middletown CT burned down. From the looks of it, the stainless steel shell is still there, but the guts of the building are gone. I am not sure how many generations of O'Rourkes have run it, but since I have gone there the owner is Brian, who is working the grill EVERY day. I think he got the business from his uncle, but might be wrong about that detail. Brian has that shaved yesterday, got up at 4:00AM this morning kinda look to him... a bit ashen, but right where he belongs in his life's plan.

O'Rourkes is (was?) are really SMALL diner, like a quarter size.... sitting next to the railroad tracks on the main street of Middletown, across the street from a huge brick church and by a rotary leading to a big old bridge. You could feel like you were in the 30's/40's without even going into the diner. While we in the northeast do not have the bragging rights you southwesterners do with route 66, his diner sits along the CT version of route 66. Lots of motorcycles enjoy cruising that stretch of road on warm Sundays.

I was always fascinated by the patrons, equally split between street characters (a shelter was nearby), academic professors and student from Weslyan University, and the occasional (but consistent) psychiatric patient recently released from a state hospital to a halfway house.

To Brian's creative credit, he had TWO menu's.... he literally printed two menu's! One was the regular greasy-spoon affair, and the other was his own diner gourmet creations. It was very clever how he appeased the "academics "and the "streets" at the same time. He enjoyed making various breads (always an Irish soda bread on hand). The waitress would bring a plate of samples while you waited to place your order. The loaves of his creations would be stacked up near the register, luring you as you had cash in hand to pay your bill.

I hope Brian O-Rourke will be able to rebuild. The diner will never be the same. I don't know how he could recreate the decades of dents, scratches, layers of paint, carved initials, etc. I hope he rebuilds, so he can continue to create the amazing food and Tom Waite's sort of atmosphere that he was so successful with before.

 

[Dinerman]

yeah.
O'Rourke's was one of, if not the oldest diner built by the Mountain View Diner Company.
And it looks like they're going to rebuild! The exterior is likely saveable, so that's good.
And if you want to read about it, talk about it, or see some first hand pictures, go to roadsideonline.com