When I first started documenting Diners with my photographs, I was influenced by the purchase of a book that was published in the Fall of 1980, entitled Diners Of The Northeast by Donald Kaplan and Alan Bellink. Now granted, I had been a fan of Diners all my life and after I graduated high school, I actually used to hang out with a group of friends at Carroll’s Colonial DIning Car, a 1961 vintage Swingle Diner in my hometown of Medford, Massachusetts. But after I purchased a brand-new Chevy Van in April of 1979, I started increasing the range of my travels and also commenced Sunday morning road trips by the end of that year with my pal, Steve Repucci. These road trips usually started with a stop at a local diner. In the Summer of 1980 I had purchased a used 35mm camera and started shooting photos, primarily scenic shots, etc. But in the back of my mind I was already thinking of also taking photos of the diners I went to. Buying that book by Donald Kaplan and Alan Bellink finally pushed me over the edge and I took my first tentative photo of the By-Pass Diner in Harrisburg, PA on November 29, 1980.

Another thing that influenced me after reading that book was discovering the many diners they featured throughout New England, New York and New Jersey! This is how I first knew about The Blue Benn Diner!
I wrote about that first trip to The Blue Benn on November 26, 1982 in a blog post from 2011 and you can read about it here… https://dinerhotline.wordpress.com/2011/11/25/the-day-after-thanksgiving-29-years-ago/

Sonny Monroe stepped away from the day to day operation of the Blue Benn Diner a number of years ago due to health problems, while Mary Lou continued to operate the diner along with their daughter, Lisa LaFlamme as well as the seasoned wait-staff and cooks. Franklin E. “Sonny” Monroe was 78 when he passed away on Monday December 30, 2019 at his residence following a long illness. Within three months The Blue Benn Diner closed due to the Covid pandemic and was never re-opened by the Monroe family. By July of 2020, Mary Lou put the diner up for sale and was eventually purchased by John Getchell, a former customer and graduate of Bennington College. The diner re-opened by March, 2021.

Back in April, 2021, I was contacted by Peter Crabtree of North Bennington, Vermont. Peter and his business partner Caitlin Randall together operate The Story Project. The Story Project creates commissioned books of all kinds for individuals, families and institutions. Peter had seen some photos I shot of Sonny’s Blue Benn Diner of Bennington, VT back in 1982 (probably the blog post from 2011) and asked if he could use one of them for a tribute book he and Caitlin were putting together. We spoke about the project and I told him I had no problem with him using the photo, which by the way is my favorite from that visit which was the one and only time I ate at the diner. To explain a little about the book, I have included the copy they included on the inside dust jacket….

Sonny Monroe was a short-order chef with big ambitions. A born culinary talent, he dreamed of a restaurant where he could create recipes that sparked his imagination. In 1974, Sonny and his wife
(Marylou) acquired a scrappy diner in southwestern Vermont. It wasn’t very long before Sonny’s Blue Benn was a Bennington landmark, as much for free-flowing conversation as the mouth-watering food. This is a book about a legendary diner and the family that created it. It’s also a celebration of a community hangout, a place that gave townspeople a chance to forge connections with their neighbors no matter what side of the political or economic divide they found themselves. In the tradition of Studs Terkel’s Working, the story is told by the people that made the Blue Benn a renowned Vermont institution: the regulars who ate there and the staff that served them. Sonny’s Blue Benn: Feeding the Soul of a Vermont Town celebrates the importance of small-town life and the value of local gathering places. These are stories of a Vermont community and an iconic diner that magically brought it together.

Within the last two weeks, I had received a text from Peter Crabtree saying the book had been completed and published and he asked for my mailing address so he could send me a copy. The book came in the mail this past Saturday, August 13th and I was surprised to see my photo big as life on the front of the dust jacket! I truly felt honored to see it used that way!

I immediately started reading the book and was completely moved by the feelings it elicited within me. The way the diner had played a part in bringing people together, acting as a community gathering place and the way that the patrons as well as the diner staff became an extended family through the decades since the Monroe family took over the operation of the diner. It also evoked a slight feeling of sadness to me as I now kick myself because I only ate there on that first visit in 1982. Now granted, I did photograph it two more times – once in 1983 and again in 1986, but I was probably within close proximity to Bennington, more than likely coming from someplace else on the way home.

Finishing the reading of this tribute book spurred me to contact Mary Lou Monroe. I actually had a great 25 minute or so conversation with her this week. I told her how much this book moved me and that I felt honored to have my photo of the diner featured on the front of the dust sleeve!

Peter Crabtree mentioned that Sonny’s Blue Benn – Feeding The Soul Of A Vermont Town can be purchased thru the Bennington Bookshop located at 109 South Street Bennington, VT 05201 and you can find them online at https://www.benningtonbookshop.com/about-us, purchase price is $40.00. Because their website does not link to the book, you can email them to inquire about it at phil@benningtonbookshop.com …

To learn more about The Story Project, go to http://www.thestoryproject.net, or you can contact them at: info@thestoryproject.net

As an addendum to this post, I decided to include my photos that I have shot of The Blue Benn Diner over the years… the first five photos are from November 26, 1982

The next three photos are from my second time by the diner, July 19, 1983…

My last four photos came from September, 1986…

It had been reported within the last year or so that the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) announced the I-83 Capital Beltway interchange project and the possibility of displacing businesses in the process. One of the redesigned interchanges includes some land taking along the area where the highway intersects with Cameron Street exactly where the East Shore Diner, a vintage Jerry O’Mahony diner has operated since the early 1950s.

The current owner Bill Katsifis, who bought the former Ray’s Diner in the early 1980s after it had been closed for a time, co-owns the business with his wife, Dorothy Katsifis, said they want to move the diner to another location in Harrisburg. In an article reported by Sue Gleiter of Pennlive.com on November 01, 2021, according to Katsifis, negotiations had stalled over the amount of financial compensation PennDOT is willing to pay and whether the agency will cover upfront expenses to relocate the diner.

He said he has no intention of blocking PennDOT’s acquisition of the diner’s 3/4-acre property and just wants to be fairly compensated and not be left with debt, especially when the diner’s mortgage is already paid off. “It’s so sad. I’m 61 years old and I have a diner. I have a business. I have it all. I told them I’m begging you to let me keep what I have,” Katsifis said.

PennDOT District 8 spokesman David Thompson said the diner is considered a dislocated business and the owner entitled to compensation for the value of the real estate, as well as business relocation assistance and benefits. PennDOT’s multi-year, multi-contract project is intended to widen an eight-mile stretch of I-83 from four to eight lanes. Recently, the rebuild of a northbound portion of I-83 between I-81 and just south of the Union Deposit Road interchange reopened with final improvements scheduled to be completed by next spring.

I was contacted right after re-posting the news on my personal Facebook page by my old friend Ed Womer who lives in the area. He offered to go over and take some current photos of the diner for me….

Earlier this spring, the diner was offering a new t-shirt announcing their Farewell Tour. My friend Wendy Van Hove was gracious enough to send me one of which I wear proudly…

On August 17, 2022, the diner posted this announcement on their Facebook page to officially announce the following statement…

Change is never easy and as many of you may know, our family business – our East Shore Diner is being forced to relocate by PennDOT’s I-83 Expansion Project. Therefor we are making adjustments to our family business and have some news to share.Given the tough circumstances, we have stayed open as long as possible. So it is with a heavy heart that we must first announce the closing of the East Shore Diner. Our last day will be September 1, 2022.

We have been a part of the community for 38 years and we are saddened to have to close our current operations. Bill Katsifis started this business with his Dad in the fall of 1984 and worked tirelessly and passionately to make this Diner the best it could be for his family, his employees and his customers.
Throughout the many years, everyone who walked in for their shift or a bite to eat, has become friends and in many ways, turned into an extension of our family! Together we have been through quite the journey of both Covid and tough times as the East Shore Diner family. We want to deeply thank all of the employees and customers we’ve had throughout the years. We wouldn’t be where we are today without each and every one of you!

We will be moving our historic O’Mahony diner building to a new location. While due to our changes, we will no longer be called the “East Shore Diner”, the heart and soul we all created will remain. We are excited for our new journey to officially begin and sincerely hope to continue to see familiar faces visit us in our new venture. We cannot thank our wonderful staff enough and all our East Shore Diner family for your support and love and friendship. We are forever grateful, keep checking our Facebook page for more updates on the exciting future of our family business!

Shortly after this, I contacted Bill Katsifis and our conversation went like this…
(LAC) Hi Bill, I understand that the diner is closing on September 1st. I heard you will be moving it to Mechanicsburg….
(BK) Hi Larry, how are you? Yes, September 1st is our last work day. We’re moving the diner sometime in October to Mechanicsburg, I’m happy that we get to keep it in the family. We purchased the property and had the foundation permit approved so everything looks good I’ll message you when we’re getting closer to the move thanks again. We have to save as many of these diners as we can.

This is great news when another vintage diner will get to live and operate again in a new location! When this diner was installed in the early 1950s, it operated as Seybold’s Diner…. It has a somewhat unique set-up as it was built as an “L” shaped unit with two sections. These sections comprised of a large front section that faced Cameron Street and a smaller section that was attached to the right rear of the front section. Both of these pieces wrapped around the front and right side of an on-site constructed cinder block building that housed the kitchen and rest rooms. This configuration fooled me as there was a similar diner in the Harrisburg area, the Decoven Diner, that was approximately the same age and had an “L” shaped dining area. The difference between the Decoven and Seybold’s was the rear section of the Decoven was the same length as the front section. So that diner had a factory kitchen and rest rooms instead of an on-site addition.

My own personal history with this diner goes back to early in 1981 when I was visiting my friends, Steve Repucci and Ed Womer in the Harrisburg area. It was called Ray’s Diner at that point but was closed. It had “Sheriff’s Sale posters in a few of the windows but was completely intact on the interior, (FYI, a Sheriff’s sale is basically an auction to sell equipment and other property to help get money from a mortgage foreclosure). Later on, probably when I first photographed it on November 27, 1981, Ed Womer (who took the recent photos last December, see above) drove me over from his place so I could take my first two photos of Ray’s Diner, months after the Sheriff’s sale. I took a look inside and saw the interior of the diner was completely stripped! No counter, stools, booths or back-bar equipment, the place was completely bare.

Seeing the interior completely bare, I thought this diner would never survive. Luckily, I was wrong – as stated above, the Katsifis family eventually purchased the empty diner in 1984 and spent some time, effort and money into replacing the gutted interior with new counters, stools, etc and re-opened the diner in 1985.

I wish the Katsifis family well on the up-coming transition and will be following up with the progress. I am also curious as to what the new operating name will be once it opens in Mechanicsburg.

I almost cannot believe 15 years have gone by since I started this weblog !!!!

I know I have been writing this blog for a while and sometimes the posts are not too regular, but we just passed October 31st and I suddenly realized that day marked 15 years of this weblog! I would have posted something yesterday but my schedule was filled with various appointments. Also I have been getting a revised Diner Presentation together for The Marlborough (Massachusetts) Historical Society that I will be doing in exactly 2 weeks. The presentation is actually 99 percent together but as these things go, I keep on adding to it when something occurs to me that should be in the show. This will be the first “LIVE” presentation since before COVID happened and the first one for an Historical Society in quite some time.

Anyway, as I do every year at this time, I like to acknowledge the day I started writing the blog as it still is my one semi-steady outlet to impart info on diners and other roadside stuff, as well as show off my photos in a place other than Facebook. As I look toward finishing my seventh decade coming up in just over a half a year, I sometimes cannot believe that this little interest (all right, it is an obsession) with diners has gone on so long. As most people who follow this blog know, that interest in diners goes back to my childhood and really took hold when I started getting into 35mm photography and took photos of some of the diners I was visiting in 1980. All I can say is, thanks for following along and maybe we can sit down at a local diner somewhere and enjoy a meal and some camaraderie in the future!

P.S. the presentation on Diners will be on November 15, 2022 at The Main Street Cafe, 182 Main Street in Marlborough, Mass.. The Marlborough Historical Society will hold a business meeting at 6:00 pm and I will be going on right after…. there will be another post here with all the details and some photos within the next week or so.

After three years I am finally doing a “live” Power Point Presentation on Diners. Titled “From Lunch Carts to Mega-Restaurants, the Evolution of Diners”. The host for this presentation is The Marlborough Historical Society and the event will be held in conjunction with the Historical Society’s monthly meeting on Tuesday evening, November 15th at The Main Street Cafe , 182 Main Street in downtown Marlborough. The society’s business meeting starts at 6:00 pm and my presentation will start directly after the meeting’s conclusion.The event is open to the public and there will be parking available in the area.

