Latest News

The Importance of Being Diner

Category: Eat in Diners

Published Date

Written by Randy Garbin

Almost thirty years have passed by since the publication of the two books that sparked the whole study of and enthusiasm for diner preservation:

Diners by John Baeder and American Diner by Richard J.S. Gutman. In 1978, most people with any thoughts about it at all safely assumed that the American diner was headed for extinction, conquered finally by golden arches and orange roofs — leaving behind little more than fond memories and postcards. Then these two books raised the status of the diner from obsolete restaurant concept to unique and endangered American architectural form. Ultimately, some people sought to get their hands on one of the relatively numerous run-down but intact examples of the classic diner, hoping to give their acquisitions new life.

However, because of the temporal disconnect between the original builders (many retired, some passed away) and these new buyers, the ingrained but undocumented methodologies behind their design and construction became subject to the whims of well-intentioned but sometimes misguided entrepreneurs. To some, the appeal of the diner derived from its more superficial characteristics — the stainless steel facades, neon signs, sassy waitresses, little tabletop jukeboxes. This obsession with the more cosmetic aspects of the form overlooked the diner’s carefully engineered functional perfection.

That perfection hardly arose by accident. Consider that your typical 1950s streamlined diner evolved within an industry already 70 years old. It would seem that such experience would command great respect from anyone looking to purchase a product of it. Sadly, the evidence proves otherwise.

In the golden years of the diner industry, prospective buyers could ask for and receive elaborate brochures that spotlighted the abilities of the company. Customers could then count on a long-running relationship with the company for future improvements, renovations, and if all went well, a trade-up to a bigger model, like the magnificent diner seen above. (Image courtesy of Richard J.S. Gutman and the Culinary Archives & Museum at Johnson & Wales University.)

When people call us asking for advice on buying and running a real diner, we first try to shake these dreamers awake with some cold, hard facts about restoration and operational challenges. Occasionally, an individual with the right amount of resources, vision, and/or chutzpah actually moves forward and takes the plunge. At this point, I usually cross my fingers, because some of them seek a diner for what amounts to nothing more than ornamentation for a concept that needs a diner as much as a submarine needs a screen door.

If aspiring diner operators ask us for advice, we can only hope they take it. As yet, no law prohibits people from turning their authentic piece of Americana into a gaudy caricature of itself. Anyone can drape him- or herself in the mantle of preservation, even if they fail to understand why that diner lasted long enough for them to acquire it.

The truth is, no college ever awarded a degree in diner design. Indeed, schools of architecture typically ignored roadside architecture altogether. While we now have a relative abundance of published works describing and illustrating diner culture and history, unfortunately we have nothing that schematically describes a genuine diner and how it contrasts from other restaurant concepts—I'm talking about blueprints and layout/flow plans, plus specialized construction materials and techniques. Those who worked in the businesses designing diners learned their trade from their predecessors and adapted innovations often by a kind of osmosis. The acquired knowledge passed down through the generations via on-the-job training and informal apprenticeships.

A prefabricated diner is just another piece of restaurant equipment. It is one of the few examples in commercial retail architecture where the whole building cohesively integrates into the operation. Efficiency is paramount in any restaurant, but in a diner, efficiency, durability and aesthetic elements must survive disassembly and transport over hundreds of miles of open road.

The challenge of adapting a fifty-year-old classic into a viable modern restaurant usually forces new owners to make some difficult decisions. If they fail to appreciate fully the methods of the builders, they can put their project on shaky ground. For a diner is ultimately designed down to the last rivet to support the creation and operation of a successful enterprise. I'm afraid some of those who toil in the name of preservation make grievous errors. Aside from the management of the kitchen, these errors apply to the most conspicuous aspects of the diner, the aspects that give the diner its true character, its efficiency, and its greatest appeal to the potential market: The entrance, the counter area, and the decor.

Granted, there are exceptions to every rule, and the diner business is no different, but most extant diners have pretty standard layouts and designs, typical for their periods of construction. The general guidelines below will likely apply to 90% of what’s out there.