Our friend on the Food Network, Guy Fieri, has a whole show devoted to Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives. There is a diner in everyone’s life. We’ve all had our favorites. Diners are an important part of physical Americana. They all have their histories; some have been in families or in business for almost 100 years.
I’ve been in a few diners and drive-ins in my lifetime. Here are some of my favorites. Some of them you will recognize and some you won’t, depending on what part of the country you live in. My experience with diners and the like centered on Maine, Connecticut, and Atlanta. What’s your favorite?
As far as Maine and the coastal area, we are all familiar with Moody’s. We might also include the old Dave’s Restaurant over on Rt. 1 in that category. I loved their fried clams. Dave’s had the same comfortable and welcoming feeling as Moody’s has. We all miss Dave’s. (See a video of Dave's on South End FB page. Thanks Rockland Maine History for supplying it.) I think there was also a diner down on Park Street where the bank is now. It appeared after I left town, but I think it had a good reputation too.
Some of these iconic places have gone viral as far as merchandizing goes. Many have gift shops as well as their own websites and Facebook pages.
Here’s “The Story of Moody’s Diner” which I borrowed from their website:
Moody's began in 1927 when "P.B." Moody built 3 small cabins renting for $1.00 per person. In 1930 a small restaurant was opened at the entrance road to the cabins. In 1934 this little business of 18 cabins was by-passed by the new Route #1. "P.B." promptly bought land connecting the cabins to the new route, built a road, moved a small take-out stand to this location and the present Moody's Diner began.
All nine children worked in the family business: on the farm, cabins, or in the diner. Son, Alvah Moody, and son-in-law Bill Jones remained with the business as chefs and buyers until their retirement. Daughters Judy and Nancy were also involved from the 80's until the present in cooking, waitressing, and management.
At the present time, grandsons Steve Moody and Dan Beck are in management positions. There are now 31 members of the family working in various aspects of the business, many of them great-grandchildren. It is a "family tradition" in every sense of the word!
Now, over eighty years later, we are very pleased to have served over a million people in our motel and diner. We have evolved from three cabins our first year, with no diner, to our present 18 cabins and rooms and a 104 seat diner that has become a national icon, featured in magazines and on television shows around the world.
The blueberry muffins have garnered a gold medal from the Culinary Hall of Fame, Gourmet magazine has requested the recipe for the world-famous walnut pie, and Saveur magazine named the whoopie pie one of the 100 top food finds of the year in 1999. For 80 years, Moody's Diner has been a national icon, serving great food to more than a million satisfied customers.
Those who have been to Moody's Diner know that Moody's is not a 'quaint-on-purpose' tourist attraction. It is a diner on US Route 1 in Waldoboro, Maine, plain and simple. It has survived, prospered and grown these 80 years because of good food, reasonable prices and quick, pleasant service. There are people who eat at Moody's everyday, and those who come in every time they travel to Maine. All are made welcome. Locals aren't expected to go elsewhere during tourist season and tourists aren't gouged for their vacation cash - it's never going to be that kind of place.
There are two diners I frequented while I lived in Connecticut in the Hartford area. The first one was the East Hartford Diner. It was a huge place which was essentially an after-hours place to get coffee and try to sober up before you tried to drive home. I was never in such a state, but I did go there with friends on many a weekend night. You could put it in the “Dive” category as you might have to get past a drunk or two before you got to your own booth. Kind of a rough place now that I think about it; but then again I was young and things like that didn’t bother me too much.
The other place I remember quite well was a diner that sat across the highway from me down on Rt. 15 in Meriden. I think it was called The Silver Diner; but changed names later on when a different owner took over.
Rt. 15 runs the length of the state and has several names the further south it goes. It is called the Merritt Parkway in the southern end. It generally runs parallel to Interstate 91. I traveled both of these roads when I went to grad school down at Fairfield University.
In the Hartford to Meriden section of the highway, it was often called “Fire Alley.” The name came from the fact that on occasion, a restaurant on that strip would be burned out. It was said that the Mafia controlled that road and if you got on their bad side, you might find your business in ashes the next day, therefore “Fire Alley.” I remember that one of the restaurants on the strip was allegedly a meeting place for the Mafia. You could call that place a dive also.
Anyway, the reason I tell you this history is because the diner across from me, which was taken over by a Greek guy I think, just went up in smoke one night. In matter of fact, it exploded. It was said that the guy “accidentally” left the gas on for the stoves, the gas built up, and the whole place exploded. Believe it or not, I slept though the whole thing.
