RoadsideOnline

The bad economy and some poor accounting claim a once-great Rhode Island institution.

State shuts down Jigger's Diner for back taxes

By Barbara Polichetti, Journal Staff Writer

EAST GREENWICH –– Jigger's Diner, the popular local eatery where jonnycakes and homemade pies were dished up daily, was closed last week by the state Division of Taxation for being delinquent in remitting state taxes, according to local officials.

Town Manager William Sequino Jr. and Police Chief Tomas E. Coyle said that a tax official went to Jigger's last Tuesday and advised employees and customers that the restaurant needed to close its doors because it was in arrears on its state taxes. Coyle said that people were allowed to finish their meals and that the situation was handled courteously with no disturbances.

Read more about this here. 

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These students were barely out of diapers when Roadside Magazine first featured Syracuse's great food and other attractions. Nice to see the better aspects of our culture appreciated by younger generations.

Syracuse diners inspire a multi-media project

Don Cazentre / The Post-Standard

Seth Gitner, left, assistant professor at Syracuse University's S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications, and Newhouse student Nathan Mattise, of Scranton, Pa., worked on an online multi-media project to tell the story of Syracuse-area diners. They are shown at JJ's Miss Syracuse Diner in downtown Syracuse.

Everyone seems to have a favorite diner, where they feel at home. But try to explain that love, and you might end up saying something like: "Words can't do it justice."

That's where www.syracusediners.com may help.

It's a multimedia guide to Syracuse-area diners, and diner culture in general. It tells the story in more than words: It uses pictures, computer graphics, videos, a searchable database and more.

Find out more by clicking here...

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Red Arrow owner Carol Sheehan tells her story to the New Hampshire Business Journal (and tosses some props our way).

Q&A with: Red Arrow Diner owner Carol Sheehan

If you said Carol Sheehan, owner of Manchester's Red Arrow Diner, was a "daddy's girl," you'd be right -- and also very wrong.

In 1987, when she was in her early 20s, Sheehan embarked on a journey with her father George Lawrence and another business partner to buy the Red Arrow Diner, which had sat vacant for two years.

Running a restaurant, after all, was in her blood. Her family runs the Belmont Hall & Restaurant on Grove Street.

But it was her very own common sense, energetic spirit and careful attention that brought the Queen City landmark back to life.

Fast-forward to 2010, and you are just as likely to hear the Bedford resident on the radio with her talk show, "Food for Thought with the Taste Buds," with co-host Michelle Trumble, as you will see her in the Red Arrow corporate offices planning the business's expansion -- or slinging hash while meeting presidential candidates at the diner.

Yes, Sheehan still serves blue-plate specials (on blue plates) at the Red Arrow on occasion, calling it "a great way to get customer feedback."

And while Sheehan, 46, still asks her dad for his advice, she is definitely not afraid to blaze her own trail.

Q. You bought the diner in 1987. What prompted you to take on that project?

Read her answers here.

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After more than five years of fits and starts, Matt King finally reopens the former Bound Brook Diner, arguably the most beautifully built diner in the world. Congratulations to all involved. 

Night owls and early birds get their grub

Two new classic diners hit Charlotte this month, open nearly round-the-clock

By Brooke Sutherland

Got a craving for an early-morning Hunka Hunka Burnin' Toast or a late-night hankering for a Texas Tommy? Two new diners are opening this month and bringing the classic diner atmosphere and grub to uptown.

The Midnight Diner will open on the corner of South Tryon Street and Carson Boulevard at a yet-to-be-determined date in August. Mattie's Diner, part of the N.C. Music Factory, opened Friday and packed the booths with customers eager for some food and a little dose of nostalgia.

"I have fond memories of diners from when I lived up north," said Jerry Thornton, 67, who was eating an omelette at Mattie's on Friday afternoon. "Just the concept of a diner, being able to sit down next to a banker on one side and a janitor on the other."

Read the full article and seem more photos -- click here. 

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Under the NYC Landmarks Law, the NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission designated landmark status to the historic Empire Diner, which is a 1946 Art Deco freestanding diner by mastermind Joseph Fodero of the Fodero Dining Car Co). It is of a dying breed, since it is one of the last of 2 highly intact examples in Manhattan, which was once dotted with freestanding diners. The Empire Diner is a marked contributing property to the city's Historic District. Note the Dept of Buildings' classification for 210 10th Ave as L for Landmark. 

HOW YOU CAN HELP: As many people as possible need to call the Landmarks Preservation Commission's investigation unit and main phone number, and ask why the Empire State Building model was removed from the top corner of the landmarked facade of the Empire Diner at 210 10th Ave, and also mention that the new operators likely plan on changing the famed name (according to many press clips), which to our knowledge also has protection under the Landmarks Law.

Empire Diner with ESB model.

Diner with ESB gone astray.

 Is the latter photo the ideal of progress? We believe a permit would need to be approved by the Landmarks Commission first, so it is imperative that they know.

1. Call the LPC investigation unit - Diane Simonson at (212) 669-7948 2. Also call the main LPC # for Dir of Research Mary Beth Betts, and make her aware of the ESB removal and diner name endangerment. The interior should also be recommended for Interior Landmark status (facade already has landmark status). Mary Beth Betts is reachable at (212) 669-7700. Please call, & tell your friends to call as well.

Keep Michael Perlman informed of your correspondence with the LPC via This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

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RICHMOND – Amtrak Virginia today launches a new train with daily round-trip service between Richmond and Amtrak's Northeast Corridor, providing hourly morning northbound departures and more flexible southbound return trips to and from Amtrak's Staples Mill Station.

Virginia stops along the route include Staples Mill, Ashland, Fredericksburg, Quantico, Woodbridge and Alexandria stations, with direct service as far north as Boston.

"This new train provides more transportation choices in the I-95 corridor," said Thelma Drake, director of the Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation (DRPT). "It's easier than ever to take the train for your business, college and vacation trips."

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WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Transportation is donating a number of "Vince and Larry" crash-test dummy costumes and related auto safety items to the Smithsonian Institution, U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood announced today. These objects now become part of the permanent collection of the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History in Washington, DC.
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Roadside thanks Timothy wood for the news tip. We also thank Al Mac's for the preservation of their beautiful sign and diner. Here's looking at another hundred.

FINE DINING: Al Mac's Diner celebrates 100 tasty years

By PHIL DEVITT, Fall River Spirit Editor

When Al McDermott started peddling food in Fall River on a horse-drawn wagon in 1910, he likely had no idea that people in the city and farther afield would know his name a century later.

To be fair, it's McDermott's nickname that makes most mouths water. When it came to good food, served fast and cheap, no one had a better reputation than Al Mac.

The business has changed hands several times and the wagon was chucked long ago for a stationary Art Deco shell, but Al Mac's Diner still holds true to its founding principles, serving fresh, home-style meals at reasonable prices, seven days a week.

This year, the President Avenue landmark celebrates 100 years in business, a milestone encapsulated in red letters above the entrance: "Justly Famous Since 1910." The staff celebrated earlier this year by coming to work one day dressed in vintage clothing from their favorite decades — and that was all.

Running a diner, open 24 hours on the weekend, keeps the staff too busy for much of anything else. And in a world where powerful fast food chains pop up around every corner seemingly overnight, every day is a fight to survive.

To read more about Al Mac's, click here...

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