The Main Street Cafe, 182 Main Street in Marlborough, Massachusetts

Well, it’s that time of year where I mark the anniversary of taking my first 35mm photo of a diner. As regular readers of this blog know, that first Diner photo was the following photo…

By-Pass Diner of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania

November 29, 1980 photo by Larry Cultrera

In looking back on these last decades there was an unofficial pattern of going on road trips over Thanksgiving weekend. So I did some digging and found some images of diners I had photographed on the Thanksgiving weekends in the years from 1980 until now. It seems there were actually only 10 of those weekends between 1980 and 2022. Now granted, on some of those weekends in the early 1980s that I photographed more than a handful of places, so I will only choose one diner from each of those trips to be representative from the year.

Olympia Diner, Newington, Connecticut

November 27, 1981 photo by Larry Cultrera

Ed’s Diner, Brattleboro, Vermont

November26, 1982 photo by Larry Cultrera

Market Diner, New York, New York

November25, 1983 photo by Larry Cultrera

Libby’s Diner, Manchester Center, Vermont
(never opened here)

November27, 1987 photo by Larry Cultrera

Andros Diner, Belmont Massachusetts

November 27, 1993 photo by Larry Cultrera

Old Lunch Wagon /derelict cabin, Brookfield, Massachusetts

November 24, 2006 photo by Larry Cultrera

Roundabout Diner, Portsmouth, New Hampshire
(former Howard Johnson’s Restaurant)

November 23, 2012 photo by Larry Cultrera

Minuteman Diner, Bedford, Massachusetts

November 29, 2019 photo by Larry Cultrera

Center Harbor Diner, Center Harbor, New Hampshire

November 25, 2022 photo by Larry Cultrera

Denise and I took a little road trip on Memorial Day weekend to the Bennington, Vermont area. It was partially to celebrate a milestone birthday and also to just get the cobwebs cleared and the wandering juices flowing. The destination for this excursion was inspired by the publishing of the wonderful book by Peter Crabtree and Caitlin Randall that celebrated the long-time ownership of the Blue Benn Diner by the Monroe family (see my blog post from last year https://dinerhotline.wordpress.com/2022/08/18/a-recently-published-limited-edition-book-is-a-tribute-to-the-monroe-family-and-sonnys-blue-benn-diner/). The Monroe’s recently turned the reins of the diner over to John Getchell in the last couple of years and John has graciously extended an invitation to me to come and experience the diner. After reading the book, I have been wanting to revisit this diner and decided to take John up on his invitation.

Also while reading this book, I realized that I had photographed the diner 3 times in the 1980s but lamented the fact that I only actually had one meal in the diner on my first visit, way back in 1982. In fact, those times driving thru Bennington were just that – driving thru without spending any decent amount of time there!

So Friday May 26th we set out around 7:00 AM, making our way from Saugus over to Arlington to jump on Mass. State Route 2 heading west. It was a beautiful sunny morning, just right for starting a little excursion. In point of fact the weather was totally fantastic from start to finish those 3 days on the road! With one pit stop in Gardner, Massachusetts, we made it out to Greenfield before 9:00 AM. We then headed north on Route 5 and were in Brattleboro, Vermont by 9:30.

Crossing the town line into Brattleboro I perused (but did not photograph) two diners I had previously photographed in the early 1980s. One was known as Jad’s Family Restaurant circa 1983. This is a 1940s vintage Kullman Diner buried within another building (the right side wall is visible from the exterior while the diner is almost totally intact on the interior). In recent years it was operating as the Flamingo Diner but according to the internet, it is permanently closed.

Jad’s Family Restaurant, Brattleboro, VT
May 22, 1983 photo by Larry Cultrera

Flamingo Diner, 209 Canal Street, Brattleboro, VT
Google Street view

The second diner was previously known as Ed’s Diner, a 1920s vintage Worcester Lunch Car, located at 105 Canal Street. The diner has changed hands many times in the last forty years and in that interim has been completely redone and unrecognizable now, currently operating as Vegan AF Restaurant.

Ed’s Diner, Brattleboro, VT
November 26, 1982 photo by Larry Cultrera

Vegan A.F., Brattleboro, VT
Google Street view.

Coming into downtown Brattleboro I took a left turn to revisit and photograph T.J. Buckley’s Uptown Dining located at 132 Elliot Street, another 1920s diner that had a previous life in North Woburn, Massachusetts as Shipper’s Diner. Shipper’s was replaced in North Woburn by Jack’s Diner, Worcester Lunch Car No. 834 in 1952. Shipper’s went back to the Worcester Lunch Car factory for a complete update inside and out before relocating to Brattleboro. By the time I originally saw the diner in the early 1980s it had been reborn as an upscale eatery serving a Prix Fixe menu (for those who do not know, a prix fixe (a French term meaning “fixed price”) is a menu that offers a full meal at a set rate. Typically, that means diners get three courses consisting of an appetizer, entrée, and dessert.

So, I did get a few shots of T. J. Buckley’s but was thwarted from getting all the shots I really wanted by a parked car that screwed up a couple of them…

T.J. Buckley’s Uptown Dining, Brattleboro, VT
May 26, 2023 photo by Larry Cultrera

T.J. Buckley’s Uptown Dining, Brattleboro, VT
May 26,2023 photo by Larry Cultrera

Before we left downtown Brattleboro, we stopped for a snack at Amy’s Bakery Arts Cafe prior to heading west on State Route 9 toward our next destination, the currently closed and “For Sale” Chelsea Royal Diner in West Brattleboro. I had previously photographed this diner at another location twice in the early 1980s but never got to this location until now.

original Royal Diner neon sign at the Chelsea Royal Diner,
West Brattleboro, VT. May 26, 2023 photo by Larry Cultrera

Chelsea Royal Diner, West Brattleboro, VT
May 26, 2023 photo by Larry Cultrera

Chelsea Royal Diner, West Brattleboro, VT
May 26, 2023 photo by Larry Cultrera

The first time I saw this diner it had been used as part of the Royal Yard Restaurant located off of Route 5, north of downtown Brattleboro.

Royal Diner at Royal Yard Restaurant, Brattleboro, VT
November 26, 1982 photo by Larry Cultrera

When the diner was first delivered to Brattleboro it was originally close to downtown as seen in the next photo…

Royal Diner at original Brattleboro location
photo from my collection

I also have an image that came from photographer/illustrator Ken Brown circa 1977. He printed some postcards back in the day and this one shows the diner after it moved from downtown and before it got to the Royal Yard Restaurant location…

Royal Diner in storage prior to being located at the Royal Yard Restaurant
Ken Brown post card circa 1977, from my collection.

After taking the photos of the Chelsea Royal Diner, we continued west on Route 9 toward Bennington. Now the only other time I traveled this route was the first time I visited Bennington on November 26, 1982. When I left Brattleboro on that day it was overcast and sort of gloomy, but otherwise decent travel-wise. I guess it was around halfway to Bennington when I drove into a substantial snow storm. The road became a little treacherous and I had to really be cautious and concentrate on driving this road through the Green Mountain National Forest. In fact because of this, I did not recall much about this road from that trip.

Needless to say this current drive on Memorial Day Weekend in 2023, I did not recognize one mile of this road from the trip in 1982! This trip went faster than I anticipated and we got to Bennington before noon-time. Luckily we were able to check in early to our reserved room at the Hampton Inn and unpack for the 2 days we would be there. We then drove to the Blue Benn Diner and had a nice lunch.

Lunch stop at the Blue Benn Diner
May 26, 2023 photo by Larry Cultrera

Interior view of the Blue Benn Diner
May 26, 2023 photo by Larry Cultrera

Interior view of the Blue Benn Diner
May 26, 2023 photo by Larry Cultrera

Unfortunately even though Blue Benn owner John Getchell knew that we were due to arrive, he was actually not at the diner. I texted him while we were waiting for our food and the next thing I knew, the Diner’s land line telephone was ringing. The waitress brought the portable phone over to our booth and I spoke with John who apologized for not being available. He promised to try to get together the next day. So after lunch, we decided to take in the Bennington Battle Monument. High on a hill west of downtown, this Revolutionary War Monument has stunning views in all directions. Here are a couple of photos from below….

The Bennington Battle Monument
May 26, 2023 photo by Larry Cultrera

The Bennington Battle Monument
May 26, 2023 photo by Larry Cultrera

When we finished with the Monument we Googled the address for Peter Crabtree and paid him a visit. He signed my copy of the Blue Benn book. I again thanked him for prominently using one of my 1982 photos of the Blue Benn on the front of the dust jacket of the book, I told him it was an honor to have one of my photos displayed like that!

The next morning we had breakfast at the Blue Benn around 6:15 AM, right after they opened for the day. John was hoping to meet us but never made it while we were there. I wanted to get some morning exterior shots of the diner and the sun was up when we were leaving after breakfast but there was a shadow from trees across the street directly obscuring the diner. So we drove into town and I found an open convenience store to obtain a local newspaper (I am addicted to newsprint and need my daily fix). On the way back thru town from our little errand I noticed the sun had cleared the top of the trees and the diner was in full sunlight. The following photos are the result….

Early morning photo of the Blue Benn Diner
May 27, 2023 photo by Larry Cultrera

Early morning photo of the Blue Benn Diner
May 27, 2023 photo by Larry Cultrera

Back to the hotel to regroup and read the newspaper. We finalized our plans to head northeast to Weston, VT to visit the Vermont Country Store. We constantly receive catalogs in the mail and have bought quite a few items from this place. I had just received a gift card from Denise’s sister Sarah for my birthday and thought it would be great to peruse this sprawling establishment. We were on the road probably before 9:00 AM and while driving, I got a text from John Getchell. So instead of answering the text, I rang him up (hands free in the car of course). He apologized for not meeting us earlier and we made plans to meet up at the diner in the early afternoon.

On the way to Weston, we stopped briefly at Bob’s Diner in Manchester, VT. This is an on-site built diner that was not there the last time I was in the area circa 1988. It was doing a brisk business so I took 4 photos before we went on our way to Weston.

Bob’s Diner, Manchester, VT
May 27, photo by Larry Cultrera

Bob’s Diner, Manchester, VT
May 27, photo by Larry Cultrera

Bob’s Diner, Manchester, VT
May 27, photo by Larry Cultrera

Bob’s Diner, Manchester, VT
May 27, photo by Larry Cultrera

After our visit to the Vermont Country Store we got back to Bennington by noon time and had a quick lunch at a Pizza Hut. We had not had a meal at a Pizza Hut in probably 20 years or so as they have pretty much disappeared from the Metro-Boston area where we live. I dropped Denise at the hotel and I went over and finally connected with John Getchell. We had a nice visit and he took me on a tour of the kitchen (where all the action happens) and basement of the diner where the supplies and other miscellaneous things are stored. I also got to meet John’s pet “puppy” Pookie, a Cane Corso.

John Getchell and Pookie
May 27, 2023 photo by Larry Cultrera

Well that was pretty much all we planned to do on our trip, so the next morning we checked out of the hotel at 5:00 AM and headed south on Route 7 to Williamstown, Massachusetts. We stopped briefly at a Dunkin’ Donuts in North Adams for a quick, on-the road breakfast as we were too early for any normal breakfast joints to be open. We then took the Mohawk Trail (Route 2 east) thru the Berkshire Hills to get home. It was such a beautiful morning drive, I stopped in Charlemont to take photos of the Hail to the Sunrise Statue at Mohawk Park.

Hail to the Sunrise Statue at Mohawk Park, Charlemont, Mass.
May 28, 2023 photo by Larry Cultrera

Hail to the Sunrise Statue at Mohawk Park, Charlemont, Mass.
May 28, 2023 photo by Larry Cultrera

Overall, I feel that spending some time in southwest Vermont was long overdue, the area is a nice mix of mountains and farm land, with plenty of scenic views. I also like that it is very close to the Capitol District of upstate New York and within a short drive to the Adirondacks and one of my favorite places, Lake George. After the Mohawk Trail, we made a stop for coffee just off Route 2 in Turners Falls at the Shady Glen Diner and got home around 10:00 AM. All in all, this was a tremendous weekend, weather-wise to be out on the road. It makes me hopeful for other possible road trips in the near future!

