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Lou-Roc Award: Dolts deep-six Deepwater Diner

deepwater2012extIn what reality is a plain white stucco box more attractive than finely-crafted, streamlined stainless steel?

Roadside first published more than twenty years ago. The Lou-Roc award debuted about two years later. The grapevine revealed to me a few years after that the term transformed into a verb — as in, "I won't lou-roc my diner."

deepwater1995The Deepwater Diner as it appeared in 1997.

All along the way, this publication and many others have spread the good word that diners offer both good food and a dynamic restaurant concept for entrepreneurs. People like diners. Actually, they love them. They feel good just to see them around.

Read more: Lou-Roc Award: Dolts deep-six Deepwater Diner

Skee's Diner slow destruction

skeesrotting

Closed since 2001, Skee's Diner has fallen victim to time, weather, greed, and now idiocy. Slated to be "restored" and moved to a parking lot nearby, the 90-year-old diner has gone from a minor to a seriously major restoration project thanks to stupid neglect.

It would take four guys and a six-wheeler flatbed and about six hours to lift and cart away this rare antique structure, but instead its owner Joanne Ryan goes about seeking to raise a half-million dollars to realize her ill-conceived idea to plant this diner in a remote parking lot to serve as a visitor information dispensary. 

Ms. Ryan, move this diner NOW! There is no excuse for this travesty. 

Read more: Skee's Diner slow destruction

New photos: Broad Street Diner, Philadelphia

broadstreetdiner


My first exploration of Philadelphia occurred well over twenty years ago, and the Broad Street Diner was one of the first diners I personally documented. However, for whatever reason, it became just last week the last one I finally visited. Sadly, I got in there after Michael Petrogiannis completed his renovations to the diner.

Mainstream America might appreciate all the modern touches, but I know from peering inside during the three years it remained shuttered that this mid-1960s Fodero still had most of its original features. "Could be worse, I suppose" is the new mantra of those such as myself who fully appreciate diners as perfect food service structures. A good cleaning would have been enough, in my estimation, but so be it. 

Petrogiannis also owns the Mayfair, Melrose, Country Club, Tiffany, and Warminster West diners in and around the city making him the undisputed diner king of the Delaware Valley. I can fault him for his aethetic sensibilities and his needless changes to iconic diners, but can't find much fault in the food or service, not for diners of this scale in this region. 

Read more: New photos: Broad Street Diner, Philadelphia

More Articles...

  1. New photos: Four Sisters Owl Diner
  2. The Cap City closes
  3. Burlington's Taco Hell

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Riding Shotgun

Diner Finder Updates

Miss Washington Diner
Miss Washington Diner
Name: Miss Washington Diner
State: CT
Jigger's Diner
Jigger's Diner
Name: Jigger's Diner
State: RI
Garfield Diner
Garfield Diner
Name: Garfield Diner
State: PA
Saratoga Diner and...
Saratoga Diner and Restaurant
Name: Saratoga Diner and Restaurant
State: NY
Talk of the Town Diner
Talk of the Town Diner
Name: Talk of the Town Diner
State: NJ
Show more...

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Roadside Wire

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Miss Albany closes -- Diner in danger

02-03-2012

Miss Albany closes -- Diner in danger

Fans of the now former Miss Albany Diner or of diners in general will not be happy about this news.... Read more

Chagrin Falls shows soft heart for its hardware store

01-29-2012

Chagrin Falls shows soft heart for its hardware store

Who says that the internet hasn't helped the local business? It's all in how you use it.  In the Era of... Read more

Hollywood to theaters: Upgrade or die

01-26-2012

As if small, independent and historic theaters have enough to worry about. Soon they won't even have any films to... Read more

Classic downtown theater preserved and repurposed

01-24-2012

Classic downtown theater preserved and repurposed

When one thinks of Los Angeles, the notion of a traditional downtown isn't the first image to come to mind.... Read more

Pittsfield diner stays in the family

01-17-2012

Pittsfield diner stays in the family

Good to see this diner stalwart still going strong. 55 years later, Pittsfield diner is still all in the family By Dick... Read more

Libby's goes Greek

01-17-2012

Libby's goes Greek

Would it be too much to ask that the new owners simply preserve this rare Worcester diner and keep it... Read more

