Vintage Diners and their names

[jasonl]

Now that we have a great thread on O-matic, a-rama, and amagic. How about old diners from the 50s. Now you can't be a vintage jukebox fan and not like the old diners.We have a few vintage places here in New Orleans namely the FrosTop, Dairy Queen, Airline Motors Restaurant, and a new franchise called Dot's Diner which I still have to check out.

Let's name and locate some of the original eatin' places where you could drop a dime in the Seeburg and eat your burger, fries, and malt to the beat of a rockin 50s song.

 

[kenwashesmonday]

The White Manna Diner in Hackensack New Jersey was built for the 1939 Worlds Fair in Queens NYC and later trucked to Hackensack. They make the best little hamburgers in the world. Having McDonalds right across the street doesn't hurt business a bit. The little diner seats about 15 people (no room for a jukebox).

Ken D.

http://www.dinercity.com/njDiner/whiteMannaExtM.jpg

 

[pulsator-power]

Skee's Diner in Torrington, Ct is a railroad car type with a counter and 1 row of stools- 2 tables on one end, and the original ice chest/cooler still installed, and you have to go outside to use the bathroom, which is around back. Cool place though. Also there is Collins Diner in Canaan, CT. Don't have pic though

 

[veg-o-matic]

I think they're all gone...

But we used to have a chain around here called "The Little Tavern". More of a hamburger joint than a true diner, but they still had that diner "feel".

And I've always liked the Chat 'N Chew...

veg, who could go for a Woolworth's patty melt right now

 

[DADoES]

There's a little place here name of The Duson Diner, after the vintage building in which it resides. The diner itself is not xactly vintage, but when remodeling the space and stripping the paint they discovered several handpainted wall murals advertising local business . . from back when phone numbers were two digits.

Another group is turning the old fire station into a cafe.

 

[jasonl]

Johnny Rockets

There's a chain in New Englnad called Johnny Rockets. It's a restaurant built to look just like a 50s diner. The food there is awesome. The Peanut Butter malt is to die for. And what's more they use WORKING Seeburg 3W1 Select-O-Matic wallboxes as their jukebox. I'm sure the actual "juke" is a hidden CD or mp3 player. It costs a nickel a song and when we were there, they had Christmas songs up.

 

[gansky1]

There is one of those stainless, art-deco looking diners in downtown Omaha called City Diner. I believe it was moved to it's present location and for the most part, has mostly original fixtures. The food is marginal, but the atmosphere is great.

 

[spiralactivator]

The Little Tavern?

Ever see "Female Trouble," veg? There's a short scene of Divine waitressing at a Little Tavern.

 

[Royalhdw]

Country Club Diner the Best

I live in New Jersey and I thought we wrote the book on diners. That is the restaurant of choice in this state.

That being said, my personal favorite is located in Philadelphia. It's called the Country Club Diner and goes way, way back. It is located across the street from the high school I attended in the '60's and it's still there.

I remember the old format, looking like a typical diner did then, chrome trim and all. I remember going there for french fries and ketsup and a Coke after school. They also had great hot fudge sundaes!

Today it looks like a brick building after the remodelling decades ago, but they still boast the absolute best cheesecake I have ever eaten!

 

[joeekaitis]

On the way home from Disneyland. . .

. . .we would stop at a little place on Katella Avenue in Anaheim called Burger Square, so named because the hamburgers were made with (you guessed it) square patties. The reason was printed on the front of the menu:

4 More Bites!

Burger Square has since become something else and I don't even remember what the original address was.

 

[kenmore1978]

Johnny Rockets

is not just in New England, they're here in Los Angeles, too. It's a nationwide franchise

 

[Almostclean]

we used to have a mel's diner

two mel's diners.... like from " the happy days" show wait, or was it the "alice show?"... but sadly they closed down... theyw ere really neat too... and if you hula-hooped you'd get a free bumper sticker saying "i hula hooped at mel's diner".... and i had one but when my $75.00 1979 brown chevette died, the bumper sticker went with....

now we have a cocoa cola classic diner and it has wonderful peanut butter shakes.... too bad the mel's diner closed though