Denise and I were married on October 12, 1991 and honeymooned at The Caesar’s Pocono Palace (now Cove Pocono Palace) in Marshalls Creek, Pennsylvania. Back thru the 1980s I used to pass this resort heading south on Route 209 on my way to visit friends in Harrisburg, PA, . So when Denise and I were planning the honeymoon, I suggested this as a destination. Ideally, I would have loved to make a return trip to the resort in 2021 for our 30th anniversary but the Pandemic interfered and we put it off.

Fast forward to 2023 and I brought up the subject again in early June, right after Memorial Day and we ultimately made reservations for the middle of July and then fate stepped in at the end of June to put a wrench into those plans. We were driving back on a Saturday morning on U.S. Route 1 south in Danvers, Massachusetts from an early breakfast at the Agawam Diner in Rowley when a Deer ran into my 2022 Mazda CX-5. The front corner on the driver’s side of the car was damaged badly and subsequently deemed totaled by the insurance company. This screwed things up for the proposed trip to the Poconos so we cancelled the reservation. By the middle of July we had purchased a 2023 CX-5 and were back in business. So when the dust had settled by the time mid- August rolled around, I proposed to make reservations again for the Pocono trip and it was decided to happen in early September.

So, on September 10th, we set out on our little excursion taking Interstate 84 from Massachusetts thru Connecticut making a breakfast stop at the Vernon Diner in Vernon, CT, a totally convenient and easy off/on from the highway. This diner does a tremendous business, housed in a former Howard Johnson’s Reataurant.

Vernon Diner, Vernon, Connecticut.
September 10, 2023 photo by Larry Cultrera

We continued on I-84 as far as the western part of Danbury, where we got off the interstate and continued on U.S. Route 6 west crossing the state line at Brewster, NY and took it thru to Port Jervis, NY. I had traveled on parts of this road in New York State but never the whole length (approx. 77 miles). On the way across New York State on Route 6, I stopped to photograph the Olympic Diner in Mahopac, New York.

Olympic Diner, Mahopac, New York.
September 10, 2023 photo by Larry Cultrera

We arrived in Port Jervis close to 1:00pm and I contacted my friend Maria Pagelos Wall to let her know I was a few minutes away from her diner – the Village Diner of Milford, PA. I first photographed the Village Diner on November 27, 1981. It is a wonderfully preserved late model Mountain View Diner.

Village Diner, Milford, Pennsylvania.
November 27, 1981 photo by Larry Cultrera

Village Diner, Milford, Pennsylvania.
September 10, 2023 photo by Larry Cultrera

I have been “Facebook friends” with Maria for a good ten years or so but we have never met face-to-face. Her family bought the Village Diner in the early 1990s and Maria is currently operating the diner with her brother and a very able staff. We have spoken on the phone a couple of times over the years and the vibes I got from Maria was that she was a very warm and giving person! Denise and I got to the diner a good 15 minutes before Maria arrived. This gave me enough time to take a bunch of new photos before we went in and ordered lunch. We spent some time talking with Maria and we had a very pleasant visit. It was so very nice to finally connect with her!

Maria Wall with Myself and Denise at the Village Diner.
September 10, 2023 photo.

Interior of the Village Diner.
September 10, 2023 photo by Larry Cultrera

Interior of the Village Diner.
September 10, 2023 photo by Larry Cultrera

After lunch at the Village we drove about 30 minutes south on Route 209 to the Pocono Palace and checked in. We basically were in for the rest of the day. The next morning after breakfast at the resort, we ventured out toward Stroudsburg. I went searching for the Arlington Diner and got some photos of it.

Arlington Diner, Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania.
September 11, 2023 photo by Larry Cultrera

On the way back from Stroudsburg, I decided to stop and take photos of the now closed Four Seasons Diner. This was originally a 1970s vintage Kullman Diner known as the Pocono Queen Diner on Route 209 in Marshalls Creek. I first photographed it on March 20, 1982 and actually ate there in October of 1991 when Denise and I were on our honeymoon.

Pocono Queen Diner, Marshalls Creek. Pennsylvania.
March 20, 1982 photo by Larry Cultrera

Sometime in the 1990s, the diner was completely remodeled by Kullman and made to look like a modern stainless steel retro diner. Unfortunately, it has had a very spotted history since and been operated under at least two or three different names since, (the last being the Four Seasons Diner) and has currently been closed for quite sometime. It is currently sitting derelict and pieces of stainless steel trim are falling off the building.

Four Seasons Diner, Marshalls Creek, Pennsylvania.
September 11, 2023 photo by Larry Cultrera

That same early afternoon we headed back into East Stroudsburg and had an ice cream at Jimmy’s Ice Cream, instead of having a light lunch. While we were in the area I went and located Besecker’s Diner. I had photographed this place back on April 2, 1983. Back then it was a fairly original, late model Silk City Diner from the early 1950s.

Besecker’s Diner, Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania.
April 2, 1983 photo by Larry Cultrera

When I saw it last in 1991, I was saddened to see that they had added on a brick building to the front of the diner, presumably for increased seating. At that time I chose not to photograph it. I decided this time around to document it with a couple of photos.

Besecker’s Diner, Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania.
September 11, 2023 photo by Larry Cultrera.
This angle shows that the original diner is
still intact behind the newer addition.

We then got back to the resort and we took a couple of photos by the entrance sign on the road leading into the place. I took one of Denise by the sign and she took one of me. Another couple were riding bicycles in the area and the nice young man stopped and took a photo of both Denise and myself.

Myself and Denise at the entrance sign to the
Pocono Palace. September 11, 2023 photo.

The next morning (Tuesday the 12th of September) we had made plans to meet up with Michael Gabriele to have lunch at the Blairstown Diner in Blairstown, New Jersey. The border with New Jersey is actually the Delaware River and there are three ways to get from that section of Pennsylvania to New Jersey over the river. Two up near Milford, Route 206 just outside Milford heading south on Route 209 and then further south on 209 at Dingman’s Ferry. The third way to get across is by taking the Columbia – Portland Bridge southeast of Stroudsburg, either taking Interstate 80 or Route 611. We ended up going north to Milford and walking around the little downtown area. I managed to get three new photos of the Milford Diner. I first photographed this on February 26, 1982 and then again sometime in November, 1987 (according to the date stamp on the 35mm slide). This is an early 1970s Manno Diner with a brick and mansard facade. It has stayed remarkably intact and pretty original to the way it was built, with the exception of a section added on to the right hand side of the diner.

Milford Diner, Milford, Pennsylvania.
November, 1987 photo by Larry Cultrera

Milford Diner, Milford, Pennsylvania.
September 12, 2023 photo by Larry Cultrera

We took Route 206 over to New Jersey and made our way south toward Blairstown. I knew we would go by a couple of diners I photographed in the 1980s on the way. The first was the former Five Star Diner in Branchville, New Jersey, now operating as Victoria Diner. The first photo is from October, 1987, where the original monitor roof was visible.

Five Star Diner, Branchville, New Jersey.
October, 1987 photo by Larry Cultrera

When I photographed it this time it had a new hip-roof added over the original, more than likely to help the old diner from leaking in inclement weather.

Victoria Diner, Branchville, New Jersey.
September 12, 2023 photo by Larry Cultrera

The next diner we were going by was Yetter’s Diner in Augusta, New Jersey. When I photographed this diner in the 1980s, it was a fairly small 1950s vintage Kullman Diner.

Yetter’s Diner, Augusta, New Jersey.
March 20, 1982 photo by Larry Cultrera

I knew that in the intervening years, the diner was bought by newer owners and they replaced the old Kullman diner with a newer used Mediterranean style diner with stone and mansard exterior as well as arched windows. So I was happy to document this newer version on this bright sunny day….

Yetter’s Diner, Augusta, New Jersey.
September 12, 2023 photo by Larry Cultrera

We made it down to Blairstown earlier than anticipated so I stopped across the street to take a bunch of photos of the Blairstown Diner. The light was great and they came out fantastic. I first came across the Blairstown back in the 1980s. I first photographed it on December 29, 1984 and then again in March of 1990. This was a rare model built by Paramount Diners known as the Roadking. The setup was different from 99% of other diners. The cooking area was actually up against the front windows. When one sat at the counter you were facing the grill area and then the front windows beyond. Interesting historical note on the Blairstown Diner, it became famous for appearing in a scene in the 1980 film Friday the 13th

Blairstown Diner, Blairstown, New Jersey.
March, 1990 photo by Larry Cultrera.
The diner as it was with the original exterior before it
was redone by PMC Diners.

In 2005, the owners of the diner wanted to upgrade the appearance and called in Paramount Modular Concepts (PMC Diners), the successor to Paramount Diners and they reconfigured the exterior and updated the interior as well. The doors on the front were replaced by windows and a new door was added slightly off center. All new stainless steel with red stripes and a new parapet were added to the outside. The inside changes included the section of counter and stools on the right hand side were removed and the cinder block dining room & kitchen addition was redone to make it all look factory-built and match the newer updated interior of the diner section. All cooking was removed to a rear kitchen.

Exterior of Blairstown Diner, Blairstown, New Jersey.
September 12, 2023 photo by Larry Cultrera

Interior of dining room at Blairstown Diner.
September 12, 2023 photo by Larry Cultrera

Interior of dining room at Blairstown Diner.
September 12, 2023 photo by Larry Cultrera

Interior of Blairstown Diner with owner
Gary D. Wishnia and Michael Gabriele.
September 12, 2023 photo by Larry Cultrera

Denise and I outside the Blairstown Diner.
September 12, 2023 photo by Michael Gabriele.

On Wednesday the 13th of September, we started the journey home retracing the route we took down to the Poconos. We checked out of the resort around 7:00am and drove back to Milford for breakfast at the Milford Diner. Then we got back into New York state on Route 6 and I took a little detour when we got to Middletown. I wanted to revisit the Colonial Diner in that town. I actually had lunch there back on March 21, 1987 and the diner was pretty much in original condition at that time, the way it came from the Manno Diner Company.

Colonial Diner, Middletown, New York.
March 21, 1987 photo by Larry Cultrera

The diner went thru an update since I last saw it. It is the same diner but looks completely different now…

Colonial Diner, Middletown, New York.
September 13, 2023 photo by Larry Cultrera

After that we made it back toward Connecticut with one stop in Mohegan Lake, New York to photograph the Mohegan Diner. We passed it on the way to the Poconos but it was raining pretty hard so I was happy to get some decent shots on the way home…

Mohegan Diner, Mohegan Lake, New York. September 13, 2023
photo by Larry Cultrera

We had one pit-stop on the way home thru Connecticut when we got off I-84 in Newtown and had a snack at the Blue Colony Diner. After that, it was a straight shot home, arriving back around early afternoon.

Okay, so October 31st has come back around and as regular followers of Diner Hotline may know, I always like to acknowledge that this is the anniversary of the start of this blog. It has been 16 years since the debut of this blog which originally started out as a column in the Society for Commercial Archeology’s (SCA) News Journal which I wrote in December of 1987. This first Diner Hotline column which was not even a whole page, appeared in the Winter 1988 edition of the News Journal, a newsletter type publication by the SCA.

Eventually the News Journal was divided into two publications two or three years after I started the column – the SCA News (membership newsletter) and the SCA Journal (a magazine). At that point, I was given the option as to which publication Diner Hotline would appear in and I opted for the SCA Journal. Diner Hotline continued until the 2007 Summer Edition of the Journal when I decided to retire the column. Within a month or so after I discontinued the column, my friend Brian Butko emailed me. Brian knew I was thinking of continuing Diner Hotline possibly as another entity, and suggested I start a blog. So on October 31, 2007 this blog came into being…

So instead of just acknowledging the anniversary of the blog, I thought I would impart some news about a handful of diners being sold to new owners and hopefully (most) will be brought back as working diners in the near future.

Harrisburg’s By-Pass Diner moved from long-time operating location & saved from possible demolition.

The very first diner I ever photographed was the By-Pass Diner of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. That one photo taken on November 29, 1980 led to my taking thousands of photos of 896 diners since and that diner has always held a spot close to my heart.

By-Pass Diner, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
November 29, 1980 by Larry Cultrera.

The diner changed hands in the 1990s and the new owner Fred Jenkins operated it for many years as the American Dream Diner before closing in 2020. As of January 28, 2021, the diner had reopened as Harry’s Bistro by Lou Antonio Vazquez with his daughters, Audrey and Anna Vazquez. Unfortunately for some reason the diner was forced to close within a few months of re-opening. As of earlier this year it was announced that the property the diner occupied as well as the parcel next door that housed a gas station was going to be redeveloped and the diner was put up for sale.