New hardware for Amtrak

01-13-2012

For all the money that Congress and the President tossed around since 2009, you'd think Amtrak would have all-new-everything by... Read more

Single screens reviving in traditional neighborhoods

01-13-2012

Single screens reviving in traditional neighborhoods

It's worth mentioning that The Cinema on Clinton Avenue sits right across the street from the fantastic Highland Park Diner... Read more

Washington Post ten years late to our Pittsburgh party

01-06-2012

Washington Post ten years late to our Pittsburgh party

The Washington Post declares Pittsburgh hip. Welcome to the party, Post. We called this one over ten years ago. We've... Read more

Experts discuss Amtrak's prospects for profit

01-06-2012

The folks over at Freakonomics (which has a podcast I listen to almost religiously) have weighed in on the prospects... Read more

Diners are Everywhere!

0282 DinerFinderCover2012-02

The Diner Finder 2012 edition is now available at Lulu.com. Full color listing of nearly 2000 diners from around the world. Order yours today!

Support independent publishing: Buy this book on Lulu.

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Another site upgrade

Visitors will notice some subtle changes to the site since Monday night. Because the upgrade and redesign that I implemented last November didn't go as smoothly as I had hoped, I opted to start from scratch instead. Two months later, the site looks pretty solid so far, and had the added bonus of a new, easier-to-use system for our Riding Shotgun bloggers. 

We hope that you can now use the site without any further technical issues. If you do, by all means, write me immediately and let This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Feature Stories

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Five Days Five Diners

Five day road rip to Boston. Combining my two loves – boxing and diners – made for the near-perfect working... Read more

In the Temple of Pie

In the Temple of Pie

Good pie nourishes not only the body but also the spirit. It requires generous measures of dedication, heaping cupfuls of... Read more

Map Making in the 1940s

We raise our cup to David Foss for the tip. Read more

Download Issue 27: Good Diners Good Neighborhoods

Download Issue 27: Good Diners Good Neighborhoods

Explore the Philadelphia's Mayfair section back in 1997 and how the once-great Mayfair Diner helped to bring about a revival... Read more

Atlantic City Gamble: What happened to A.C. should…

Atlantic City Gamble: What happened to A.C. should stay in A.C.

Turns out, our excursion to Atlantic City proved rather timely. Not long after we got back, New Jersey's Governor Christie... Read more

Sweeter by the Dozens

Sweeter by the Dozens

Paula Huber says she’s “a dying breed,” but don’t call the coroner yet. She’s much too busy -- teasing her customers,... Read more

Gotta Get Goetta

Gotta Get Goetta

Rough Draft Roadtrip, Seventh Day Try as I may, I could not seem to tune in WKRP. No matter, after another... Read more

Tonic on the Taconic

Otto Maier greets you with the sincerity of a fervent missionary. If you have the great pleasure to stop for... Read more

Drive I-95: No exit left behind

Drive I-95: No exit left behind

With the hey-day of the printed travel guide now fading distantly into our rear view mirrors, I consider a book... Read more

Roadside Approved Link: OnlynDetroit.com

Because of its current state of unfortunate affairs and its rich industrial and cultural history, we are in search of... Read more

Roadside interviews Mr. Ed

We interviewed Mr. Ed from Mr. Ed's Elephant Museum in Orrtanna, Pennsylvania in May 2002. We hoped to put together... Read more

For the love of pie

For the love of pie

I present you, dear readers, with this image of an apple pie we just purchased from the Mastoris Diner in... Read more

Customer pays bill with loving video tribute

Customer pays bill with loving video tribute

It's a rather dizzying tour of Daddypop's Tumble Inn Diner in Claremont, New Hampshire, but if you want to see... Read more

Pittsburgh: Third place victorious

Pittsburgh: Third place victorious

The Paris of Appalachia, Pittsburgh in the Twenty-first Century by Brian O'NeillCarnegie-Mellon University PressPittsburgh, PA. $16.95 Back in 2001, right after... Read more

A Restaurant That Lives Up To Its Name

A Restaurant That Lives Up To Its Name

I am married to Michigan. But I am in love with Pennsylvania. Sure, Michigan and I have had some good... Read more