When I moved to Georgia and worked down near 10th street at the old “CNN” studios, I was introduced to the nearby Varsity, the biggest drive-in in the world. As it says in the picture "What'll Ya Have?" became their slogan because the guy at the head of the food line inside always said that several times in a row to the next customer in line. If you didn't hear him say that, you felt slighted. Here’s some fun facts from their website:
(Story continued below)
History The original Varsity was opened in 1928 on a 70' X 120' lot with a white picket fence by a man named Frank Gordy; a man with a $2000 nest egg and "million dollar taste buds." Through his dedication to freshness, superior quality, advanced technology and serving the best food fast, he gained a reputation that is known worldwide. The Varsity has hosted well known people from the entertainment industry, the sports industry, the Governor's mansion, the White House, as well as visitors from all over the globe. Through Frank Gordy's determination, the original Varsity has grown into a two-story "Lunching Pad" and there are now 6 sister locations. The Varsity has become an Atlanta institution known and loved by all.
It's the World’s Largest Drive-In The Downtown Atlanta location is on more than two acres and can accommodate 600 cars and over 800 people inside. On days when the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (the school is nearby) are playing a home game, over 30,000 people visit The Varsity.
Legendary Volume Two miles of hot dogs, a ton of onions, 2500 pounds of potatoes, 5000 fried pies and 300 gallons of chili are made from scratch daily
Car Hops Identifying cars by number has always been an integral part of the Varsity Drive-In system. "Curb men" would sing and dance their way to fame. The most famous of our car hops was a man named Flossy Mae, who sang the menu to customers for over 50 years. Well known TV and Movie star Nipsy Russell also got his start at The Varsity as car hop #46
Desserts Dessert at The Varsity is a must. Homemade ice cream and fried pies are the only way to top off a meal. Over 5,000 pies, peach and apple, are made daily. Of course, family recipes are followed very closely to ensure quality everyday of the year.
Besides the car hop experience where the car hops come to you on roller skates, there is an eat-in area in the Atlanta location that is on a couple of levels. It also has its own “gift shop.”
The headquarters for another popular chain of diners is in Gwinnett County, a suburb of Atlanta, where I live. That chain is called “The Waffle House.” When Nanci and I were “between homes” during the time of the flood, we must have hit every Waffle House that exists. We had an insurance voucher to help with our daily food needs so we had fun trying to eat at a different Waffle House every day.
The Waffle House has its own museum, if you can believe it, in Avondale, another suburb of Atlanta. I’ve never been there, but may check it out one day. The diner inspired me to create my own diner in my home, which I did. The booths and stools survived the flood and the whole diner I had will be replicated when I have my own home again.
Here’s what their website had to say:
It's the mid 1950's. Joe Rogers and Tom Forkner were neighbors–Joe working for a national restaurant chain, the Toddle House, and Tom in the local real estate business. Since employee ownership was not available with the Toddle House, the idea of starting a business they could own and share some ownership with other seemed like a good idea. Joe and Tom wanted to create a restaurant focused on people–both the associates and customers–while serving quality food at a great value.
On Labor Day 1955, their dream became a reality–and an icon was born–when the first Waffle House restaurant opened its doors for business in Avondale Estates, an Atlanta suburb. After Unit 1 opened there were no plans for another Unit, but the first restaurant established the Waffle House tradition of providing the friendliest service in town. Customer loyalty developed and the business grew steadily. A couple of years (1957) Unit 2 was acquired and by 1961, there were four small restaurants.
In 1961, Joe left Toddle House and went to work full-time at Waffle House®. Tom went full time soon after. The 1960's saw the emergence of a restaurant chain focused on customer service with a short order concept and, true to its founding beliefs, shared the ownership generously with management.
The company began to expand and new units were built in Georgia and neighboring states. The "Yellow Sign" soon became a familiar landmark along city streets and interstate highways across the Southeast. Under the guiding philosophy of "better before bigger," Waffle House restaurants continued to grow in both new and existing markets.
So these are some of the Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives (?) I’ve eaten at over the years. The movie, “The Diner” starring Daniel Stern, Ellen Barkin, Kevin Bacon, Mickey Rourke, Paul Reiser, Steve Gutenberg, and Barry Levinson is the best example of an “Americana” diner. Check out that trailer on my South End Facebook page.
As far as dives go, the epitome of dives was the subject of three “Porkies” The first one appeared in 1982. Set in 1954, a group of Florida high schoolers seek out to lose their virginity which leads them to seek revenge on a sleazy nightclub owner and his redneck sheriff brother for harassing them. The film starred Dan Monahan, Mark Herrer, and Wyan Knight. That trailer also appears on the South End page. A warning: it may contain scenes “inappropriate” for some viewers.
I would be happy to hear about your own favorite eating establishment and add it to my own list. Just email me at southendstories@aol.com.
Thanks for listening.
NOTE: By the way, I originally planned to include "Drive-In Movie Theatres" in this story, but decided to save it for another time.