According to a news article dated last week (October 26, 2023) by Sue Gleiter of Penn Live, the diner was disassembled and moved across the street to get it out of harms way. The following is the gist of the news article… A nostalgic Harrisburg diner saved from the scrap heap by a longtime customer and local insurance agent, could face roadblocks as attempts are made to resurrect it at a new address. Hugh Dorsey recently bought the 70-year-old American Dream Diner at 1933 Herr St., where a convenience store is slated to be built. He then relocated the 1953 stainless steel DeRaffele diner across the street to a vacant lot next to the former State Police headquarters in Susquehanna Township.

Sections of the By-Pass Diner after the move across
the street. Photo by Dan Gleiter, Penn Live.

At the time of this report, it is not clear where the diner may end up or if in fact it will be set up and reopened. I truly hope this diner will have a good outcome!

World Famous Rosie’s Diner gets sold after 12 years sitting idle.

Rosie’s Farmland Diner, Little Ferry, New Jersey.
June 24, 1983 photo by Larry Cultrera.

The diner known as Rosie’s was originally operated as the Silver Dollar Diner in Little Ferry, New Jersey. Built in 1946 by the Paramount Dining Car Company, the diner was located at the traffic circle on U.S. Route 46 when it opened in the 1940s. Owned by Ralph A. (Tex) Corrado, Sr. and his young son, Ralph A. Corrado, Jr., the Corrados operated the diner together until Tex retired in the early 1960s when Ralph Jr. took over and eventually renamed the business the Farmland Diner.

The diner’s large size and close proximity to New York City were perfect for the diner to become the location for many print ads and television commercials, for different products and services. In the earlier days of the diner, commercials were filmed for Sanka Instant Coffee and Pepsi Cola. Other companies like Ethan Allen Furniture, New Jersey Bell and Sony used the New Jersey diner location for their advertisements. However, the series of TV commercials that made the diner famous were for Bounty Paper Towels. 

The Bounty commercials were filmed at the diner during the 1970s when it was known as the Farmland Diner (local Little Ferry residents affectionately referred to it as “The Greasy Spoon”). Clumsy patrons would knock over beverages, and Rosie the Waitress, played by the late actress Nancy Walker, would clean up the mess using Bounty Paper Towels, pronouncing the product the “quicker picker-upper”. Two decades after the first commercials were filmed, Walker was still cleaning up after her television customers, but in a studio instead of in the diner. After the Bounty Paper Towel commercials became well known, Ralph Corrado decided to take advantage of the notoriety and renamed the restaurant in the 1970s to Rosie’s Farmland Diner after the waitress character from the commercials.

In 1989, after running the diner for 45 years, Ralph Corrado and his son Arnie sold the land under the diner to the auto glass repair shop next door. The business did not want the diner, leaving it up to Corrado to sell the building. His offer to place “the most famous diner in America” in the Smithsonian Institution was rejected.

At this time, in steps Jerry Berta, a Michigan artist that produced ceramic replicas of classic diners, with the original Rosie’s as one of his inspirations. He already owned one diner, the former Uncle Bob’s Diner a 1947 Jerry O’Mahony diner (moved from Flint, Michigan circa 1987) at that time located on his site on 14 Mile Road in Rockford, Michigan. Berta used that diner as a studio and gallery known as The Diner Store. On a subsequent trip to the New York City area toward the end of 1989, Jerry and some friends revisited Rosie’s Diner and found out that the New Jersey diner was for sale. Berta bought Rosie’s and moved it to Michigan at its current location. The purchase price at the time was $10,000 for the 24-by-60-foot (7.3 by 18.3 m) building. Work crews separated the two sections of the diner and lifted it off the foundation the week after it closed in January of 1990. The sections were loaded onto two flatbed trucks for the move to Michigan. The restaurant opened in its new location on July 5, 1991. The following link is from a video I posted to You Tube featuring all of my photos of Rosie’s Diner….https://youtu.be/2XlDiGzRM3I

The Diner Store and Rosie’s Diner in Rockford, Michigan
1990s photo by Fred Tiensivu.

Diner World in the late 1990s. Left to right – Diner Store,
Rosie’s Diner, the former Garden of Eatin’ Diner and an
on-site built addition. Photo courtesy of Jerry Berta.

The vintage two-diner collection expanded to three when Berta purchased the former Garden of Eatin’ diner (a 1952 Silk City) and moved it from Fulton, New York to the Michigan site in 1994. A fourth (reproduction) diner was also built on site as an addition. Known collectively as Diner World or Dinerland USA, the location featured the Diner Store art gallery (in the Mahoney car), Rosie’s Diner (the primary restaurant), and a 3 ¹⁄₂ acre food-themed mini-golf course designed by Berta, where guests could putt around a big burger and slice of pie. The roadside attraction continued under Berta’s ownership being operated by able management and staff until 2006, when it was purchased by new owner/operators.

Photo courtesy of Tom Loftus & Robin Schwartzman on
their Website ” A Couple of Putts”.

Jonelle and Randy Roest purchased the diner in January 2006. They continued to run Rosie’s as a diner and reopened the Silk City car as a sports bar. The O’Mahony car was opened seasonally as an ice cream shop. The mini-golf course was not reopened. While under the Roests’ ownership, the location received TV coverage on the Food Network’s Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives and the Travel Channel’s Diner Paradise.

Rosie’s Diner closed on October 2, 2011. The property was sold through online auction to Aaron Koehn of nearby Koehn Chevrolet, with a winning bid of $125,000. In September 2014, he offered tours of the buildings as part of a car show that attracted an estimated 3,000 people. Since then the diners including Rosie’s have sat idle – slowly deterioratng. But the good news is that within the last two weeks it was announced that Rosie’s Diner has been bought by Chuck and Dawn Perry of Millersburg, Missouri and they’re going to restore it. He’s a car restorer, and she runs restaurants. So, it’s like the perfect fit,” said Berta. Although the Perry’s actually purchased the diner last winter, all the T’s are crossed and the I’s dotted, allowing the process of moving the diner to it’s new location. This transition may take some time but it looks like Rosie’s has found a new home and a renewed lease on life!

Dawn Perry at Rosie’s Diner in Rockford, Michigan.
Courtesy of Dawn Perry.

Shawmut Diner of New Bedford will live again!

The Shawmut Diner, New Bedford, Massachusetts
early 2000s photo by Larry Cultrera

One of my favorite diners in Massachusetts -the Shawmut Diner, formerly of New Bedford looks to be on the road shortly to a new location and life in Norwich, Connecticut. The Shawmut Diner closed in 2014 when long-time owners Phil and Celeste Paleologos decided to retire. Back in the mid-to-late 1990s, Phil who also had a daytime gig as a local Radio personality hosted a daily news/talk and entertainment show right from the diner. Called the Diner Show, he interviewed national personalities from show business and politics to the local customers of the diner. I was on his show quite a few times.

Phil Paleologos and myself in the broadcast booth set up
in the back corner of the Shawmut Diner.
September, 1998 photo by Denise Cultrera

Back at the beginning of 2014 the Paleologos’ had a generous offer from Cumberland Farms, a local Gas Station/Convenience Store chain for the property. The Paleologos’ hoped to sell the large 1953 vintage Jerry O’Mahony Diner but were not getting any reasonable offers in the short time allotted. So they in turn donated the building to the Bristol County House of Correction and had it moved to the prison’s property in nearby Dartmouth, Massachusetts.

Phil and Celeste Paleologos on the last day of operation
at the Shawmut Diner.
photo by Larry Cultrera

The hoped for plan was to get the funds to set the diner back up and have it used for vocational training to rehabilitate inmates prior to release. Unfortunately, this plan never came to fruition and the diner has been sitting on blocks awaiting it’s fate. Earlier this year the current Sheriff of Bristol County announced plans to put the diner building up for auction. The auction was held in July and the winning bid of $20,200 was won by New Yorker Evan Blum, owner of Demolition Depot in Harlem, and the yet-to-open Irreplaceable Artifacts of Norwich, Connecticut.

According to Blum, while his business is in buying and selling old items like the Shawmut Diner, he has other plans in this case. “I have a property over in Norwich, CT and I’m opening up an art, antiques and crafts market there,” he said, “and I wanted to put this in the parking lot to help attract more people.
“I figured I’d get one of my operators there to bring in some decent food and set it up so it’ll be an accomodation.” Blum, noted that he is still working out “some logistics” of transporting the diner from the Bristol County House of Correction property in Dartmouth to Norwich, Connecticut, said he looks to have the diner up and running “some time next year.”

On a side note, the last diner to operate in Norwich was Burt’s Diner which was moved out in the 1980s and is now operating in Hubbard, Ohio as the Emerald Diner.

Burt’s Diner, Norwich, Connecticut
July 10, 1983 photo by Larry Cultrera

Miss Bellows Falls Diner on track for a restoration and reopening!

Miss Bellows Falls Diner, Bellows Falls, Vermont.
August 7, 1983 by Larry Cultrera.

The Miss Bellows Falls Diner, Worcester Lunch Car No. 771 was the second diner to be listed in the National Register of Historic Places. Built by Worcester in 1941and originally installed in Lowell, Massachusetts as Frankie and Johnny’s Diner, its stay in Lowell was brief. It was then transported to Bellows Falls, Vermont in 1942 to begin a new life, adorned with new front panels announcing the diner’s new identity. It has since been operated under quite a few different people over the intervening decades which continued until it closed in early 2020 at the beginning of the Pandemic.

Fast forward to May, 2023 and it was reported that after signing a purchase and sales agreement earlier in the Spring, Rockingham for Progress (RFP) took possession of the diner. RFP, a nonprofit formed in 2016 to promote progressive economic development, an appreciation of the historic and cultural value of Bellows Falls, and citizen participation in our local democratic processes had plans for the diner’s revival. Undertaking the challenge of restoring the Miss Bellows Falls Diner to its original working condition is being done in consultation with historic diner expert Richard J.S. Gutman and with the support of a $100,000 Paul Bruhn grant from the Preservation Trust of Vermont. “They plan on using the grant funds exclusively for the restoration of the historic dining car. Both the exterior and interior will be repaired and restored, including the marble counter, tile-work, built-in coolers, stools, oak booths, fixtures, signage and stained-glass filigrees on the windows,” the Preservation Trust said in a prepared statement.

Red Wing Diner of Walpole, Massachusetts closed and For Sale.

The Red Wing Diner, a long-time favorite restaurant on U.S. Route 1 in Walpole, Massachusetts known for its fried seafood and iconic (bar Pie) pizza has closed. Back on September 5, 2023, an announcement was posted on the Red Wing Diner’s Facebook page that the diner was temporarily closed for repairs. By the beginning of October a “For Sale” sign had appeared outside the diner.

The Red Wing Diner, Walpole Massachusetts.
May 26, 2006 photo by Larry Cultrera.

The Red Wing Diner, Walpole Massachusetts.
1930s photo from my collection.

The Red Wing is Worcester Lunch Car, No. 709 dating from 1933. The diner was expanded later when the owners purchased the former railroad depot in town. The moved the building to the diner’s location and attached it to the left side of the diner.

The Red Wing Diner showing the attached addition
in the 1940s. From my collection.

Jack Conway Realtors out of Mansfield is handling the sale. It is listing the 2,727-square-foot restaurant and 5-acre property at $1.35 million. Unfortunately, with a price tag of that size, redevelopment would be a likely scenario and it seems unlikely the diner will survive. We will have to see how this pans out.

Here we are again – it’s November 29th and as always, I like to make note of this day, now 43 years ago when I shot my first 35mm photograph of a diner. There I was on my second road trip to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, two days after Thanksgiving visiting my pal Steve Repucci who I had helped moved just short of 3 months earlier to the capitol of the Keystone State. Myself and my brother Rick as well as friend Scott Drown had driven down from Massachusetts the day before, the Friday after Thanksgiving and basically hung out that afternoon in Steve’s apartment. We decided to go to breakfast the next morning at the nearest diner to where Steve lived which turned out to be the By-Pass Diner on Herr Street. This is when I “broke my cherry” so to speak and turned my camera lens toward taking this first tentative photo…

The By-Pass Diner, Harrisburg, PA
November 29, 1980 photo by Larry Cultrera

Since then I have photographed just short of 900 different diners throughout a good portion of the eastern United States, from Maine to Virginia and Tennessee as well as a few in Florida and one in Georgia and into the midwest area counting a handful in Ohio, Michigan and Illinois.

