Gordon's Odyssey begins anew

Towanda, Pennsylvania -- In 2003, we published a Countertop article describing the journey of Gordon Tindall and his effort to find a new home for his freshly and lovingly restored Red Rose Diner. Purchased in 1999, the former Lackawanna Trail Diner remained in mostly original condition but in poor operational shape. In fact, Gordon actually bought the diner while escorting his Clarksville Diner from Decorah, Iowa out to the docks in Newark, New Jersey, where it would get loaded onto a container ship and shipped to France.

Unfortunately, Gordon fell into the all-too-common trap of buying a diner without first finding a place to plunk it. Gordon spent the years between 1999 and 2004 searching all over the Northeast for a new home for his 1920s Tierney diner, finally finding one in the heart of Pennsylvania's "Endless Mountains" region in downtown Towanda. Most visitors today who see the results of Gordon's painstaking efforts will not likely notice the many, many details behind the restoration. For instance, the two-story service building behind the diner may look like a long-time fixture, but Gordon built that as well. He also changed many interior fixtures in the diner, but done in such a way that only an ardent Tierney expert would notice. When I asked Gordon about them, he said, "I asked Mr. Tierney if it was okay for me to do this, and he said it was."

Well, after about four years in operation and the building of a loyal customer base, Gordon's giving it all up... again! In 2006, he purchased a 1920s Goodell diner from diner historian Michael Engle of New York. Michael rescued the rickety structure from demolition in a small Ohio town with the hopes of restoring it himself, but sold it to Gordon for an undisclosed amount (hopefully not much), who then went right to work on what he's going to call the Spud Boy Lunch.

Sadly -- at least for us Northeasterners -- he's going to call it that in southern Minnesota, not all that far from Decorah, Iowa, ironically enough. Gordon tells Roadside he's moving out there again to be with his new bride of three years.

Gordon now has the Red Rose for sale, and we have it placed on our Diner for Sale list. While we wish Gordon the best in his new life and digs, we can't help but worry whether or not the diner he leaves behind will find an owner with the same level of appreciation for the diner and ability to operate it. Gordon's an all-too-rare breed and a real throw-back. He leaves some big shoes to fill.