In this blog post I want to highlight the diners that I have photographed in the Capitol region of Pennsylvania. I will start with another view of the By-Pass Diner…

By-Pass Diner – Harrisburg,
February 19, 1984

Dempsey’s Diner – Harrisburg,
April, 1987

Dempsey’s Diner – Hershey,
April 19, 1987

Ray’s Diner (AKA East Shore Diner) –
Harrisburg, February 19, 1984

Riverview Diner – Harrisburg,
March 20, 1982

West Shore Diner – Lemoyne,
August 9, 1981

Decoven Diner – Duncannon,
November 28, 1981

Trail Diner – Duncannon,
August, 1981

Blue Diner – West Hanover Township,
March 22, 1982

Bill’s Friendly Diner – Hummlestown,
April 3, 1983

Highspire Diner (AKA Friendly Diner) – Highspire,
March 27, 1982

230 Family Diner – Middletown,
February 26, 1982

Kuppy’s Diner – Middletown,
May 1, 1987

In Massachusetts, we have had a long history and love affair with donuts. I remember a time in the 1950s and 60s when every city or town had at least one Mom & Pop Donut (or Doughnut) shop. In fact in Medford, I can recall Town Line Donuts on Salem Street near the Fellsway, Country Donuts (still operating and now called Donuts with a Difference) in Medford Square as well as Pauline’s Donuts in Medford Square and West Medford Square. There was also Donut Time on Main Street in South Medford. Not far away, about a mile from the Medford/Somerville town line was Johnson’s Doughnuts in Somerville.

Dunkin’ Donuts and Mister Donuts were national chains with roots here in the Bay State. In fact two brother-in-laws Bill Rosenberg and Harry Winokur started with a place called the Open Kettle in Quincy, Massachusetts in 1948. This business morphed into Dunkin’ Donuts by 1950 and due to a disagreement about how to grow the chain, Winokur left Dunkin’ and started Mister Donut in 1956.

The Original Dunkin’ Donuts, Southern Artery in Quincy, Mass.
Photo courtesy of Dunkin’ Brands

The original Dunkin’ Donuts after it had a retro renovation,
December 4, 2011 photo by Larry Cultrera

Mister Donut, Route 3A, Weymouth Mass.
May, 1992 photo by Larry Cultrera

More recent chains have developed locally in Massachusetts such as Honey Dew Donuts which started in Mansfield in 1973 and Heav’nly Donuts started in Methuen in 1975. A long-time favorite of mine, Kane’s Donuts in Saugus started in 1955 by the Kane family and now owned by the Delios family since 1989 has expanded to 3 locations in the last few years with a small location in Boston (2015) and another larger location on Route 1 south in Saugus (2019).

Original Kane’s Donuts location, Lincoln Ave. Saugus, Mass.
November 25, 2011 photo by Larry Cultrera

Another small place is Donut Villa in Malden which has been around since the 1970s and was recently bought by new owners a few years ago. Now known as Donut Villa Diner, these new owners have expanded to locations in Arlington and Cambridge.

Donut Villa Diner, Malden, Mass.
July 4, 2016 photo by Larry Cultrera

Also, for a few years we had Krispy Kreme Doughnut franchises in New England (most have been closed).

Krispy Kreme Doughnuts, Medford, Mass.
June, 2003 photo by Larry Cultrera

Canadian Donut Chain, Tim Horton’s opened a few stores, mostly in southeastern Massachusetts and Rhode Island. I believe they took over former Bess Eaton Donut locations.

Tim Horton’s Donuts location, Near Fall River, Mass.
Photo by Larry Cultrera

Other notable donut shops in the Greater Boston Area are Anna’s Handcut Donuts in West Roxbury, Gail Ann Coffee Shop in Arlington, Coffee Time Bake Shop in Salem, Ziggy & Son’s Donuts also in Salem and Donna’s Donuts in Tewksbury. Further afield is Donut Dip in West Springfield.

Back in July of this year, Denise and I changed up our usual destination for breakfast on Saturday mornings. We decided to try a new place that opened just over a year ago on the eastbound side of the Revere Beach Parkway (where U.S. Route 1 crosses over) in Revere, Massachusetts. This new place is The Dandee Donut Factory, the only Massachusetts location of a small chain out of southern Florida that serves breakfast and lunch along with their really delicious hand cut donuts. Part of the draw was the fact that it opens early – 5:00 AM, 7 days a week and the other convenient reason is no matter where we actually have gone to breakfast in the recent past, we usually end up about a mile away from where this donut shop is on a regular errand!

The Dandee Donut Factory, 1141 Revere Beach Parkway,
Revere, Mass. July 17, 2023 photo by Larry Cultrera

The chain founded in 1980 by Peter Spyredes and Frank Pucine with a shop located at 1900 Atlantic Boulevard in Pompano Beach Florida. Another was opened at 1422 South Federal Highway in Deerfield Beach, Florida. Spyredes and Pucine sold the company to current owners David Zion & David Groom in 2012 who subsequently opened a new location at 3101 North State Road in Margate, Florida and the Revere, Massachusetts location more recently in December, 2022.

General Manager David Ferrara with a table of
regular customers.
December 7, 2023 photo by Larry Cultrera

General Manager David Ferrara schmoozing with the Kelly sisters.
December 7, 2023 photo by Larry Cultrera

Some of the crew – left to right includes…
Kevin, Gio, Shelley and Shawn
December 7, 2023 photo by Larry Cultrera

Jazmin – one of our favorite servers, with the selection
of donuts. December 9, 2023 photo by Larry Cultrera

Another view showing a selection of donuts
December 9, 2023 photo by Larry Cultrera

Back in July after trying it out for the first time, we realized that they offered a decent breakfast and lunch menu besides their really great donuts. Breakfast items consist of egg sandwiches and egg dishes, from the All-American (2 eggs any style cooked to order with sides), Seven types of 3-egg omeletes including a “build your own”. Sides include bacon, corned beef hash, and sausage (choice of patty or links). They also offer sides of potatoes – homefries and hashbrown.

Lunch at The Dandee Donut Factory features various hot or cold sandwich items as well as Grilled Cheese, 1/2 pound Angus Burgers, Footlong Angus Beef Hot Dogs, Homemade Soups, Beef Stew or Chili, Salads and Salad Platters, along with sides of French Fries, Homefries and potato chips.

But the star of the show is certainly the donuts (51 varieties) which are larger than other commercially available donuts (read Dunkin’). I highly recommend their filled donuts like the Bavarian Creme or Boston Creme along with Blueberry, Lemon and Apple, these are huge and completely filled. Also their Apple Fritters are among the best I have ever tried. They also feature Coffee Rolls, Maple Bacon donuts and other frosted delectables. Bagels and Muffins are available as well.

The Dandee Donut Factory is very much involved with the community and helps with fundraisers and other charitable endeavors. Sometime in November, Denise and I now visit The Dandee Donut Factory on both Saturday and Sunday mornings for breakfast and the occasional weekday lunch. In closing if you are ever in the Boston area, you should definitely head over to Revere and check out The Dandee Donut Factory, they are open 5:00 AM to 3:00 PM, 7 days a week, tell them I sent you!!!!

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!!!!

Douglas A. Yorke, Jr., Photo from his Linkdin profile.

An old friend and colleague of mine, Douglas A. “Doug” Yorke, Jr. passed away on April 11, 2024. My connection to Doug Yorke was thru the Society for Commercial Archeology (SCA). I initially found out about Doug’s passing thru a Facebook post by Richard Gutman, who got word from John Baeder. Born in Rumson, NJ and more recently residing in Red Bank, NJ, Doug was an avid cyclist who decided to embark on a ride on Easter Sunday, March 31st and apparently during this ride he was involved in an accident with an SUV. He was transported to Jersey Shore Medical Center where he had received outstanding care by the trauma team. Unfortunately Doug’s injuries proved to be too much and he passed away surrounded by his family eleven days later. When I learned of this I realized I may have been one of the last members of the SCA to speak to Doug before his accident. I actually called him up on Friday, March 29th and had a great conversation with him for which I am extremely grateful.

For those who aren’t familiar with the SCA, it is an organization that has its roots in New England. The SCA was started in 1977 by a group of like minded individuals who were concerned with the rapidly changing landscape of the American Roadside. It was founded to promote the documentation, interpretation and preservation of appropriate American automobile-related roadside structures and landscapes. Founding members included among others, Chester Liebs, Arthur Krim, Dan Scully, Peter Richards & Doug Yorke, Jr.

I first became aware of the SCA via a newspaper article from the Boston Globe in 1979 or 1980, within a year or so prior to when I started taking my “Diner” photographs. I was further introduced to the organization after becoming friends with Richard and Kellie Gutman. They informed me about an upcoming event (which I attended) in early 1981 held at the House Restaurant which featured the semi-restored Kitchenette Diner installed adjacent to the restaurant’s Allston, Massachusetts location. I then had further exposure to the SCA when the Apple Tree Diner of Dedham held a “going-away” party on a Saturday in July of 1981. The diner had just closed and was about to move off its long time operating location. Not long after this, I joined the SCA and am proud to have been a member since! I believe I must have seen or become aware of Doug Yorke at either the event at the House Restaurant or the Apple Tree Diner party, more than likely both.

In the pursuit of obtaining printed pieces and news stories on the subject of diners, I became aware of one of the earliest pieces about diners to be published in a national magazine in the late 1970s. It appeared in the March, 1977 edition of Yankee Magazine and was co-written by Doug Yorke and his wife Eve. It was titled Hash House Greek Spoken Here. This predated the books that were to come soon after, John Baeder’s Diners in 1978, Richard Gutman and Eliot Kaufman’s American Diner in 1979 and Donald Kaplan & Alyson Bellink’s Diners of the Notheast in 1980. I have received permission from Yankee Magazine to include Doug and Eve’s Hash House piece here…

Front Cover of the March, 1977 Yankee Magazine with Doug and Eve’s
Hash House Greek Spoken Here.

If anyone is so inclined, the issue of Yankee Magazine that contains this article does come up for sale on Ebay and Amazon, I have re-read this piece recently and it still holds up well after 47 years! Also, I am aware that these images of the above article are not quite readable here, so if anyone wants a high resolution PDF, I can send one along if you drop me an email.

Doug was the third person to be elected President of the SCA (1979-1980) and was involved with the SCA’s All Night All-Nite Diner Tour during his term. In fact he designed the small pamphlet that members received when they embarked on this little excursion that hit diners in Massachusetts & Rhode Island.

Front Cover of the All Nigh All-Night Diner tour booklet
designed by Doug Yorke.

Doug also collected various pieces related to diners including some porcelain enameled steel panels salvaged from diners including the “Diner” panels seen on the wall in the background of this post card below for the now defunct Transportation Museum in Boston. These panels were from the former Garden Diner that operated in Boston’s West End neighborhood for decades. Doug saved these panels while Dick Gutman got the panels that said “Garden”. Doug also had panels from the Diner Deluxe that operated in New Bedford for years before moving to nearby Acushnet to later operate as the Blue Point Restaurant.

Post Card for the short-lived Boston Transportation Museum
that was located in the Fort Point area of Boston along with the
Boston Children’s Museum.

Front cover of the Wildwood Workbook from
the SCA Meeting.

I recall an early encounter with Doug that comes to mind, it was during the SCA meeting in Wildwood, NJ on June 25, 1983. I had driven down the day before from Boston and stayed at a local campground that night. So I was walking on the boardwalk for a while before the scheduled meet-up/lunch at the Wildwood Diner.

Wildwood Diner, Wildwood, NJ. June 25, 1983 photo
By Larry Cultrera

When I walked into the diner I passed thru the front dining room addition into the original diner section. I immediately saw Doug sitting at the counter and went over to reintroduce myself, we were in fact the first of the members to arrive. We had a great conversation for the remaining time until the other people showed up.

The SCA held its largest conference up until that time at the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Michigan. Billed as the Americans and the Automobile Conference, it took place November 4-6, 1988. A photo was taken of a handful of original members of the SCA in front of the restored Lamy’s Diner at the conference.

Group photo with some of the original members of the SCA
at the Americans and the Automobile Conference.
Back row left to right –
Peter Richards, Mike Jackson (the Presdient of the SCA),
Dan Scully and Arthur Krim.
Front row left to right – Doug Yorke, Millie O’Connell
and Chester Liebs.

During the course of the conference, Doug Yorke gave a presentation on November 5th titled Blazed Trails: Happy Motoring Across America the Beautiful -A History of the Oil Company Road Map. Doug later turned this into a cover story in the SCA News Journal (Winter 1990, Vol. 11, No.3).

Front cover of SCA News Journal, Winter 1990

This topic eventually was expanded into book form and published in 1996 via Chronicle Books. This became a collaboration between Doug Yorke & John Margolies (designed by Eric Baker) titled Hitting The Road – The Art of the American Road Map.

Front cover of Hitting The Road -The Art of the American Road Map.

Aside from his contributions to commercial archeology, Doug was an extremely accomplished individual. As listed on his Linkdin account, Doug was a seasoned business leader with C-level and Board experience in industry, not-for-profit and government. Extensive government experience in economic development and industry experience with investing in and managing startups, sales and business development and acquisition strategy and execution. At the time of his passing he was currently directing a Princeton-led program to build a regional innovation engine built around the photonics industry in New Jersey.

Doug also had thought-leadership and thought-provoking pieces published in the US and Europe. He was a Syracuse undergrad (BS, BArch) and Wharton MBA.

Doug’s family wrote a poignant tribute/ obituary for him:
The world lost one of its most dedicated laughers with the passing of Douglas Arthur Yorke, Jr on April 11th. He died peacefully surrounded by his beloved family while in the outstanding care of the trauma team at Jersey Shore Medical Center.
Doug was born to Joanne and Doug Yorke on August 20, 1951 and grew up in Rumson, where he would later raise his three children. His childhood days were spent boating, skiing, and scheming with his many friends, establishing a passion for athletics and hi-jinks that would endure his whole life.
He attended the Westminster School where he built many lifelong friendships and developed a love of learning and leadership. He graduated from Syracuse University and Wharton School of Business. Doug lived a life full of variety; among his many professional accomplishments, he was integral in the preservation of the now-Instagram-famous Hermitage Hotel bathroom in Nashville, assisted the Navajo in establishing the Navajo Nation Permanent Trust Fund, was a founding board member of Parsons Dance Company, and spearheaded an ongoing project to make New Jersey a leader in the field of photonics.
Doug was an avid writer, with many professional publications, several op-eds in the New York Times, a blog on mergers and acquisitions, and enough personal narratives to stuff a memoir. After amassing one of the largest private collections of American road maps, he published a book on their artwork and the story they reveal about American history, Hitting the Road. He will be remembered by many as a passionate epistolater, sending postcards from his travels and typing carefully crafted letters to his family and friends, including monthly missives to his granddaughter, despite her being too young to read them herself. Care packages he sent to his children throughout their lives would arrive with their own personalized, themed mailing labels and adorned with antique stamps which served no value beyond amusement. His signature font was Trebuchet.
Doug loved to print the internet and hated eating vegetables. He was a meticulous and absurd list-maker (“Biking Gear Needs, Arranged by 10-Degree Temperature Increments,” “Foods I Can’t Believe My Children Tell Me I Should Eat”) and had perfected the art of stacking his many papers into piles, artfully placed around every surface of his apartment. He was a dedicated uncle who loved being Crazy Uncle “Duog” to his nieces and nephews. He carried on the work of his mother, Jan, a founder of the Monmouth Museum, by serving as a trustee of the museum for 12 years. He was a lifelong member of St George’s by-the-River and was beloved for his resonant readings of lessons (though he was occasionally known to edit scripture on the fly if he thought of a bon mots better than the disciples did); his faith was buoyant, ardent, and contagious.
After running hurdles in high school and marathons in young adulthood, he found his great passion for physical activity in cycling. He biked all over the East Coast and Texas, on multi-day rides and centuries, in pursuit of a goal to log enough miles to circumnavigate the globe. Despite several significant injuries over 20+ years, he couldn’t resist “hitting the road” on a beautiful day. This Easter Sunday, his sunny ride was to be his last.
Doug was predeceased by his parents Joanne and Doug, his stepfather, LeRoy “Bud” Bunnell, his sister-in-law Jean Bunnell. He is survived by his children, Douglas Yorke (Kiley Dancy) of Dover, DE, Alice Yorke (Steven Rishard) of Philadelphia, PA, Liza Yorke of Brooklyn, NY; his siblings Christine (Michael) Flaherty of Big Canoe, GA; Tom (Jeannette) Yorke of Atlantic Highlands; Peeka (Art) Tildesley of Fair Haven; Steve Bunnell of Norway, ME; Barry (Divya) Bunnell of Sewickley, PA; his former wife and the mother of his children Eve Chamberlain of Little Silver; twelve nieces and nephews and his granddaughter Emilia.
A funeral service was held at St. George’s by-the-River on Saturday, May 11th at 10:30 am

Although Doug Yorke and I only met a handful of times in the last 40 plus years, we were both very friendly with each other and spoke on the phone every now and then. I am saddened that he passed away too soon and know that he will be missed by his family and many friends. Rest in Peace Doug!

I was contacted by Andrew Satter via Linkdin back in March. Andy is the Founder & CEO at Andrew Satter & Associates, Inc. Executive Leadership Coach and Strategic Thinking Partner for C-Suite Executives and Startup Founders / CEO’s. He told me about a project he was initiating to resurrect a large group of black and white photos he shot back in the mid-1970s. He was in the planning stages for future photo exhibitions of these compelling images which had not seen the light of day for decades.

Andrew Satter, photo from Linkdin.

He shot these photos during the period he attended a Film & Photography school called Imageworks for a short time and after at Boston College where he continued his education . Andy explained that back then he had lived in Cambridge for a time and had become a regular customer of Russ Young’s Kitchenette Diner. During this time he started taking candid black & white photographs of his visits to the diner and they stand out as an intimate look at the daily interactions of the people who worked or patronized this diner, not realizing that he was capturing the end of an era and by 1978 or so, the diner would be closed and moved.

In my recent post about Remembering Douglas A. Yorke, Jr., I mentioned that I was possibly the last member of the Society for Commercial Archeology to speak with him prior to his accident on Easter Sunday and subsequent passing away from his injuries eleven days later. The reason I had phoned Doug on Good Friday was to give him a heads-up that I had mentioned his name to Andrew Satter whom I had just met with a day prior. During our meeting, I had imparted to Andy the info about Doug’s March, 1977 article in Yankee Magazine, where he wrote about The Kitchenette Diner in Cambridge, Massachusetts. I told Doug about Andy’s archive of black & white photos he shot of the diner and that he may be contacted by Andy. Unfortunately Andy did not have time to contact Doug before that Easter Sunday accident. Just for reference, I thought I would include three photos that Doug Yorke sent me a few years back of the Kitchenette Diner…

Kitchenette Diner – Cambridge, Mass.
1977 photo by Doug Yorke

Kitchenette Diner – Cambridge, Mass.
1977 photo by Doug Yorke

Russ Young & Charlie Diamandis at the Kitchenette Diner
1977 photo by Doug Yorke

Well I am happy to report that Andy Satters’ photos of the Kitchenette Diner will be shown for the first time from June 23rd thru to the end of July in Danbury, Connecticut. Andy also hopes to have a showing in the Boston/Cambridge area in the near future.

The Diner Project (1974–1977) A COMMUNITY LOST TO PROGRESS
Photography by Andrew Satter

THE DINER PROJECT is an exhibition of forty-two black-and-white photographs taken in East Cambridge, Massachusetts, in the mid-1970s—a time in American labor history when a blue-collar job could support a family and was yours for a lifetime.

Enter and meet the staff and regulars of Russ’s Kitchenette Diner, a tightly knit community that embraced joy and laughter in the face of encroaching urban renewal, shifting race relations, and upheaval in America’s place in the world.

OPENING RECEPTION: Saturday, June 22, 2024, 3:30-5:30 pm
Mothership on Main
331 Main St., Danbury, CT 06810
ON VIEW: Jun 23–Jul 28, 2024
HOURS : Tue–Sun, 7:30am–3:00pm
EMAIL: info@satterphoto.com
WEBSITE: http://www.satterphoto.com

Photo from The Henry Ford, courtesy of Brian Butko

The Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation has launched a new exhibit honoring my long-time friend Richard Gutman. Dick co-authored along with Elliott Kaufman, the first comprehensive history book on Diners back in 1979, entitled American Diner.

On September 17, 2019, the Henry Ford announced the acquisition of the largest collection of diner materials in the country, put together by the leading expert on the subject, Richard J.S. Gutman. The collection of thousands of 2D and 3D artifacts includes historic photographs, slides, drawings, manufacturers’ catalogs, postcards, menus, tables, stools, tableware, promotional giveaway items, clothing and more, from diners across the United States. Along with the John Margolies collection, acquiring this collection positions The Henry Ford as the go-to research venue for materials related to roadside architecture and design in the United States.

Gutman grew his collection in the course of his research for four books, numerous articles, three major exhibitions, and multiple restoration and consulting projects. In addition, he was instrumental in the move and restoration of The Henry Ford’s own Lamy’s Diner, which is now used as a dining experience inside Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation^®, and also the reconstruction of the Owl Night Lunch Wagon, the last surviving lunch wagon in existence, located in Greenfield Village.

“Through Richard’s efforts, the American diner is now generally recognized as an icon of roadside architecture and entrepreneurial enterprise,” said Patricia Mooradian, president & CEO of The Henry Ford. “With this acquisition we are able to build upon the wonderful foundation that he helped us create many years ago and provide unprecedented access to those seeking inspiration from a design, manufacturing or start-up perspective.”

Richard began his fascination with diners while he was studying architecture at Cornell University. After discussing the unique building type with his British cohorts who had never seen anything like them before, he was motivated by their curiosity to learn more. His collection began as part of his thesis and started with a slide collection of still extant roadside diners that grew into a library of more than 7,000 images.  Often referred to as The Diner Man, he has contributed to virtually every published media piece on diners over the last 30 years, and his expertise and insight continue to be called upon today.

“My long-standing relationship with The Henry Ford led me to the conclusion that this was the place where I wanted my collection to reside,” said Gutman. “As I have gone through the material in preparation for its move, I’ve been delighted to see the scope that it represents. There are so many ideas and countless connections waiting to be discovered by those who are also fascinated by the subject.”

The materials in this collection will contribute to resources for current and future Lamy’s dining experiences, along with potential opportunities for related exhibits and programs. The collection is currently at The Henry Ford and being digitized for online accessibility.

This exhibit was opened to the public on May 25, 2024 and runs through March 16, 2025. Although I would love to revisit The Henry Ford, I do not foresee that happening in the near future. But my good friend, Brian Butko did make a trip out to visit the Henry Ford toward the end of July, so I thought I would reach out to him for some images and insights to his visit….

Brian Butko: We visited The Henry Ford and Greenfield Village last week with a goal of seeing the “Dick Gutman, DINERMAN” exhibit.

The exhibit is in a rectangular gallery in the back of the gigantic main hall. A central “island” allows that the exhibit to run on the walls along with the four sides of the island. An adjoining changing exhibit gallery features thousands of Hallmark Keepsake Ornaments.

Diner Artifacts from Dick Gutman’s collection on display include: A cashier’s stand, hat rack and menu board from the Worcester Lunch Car Company as well as a table and Formica panel from a Fodero Diner.
Photo courtesy Brian Butko.

The DINERMAN exhibit is a dream come true for diner fans. There are photos, paintings, menus, models, artifacts, and videos. Within seconds of walking in, it was comforting to hear Dick’s voice, and in fact, he shows up again on the other side of the gallery. In between, there’s a 1991 slideshow video made for the Silver Diner chain that is a quick but comprehensive history of diners, much of it familiar to us fans but still great to see with accompanying images. On the island wall 180 degrees behind it, another video plays in front of diner stools.

An photo of the Fenway Flyer Diner of Boston shot by Dick Gutman in the early 1970s on display.
Photo courtesy of Brian Butko.

The walls are lined with photos and artwork, notably some stunning artwork by John Baeder. Below these, cases are filled with historic photos and ephemera. It was fun to see the small ceramic diner models that some of us collected 30 years ago.

Diner Manufacturer catalogs from Dick Gutman’s collection on display. Photo courtesy of Brain Butko.

Overall the exhibit is not so large that you’ll be there for hours, but you can still spend a great deal of time perusing the many objects and their captions. Afterwards we headed back to the front of the hall to Lamy’s Diner for a light lunch/early dessert. There are tables adjacent but we asked to sit inside, which takes a bit longer.

Display poster containing info of the Owl Night Lunch and Lamy’s Diner at the Museum. Dick Gutman’s expertise and knowledge were tapped for these two artifacts  restorations.
Photo courtesy of Brian Butko.

Exterior view of the Owl Night Lunch
Photo courtesy of Brian Butko.

Exterior view of Lamy’s Diner
Photo courtesy of Brian Butko.

Interior view of Lamy’s Diner
Photo courtesy of Brian Butko.

View showing the dining area outside Lamy’s Diner
Photo courtesy of Brian Butko.

LAC: I personally have seen quite a bit of Dick Gutman’s collection over the last 43 years but can say with some certainty that I have just scratched the surface. I highly suggest that if you can, take a trip and visit The Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation, 20900 Oakwood Boulevard, Dearborn, Michigan! It is definitely worth a day or two of exploring. I suggest you get there sooner rather than later to check out Dick Gutman, DINERMAN, that exhibit will be on display until March 16, 2025.
https://www.thehenryford.org/visit/henry-ford-museum

Many thanks to Brian Butko for sharing a little of his experience in visiting the exhibit with his words and photos.

Front view of the reproduction 1950s postcard of the
Olympia Diner from my collection

Back view of the reproduction 1950s postcard of the
Olympia Diner from my collection

This past August when news outlets announced that the Olympia Diner of Newington, Connecticut was being put up for sale, I was immediately concerned as I have had a long-time fascination with this iconic 1954 vintage Jerry O’Mahony diner. The reports mentioned that the current ownership wanted to retire and that their children were not interested in continuing to operate the business. Within the last few weeks it was reported that a buyer may have been found , namely Arista Development of Norwood, Massachusetts, who submitted their plans for the diner and surrounding property at the intersection of the Berlin Turnpike and Pane Road to Newington’s Plan and Zoning Commission.

The Plan and Zoning Commission were due to take up the application at the panel’s Oct. 23 meeting. Arista Development’s filings with the town say only that the company wants to redevelop the property with a new restaurant in the place of the diner, but they don’t indicate what will happen to the diner building. This sounds ominous for the future of this classic stainless steel clad eatery. Unless someone steps forward with a plan to possibly move the diner out of harms way, demolition would certainly be on the table.

I first learned about this diner when I purchased the newly published guidebook “Diners Of The Northeast” by Donald Kaplan & Alan Bellink in the Autumn of 1980.

Cover of Diners Of The Northeast

I also saw a partial image of the diner on the cover of the 1979 book “American Diner” by Richard Gutman & Elliott Kaufman, which I purchased not long after Diners Of The Northeast.

The cover of American Diner with a photo of the Olympia Diner

In Diners Of The Northeast, Kalpan & Bellink of course mentioned the immense size of this diner as being one of the longest they had seen. They also mentioned the enormous Neon Sign on the roof. They said and I quote “If you’re lucky enough to pass by after a rainstorm, you’ll see the sign reflected in the wet pavement of the parking lot.”

I remembered this piece of advice upon my first visit to the diner on November 27, 1981. It was around 5:30 in the morning and it was raining out. I decided to try taking my very first photos of the diner and determined that they would be my earliest attempt at time exposure photography. I parked my 1979 Chevy van at the extreme outside edge of the parking lot with the passenger side of the vehicle facing the front of the diner. I attached my 35mm camera to a tripod borrowed from a friend (I did not own one at that time) and set it up inside the van with the sliding door opened to get my shots without getting the camera wet from the rain. Being a novice, I was extremely excited to see that all 4 of the images when they came back from processing were pretty decent. But of the 4 images I determined that the 3rd one to me was the money shot as seen below…

November 27, 1981 – The 3rd of 4 time exposure photos of the
Olympia Diner by Larry Cultrera

I did manage to get one daytime photo on the way back from the Pennsylvania road trip we were on a couple of days later.

November 29, 1981 daytime photo of the Olympia Diner
by Larry Cultrera

I revisited the diner over the ensuing years, and got a few more photos…

June, 1983 photo, (by this time I was shooting 35mm slide film)
of the Olympia Diner by Larry Cultrera

November 25, 1983 slide of the Olympia Diner by Larry Cultrera.
A second attempt at time exposure, not as dramatic as the first attempt.

There was a long gap until my next shots of the Olympia Diner, when on October 19, 2002 I traveled down to Newington to visit one of the first Krispy Kreme locations to open in New England, just up the road from the Diner. By this time I was already using a digital camera along with my 35mm film camera. These next 2 photos are from that visit.

October 19, 2002 digital photo of the Olympia Diner
by Larry Cultrera

October 19, 2002 digital photo of the Olympia Diner by
Larry Cultrera. That’s my 1999 Jeep Wrangler in the shot….

So after I heard the news recently about the possible sale of the diner, I decided I wanted to visit it at least one more time before something happened to it. On Sunday September 29, 2024 Denise and I drove down to Newington on the way to New Haven, where we planned to spend a day and a half exploring (more on the New Haven visit in the next blog post). I made arrangements to meet up with long-time friend Greg Mattesen as well as another friend Gina Pulaski (who I had yet to meet in person) and her husband Jeff at the diner around 10:00 AM for a late breakfast. We all got there within minutes of each other and held down the large left rear corner booth of the diner for at least an hour. I actually got there about 5 minutes ahead of the others and managed to get a few exterior shots, but due to the overcast weather, the photos came out just okay.

September 29, 2024 exterior photo of the Olympia Diner
by Larry Cultrera

I also got some interior shots (my first ever for this diner) when we were finished eating.

September 29, 2024 interior photo from the end we sat in
looking down the length of the diner.

September 29, 2024 interior photo from the opposite end
looking back down the length of the diner.

September 29, 2024 photo of the small dining-room in the
right rear back section of the diner. Just beyond the newer large
dining-room that was built within the last 25 years on to the
back of the diner is visible.

September 29, 2024 photo of the small dining-room in the
right rear back section of the diner, looking toward the
front section.

We retraced our route on the way home from New Haven the following Tuesday morning, the sun was shining brightly and I knew that the light would be just right to finally take the daytime photos I always wanted of the Olympia Diner.

October 1, 2024 – I finally got he perfect daytime photo
of the Olympia Diner. by Larry Cultrera

I am certainly glad I got to experience this iconic diner this one last time, at least at this location. I certainly hope that by some miracle, someone can save this place and that it does not get demolished!

Every year on or around October 31st, I like to take note of the anniversary of the birth of this blog. In August of 2007, I retired the original Diner Hotline column I wrote for the Society for Commercial Archeology (SCA) since 1988. Shortly after, SCA member Brian Butko who knew I was interested in going in a slightly different direction with Diner Hotline suggested I start a blog. So on October 31, 2007, the very first post went live at www.dinerhotline.com!

Well in this anniversary post, I’m going to blog about a short road-trip Denise and I went on one month ago. I talked a little about this trip on yesterdays post that featured my last visit to the Olympia Diner of Newington, Connecticut. The Olympia Diner was our planned breakfast stop on the way to New Haven. I had not been to New Haven since the late 1990s if I recall correctly. In fact, New Haven was always a pass thru destination on quite a few road-trips in the 1980s when I was documenting diners in the Nutmeg State. Over those years, I never spent any time in the city, just stopping to photograph diners as I was driving thru!

In the last 10 years or so I had become aware of New Haven’s legendary history in relation to one of my favorite foods – PIZZA. I had heard of places like Frank Pepe’s Pizzeria Napolitana and Sally’s Apizza (pronounced Ahbeetz). A number of years ago, the Boston area got its first Frank Pepe location when a spot was opened at the Chestnut Hill Mall in Newton. Denise & I checked it out shortly after they opened and saw what all the fuss was about and we were hooked!

Since that first Massachusetts location opened, two more followed with one at the Burlington Mall (our go-to spot) and more recently, one in Watertown. A couple of years ago I had caught a documentary on streaming TV called “Pizza, A Love Story” which was all about New Haven style Pizza! The documentary mostly talked about what is known locally as the Holy Trinity of New Haven Pizza – Frank Pepe’s Pizzeria Napolitana, Sally’s Apizza and Modern Apizza. I also bought a book I had heard about a few months back titled “Pizza in New Haven by Colin M. Caplan, who had something to do with the documentary as well.

Also fairly recently, Sally’s Apizza has started to expand and opened their first Bay State location in Woburn, Massachusetts earlier this year. Denise and I made a visit to check it out. We liked their version but both of us decided we were more of a fan of Frank Pepe’s than Sally’s.

So in the back of my mind, I was formulating a future trip down to New Haven to at least try Modern Apizza so I could say I have tried all three places. Now I know that some purists would say that the newer stores of Pepe’s and Sally’s do not quite measure up to the original locations as far as the product is concerned. But in my humble opinion, I truly believe it cannot be too far off from both of the New Haven location’s product.

Toward the end of the Summer, Denise and I were talking about the possibility of taking a short road-trip and after I heard about the Olympia Diner being for sale and in danger of  demolition, I thought that maybe we could kill two birds with one stone and as previously mentioned in the beginning of this post, stop at the Olympia in Newington on the way down to New Haven.

If you read the previous post from yesterday, on Sunday September 29, 2024 we did indeed stop at the Olympia Diner for a mid-morning breakfast with 3 friends whom I made arrangements to meet there. After we left Newington, we continued to travel down the Berlin Turnpike which is designated Routes 5 & 15 until they split in Wallingford, then we continued on Route 5 to New Haven. We made it down to the place we had reservations to stay for two nights in the early afternoon, the Hotel Marcel. This place is located in an architecturally significant building that was originally built for the headquarters of Armstrong Rubber in 1969.

The Hotel Marcel – New Haven Connecticut
September 30, 2024 photo by Larry Cultrera

Designed in the brutalist Bauhaus style by Architects Marcel Breuer and Robert F. Gatje, Pirelli Tire took over the building in 1988 and then resold it in 1999. From the late 1990s into the late 2010s, the building was predominantly vacant. The building was listed in the Connecticut Register of Historic Places in 2000, and in the National Register of Historic Places in 2021.

Armstrong Rubber Headquarters. Photo from New Haven
Redevelopment Agency

As the black & white photo above shows the building as it was originally built. The smaller lower section (as seen in my color photo) had another warehouse wing that went further back, comprising 64,000 more square feet which was demolished after IKEA took over the property in 2003. Conversion to a hotel commenced in 2020, leading to the Hotel Marcel’s opening in May 2022. Since its renovation into a hotel, the building operates as a zero-energy building, generating enough renewable energy to sustain its operations.

After we checked in, I went back out to visit another diner I had photographed in 1993. This was the New State Diner which was closed in Ansonia, Connecticut when I photographed it. It had been moved to New Haven not long after I saw it and became the New Star Diner.

New State Diner – Ansonia, Connecticut
April 24, 1993 photo by Larry Cultrera

The New Star Diner was closed when I got there, but the owner was actually on the roof doing some maintenance on the roof top sign.

New Star Diner – New Haven, Connecticut
September 29, 2024 photo by Larry Cultrera

Denise and I planned to have a late lunch/early supper at Modern Apizza when the restaurant opened at 3:00 PM. Earlier in the week I had contacted New Haven resident Mike Urban, a writer who has done pieces for Yankee Magazine and is also an author of books like New England Diner Cookbook and Unique Eats and Eateries of Maine. I have known and been friends with Mike for a number of years (but we never met face to face). I mentioned how we were going to be in New Haven and wondered if he wanted to meet at Modern Apizza for a meal. Mike actually had plans initially to be away on the weekend but the plans fell thru and he said he would meet us.

Modern Apizza – New Haven, Connecticut
September 30, 2024 photo by Larry Cultrera

We had a great time meeting with Mike. Denise and I split a small cheese pizza which was fantastic and Mike got a calzone which was large enough that he took some home. The next morning I had plans of eating breakfast at Cody’s Diner which was right around the corner from the hotel. Cody’s was originally the Hi-Way Diner, a 1950s Mountain View diner which I had photographed in 1983.

Hi-Way Diner – New Haven, Connecticut
May 29, 1983 photo by Larry Cultrera

Back in 1994, the Hi-Way Diner by then operating as Cody’s Diner had a devastating fire. The interior was almost completely destroyed. The owners opted to rebuild the diner from the floor up. The original terrazzo floor and counter base as well as the base for the booth benches remained and everything else was completely new.

Cody’s Diner – New Haven, Connecticut
September 30, 2024 photo by Larry Cultrera

We drove over to Cody’s which was advertised as being open 24 hours a day. But when we got there we noticed there was a sign on the door stating they were closed for a vacation! So we changed plans and found a place in a West Haven strip mall called the Elm Diner that would be open at 6:00 AM. Even though it was an on-site diner, it had some details that made me believe that possibly DeRaffele Diners may have done some work to make it look like a factory-built diner, especially on the inside. Unfortunately, it was still not light enough out to get photos, but the breakfast was fine.

A little later in the morning, I went out and took some photos of the original Sally’s Apizza, Frank Pepe’s Pizzeria, as well as Modern Apizza (see photo above).

Sally’s Apizza – New Haven, Connecticut
September 30, 2024 photo by Larry Cultrera

Frank Pepe’s Pizzeria Napolitana – New Haven, Connecticut
September 30, 2024 photo by Larry Cultrera

We continued exploring New Haven and proceeded to the area encompassing Yale University. I went in search of the former Elm City Diner which I had photographed in 1983.

Elm City Diner – New Haven, Connecticut
May 29, 1983 photo by Larry Cultrera

I already had the knowledge that the Elm City was now operating as Tandoor New Haven serving Indian Cuisine. From the outside, the diner still looked the same minus the old neon sign.

Tandoor New Haven – New Haven, Connecticut
September 30, 2024 photo by Larry Cultrera

We ended up taking a break back at the hotel before going out for lunch. I did a little research and found the Westville Diner located appropriately in the Westville section on the northern edge of the city. This was a 1990s vintage diner more than likely built by DeRaffele Diners, where we had a very good meal.

Westville Diner – New Haven, Connecticut
September 30, 2024 photo by Larry Cultrera

Westville Diner – New Haven, Connecticut
September 30, 2024 photo by Larry Cultrera

That was pretty much it for Monday, so we checked out of the hotel early the next morning for the ride home. We retraced our route back up Route 5 and stopped for breakfast at the Athens II Diner. I had actually photographed this one in 1983 when it looked entirely different. At that time it was a 1970s Mediterranean Mansard style with arched windows built by Kullman Diners, called the Red Bull Diner.

The Red Bull Diner – North Haven, Connecticut
May 29, 1983 photo by Larry Cultrera

I had spied this coming south on Route 5 two days before and saw that the diner had gotten an extreme makeover, which happened I believe in the 1990s or early 2000s.

The Athens II Diner – North Haven, Connecticut
October 1, 2024 photo by Larry Cultrera

After breakfast, other than stopping briefly again in Newington to get new daytime photos of the Olympia Diner in bright sunlight (see the previous post), we made it thru the tail end of the morning rush of traffic in the Hartford area and got home by around 11:00 AM. All in all, it was a decent little road-trip and I finally after all these years got a good feel for traveling around the city of New Haven!

As I do every year around Thanksgiving, I like to acknowledge the anniversary of snapping my very first 35mm photo of a Diner. I figure some long-time followers of this blog may know how my passion for diners started. But for any newcomers, I will rehash how this obsession began and has led me to this point in time!

I was born and raised in Medford, Massachusetts. At a young age, I was extremely observant of my surroundings and very much enjoyed riding in the family car in and around the greater Boston area. I noticed a lot of what was to me interesting buildings along the city streets and roadsides, of which commercial structures and businesses were primarily what caught my eyes as well as my imagination.

The Star Lite Diner – Worcester Lunch Car No. 817
Mystic Avenue, Medford, Massachusetts
November 1948 photo from my collection

My first piece of knowledge about diners by my guess happened one day in 1958, when I was 5 years old. I was with my dad, Sebastian “Sam” Cultrera who was driving down Mystic Avenue in Medford. I recall asking him about this bright blue colored building that we passed, which I had noticed many times before. My question to him was if it was a railroad car, and he told me no, it was a diner – a restaurant that was built in a factory and that it was designed to look somewhat like a railroad car. At that time during the 1950s I had noticed there seemed to be many diners like the one on Mystic Avenue including at least two others in Medford. I recall going to one of those local ones in the early 1960s, a couple of years in a row – Carroll’s Colonial Diner with my family on Easter Sunday after church.

Carroll’s Colonial Dining Car – 1961 Swingle Diner
Main Street, Medford, Massachusetts
Early 1960s post card from my collection

Fast forward to the summer of 1965 when I was 12 years old, I started working with my dad at the store my family operated that sold meats and a limited amount of groceries. That store – the Blue Eagle Market was started by my grandfather and my dad in the early 1930s. That very first day that I worked there I discovered that my dad had a usual daily routine of stopping for breakfast on the way to the wholesale meat suppliers in Boston. One of our usual breakfast stops just happened to be the diner on Mystic Avenue that I had asked my dad about years earlier – the Star Lite Diner!

The Blue Eagle Market
Main Street, Medford, Massachusetts
1977 photograph by Michael Rizza

I personally also frequented the Star Lite Diner for lunch on occasion. I would ride the delivery bicycle from the Blue Eagle to the diner which was about an 8 minute trip. Once there, I would play tunes on the jukebox and kibitz with the owners, Jim and Richie Theodore (father & son) and eat a great meal, sometimes a grilled cheese sandwich or even fried clam strips. My dad always asked me to bring him back an “Eastern Omelet Sandwich”. By the time I was in high school, my friends and I started frequenting Carroll’s Diner which was open 24 hours a day. This became a regular hang-out from the early to mid 1970s. You could find us there at virtually any time of the day or night.

All during the 1970s, up until 1979, I drove a succession of used vehicles. Even though they were mostly dependable, I limited my travels to mostly northern New England and up into the Capitol and Adirondack region of New York state. In April of 1979, I finally purchased my first brand new vehicle, a 1979 Chevy Van! At the time I had been working at Analogic Corporation In nearby Wakefield, Massachusetts for almost 3 years and been friends with my co-worker and now long-time friend Steve Repucci. The two of us hit it off immediately and managed to get in a few road trips prior to my obtaining the new van. After that purchase I felt comfortable to expand my travels without having to worry about vehicle break downs.

Also at this time, I had been thinking of taking the leap to 35mm photography. I always seemed to have an Instamatic Camera with me in my vehicles but never really considered photography as a major hobby until I met Steve Repucci. He had been using a 35mm camera since 1970 and when I saw some of the images he had captured over the years, I got truly inspired! For quite a few years now, I had been in the habit of going on solo early Sunday morning rides in my vehicle, especially with the new van.

One Saturday evening in late 1979, I was at a small get together at Steve Repucci’s house, he inquired whether I was going on my usual Sunday morning ride and wondered if I wanted company. I said sure, no one was usually up for something like that. So the next day began a weekly ritual of stopping at a diner before we embarked on the Sunday morning excursion. For the first two weeks we stopped at Genia’s Diner in North Woburn, close to where Steve was living.

Genia’s Diner – Worcester Lunch Car No. 834
Woburn, Massachusetts. It was actually operating as the
Main Street Diner at this time but the sign had yet to reflect
this fact. March, 1981 photo by Larry Cultrera

After those first two Sunday trips stopping in Woburn, we decided to go exploring and try different diners which would determine the direction of the little road trip. Sometimes we would actually know the location of a diner that we could start these trips with, while other times we just picked a road and hoped we would stumble upon a diner to eat at. We did this pretty much weekly until Labor Day weekend of 1980 when Steve moved down to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania for a change of scene.

In July of 1980, around two months before Steve moved, I finally made the leap and purchased a used 35mm camera and started shooting scenic type shots to try to get the hang of using it, this would basically set me up for that fateful day when I would start documenting diners with my photographs. So on Labor Day weekend, there was a small crew of us who helped in the move. This was also my very first time traveling to Pennsylvania, which was to me the longest road trip I had done up until that point.

Not long after that first trip to Harrisburg, I went and purchased a copy of a new book entitled Diners of the Northeast by Donald Kaplan & Allyson Bellink. This book (along with subsequent purchases of two others; American Diner by Richard Gutman & Elliott Kaufman and Diners by John Baeder) really spurred me on and fanned the flames of my new obsession to start taking photos of diners. It was the weekend of Thanksgiving 1980 when I took my next trip to Pennsylvania to visit Steve. I believe that my brother Rick and friend Scott Drown made the trip starting out maybe around 2:00AM in the morning on Friday, November 28th. As I recall, we took I-84 from Connecticut out to Scranton, Pennsylvania. From there we headed south on I-81 to Harrisburg. It took quite a while in the mid-to-late morning to get thru this stretch of road as we hit some of the densest fog I have ever driven in. We finally made it to Harrisburg and pretty much rested up for the remainder of the day!

The next morning we went out for breakfast at the nearby By-Pass Diner on Herr Street in Harrisburg. I believe it was after we ate that I decided to finally take that first tentative photo of a diner!

The By-Pass Diner of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
with my 1979 Chevy van in the shot!
November 29, 1980 photo by Larry Cultrera

Now as first photos go, as luck would have it, this was not too shabby in my own humble opinion! In point of fact, I was just contacted recently by an independent film company out of the mid-west who have shot a film based in the 1980s called Dead Mail. They asked to license a photo of mine for use in the film. As it turns out, the photo they wanted was – the By-Pass Diner photo from 1980!

It has been quite some time since my last post and I apologize. Since mid-February I have had some medical issues (i.e. infections and surgical procedure on my right foot) that have confined my movements to the first and second floors of the townhouse as well as not having permission to drive. As my condition progressed I was able to access my desktop PC is in the basement office for short bursts but finally got permission to drive a little over a week ago.

When I was hospitalized I received word on a pop-up photo exhibit of Andrew Satter’s Kitchenette Diner photos at CambrideSide, a Mall, residential and office complex in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Some regular readers of this blog may recall I mentioned Andy Satter almost a year ago when he had one of the first exhibits of this group of photos in Danbury, Connecticut. https://dinerhotline.wordpress.com/2024/06/08/a-new-photo-exhibit-called-the-diner-project-opens-in-danbury-connecticut/

Left side of entrance to the pop-up exhibit “Walk-Ins Welcome”

Right side of entrance to the pop-up exhibit “Walk-Ins Welcome”

The opening reception of this latest exhibit was held on March 29th with the exhibit running through the end of May. I would like to take note that the CambridgeSide complex is very close to where the Kitchenette Diner operated for decades until it was bought and removed from its site at the corner of First and Rogers Streets. I recall driving past the diner in the early 1970s and thought the place looked abandoned – the lot had mature trees growing in front of the building and no signage. Was I surprised to learn in 1978 that the diner had been in continuous operation at that spot since the late 1930s. Below is the information of the exhibit posted at CambridgeSide’s Website.

Visit The Diner Project: Discovering a Time Past, But Not Forgotten, a special photography exhibition. Compiled by photographer Andrew Satter formerly of Cambridge and currently residing in New Paltz, NY, The Diner Project is comprised of black-and-white photographs taken between 1974 and 1977 at the iconic Russ’s Kitchenette Diner in East Cambridge. The photographs, many which have never been exhibited and were presumed lost nearly three decades ago, document an important and bygone period of Cambridge’s history and culture. 

The diner, which was located on the corner of First and Rogers Streets in East Cambridge, was a beehive of daily activity from its opening in 1937 until its closing in 1978. 

Documented through the eyes of then aspiring twenty-year old photographer Andrew Satter, viewers will be transported back through time and introduced to the diner’s staff: Russ the owner, Charlie the cook, and Geri the waitress, as well as many of its loyal customers — some for more than thirty years including police officers, truck drivers, clerks, letter carriers and construction workers. 

In addition to the forty-one unique images on display in the exhibition, visitors have the option to watch two videos about the Diner Project: An Artist Talk with Andrew Satter, and Down Around Here, an award winning short documentary film about the diner by local filmmaker David Sutherland.  

Visit the exhibition located on Level 2 across from T.J.Maxx from Sunday, March 30 through Saturday, may 31, 2025. 

I was able to drive over to Cambridge on Sunday May 11th to finally check out the exhibit for myself and get some photos. It was kind of tough because of the lighting in the store where the exhibit was displayed and I could not avoid reflections of the overhead lights in the picture frame glass in my photos. I have included the photos in order as they appear.

In addition to the photos, a limited-edition book was published and I am grateful to Andy for sending me one along with some postcards of some of the photos…

Cover of the Walk-Ins Welcome limited-edition book

If you are local to the greater Boston area, I recommend that you try to get to see this exhibit before May 31st. The parking garage is under the complex, but you will have to pay to park. On-street parking is also available primarily on Sundays. During the week probably not so much.