Miss-erable Adams: Jae Chung's sorry stewardship of a once-great diner

Category: Eat in Diners

Published Date

Written by Randy Garbin

Hopefully, this will be the last time I write about Jae Chung.

News reports surfaced over the weekend that Jae Chung got in a little trouble with the bank over a mortgage he took out for his Miss Adams Diner property. The bank apparently foreclosed and will soon put the diner up for auction.

I received a flurry of emails about this. Interestingly, one email expressed joy over the fact that Chung would finally release this forlorn and tortured structure from his grubby paws. Another expressed great concern that none of the news reports indicated whether or not the diner would sell with its contents. Though I haven’t visited this diner in over six years, it still retains some of its charms despite Chung’s many ill-conceived renovations he inflicted in a utterly mindless attempt to rejuvenate the diner’s business, viability, and reputation -- predictably with absolutely no success.

Since the departure of Barry and Nancy Garton in 2000, Chung could have installed a revolving back door for all the operators he’s thrown at this disaster. It went from a diner to a hot dog joint to a seafood restaurant and back again in the past ten years. In his last renovation, the 1948 gem of a Worcester car apparently wasn’t diner enough for his stunted sense of aesthetics, and so he stapled up 45-rpm records all over the place, covered over the original wood and laminates, and tried to make the place look like the malt shop set from “Back to the Future.”

Amazingly, Chung’s last occupant Ann Marie Belemonte started to make a real go of it, because, in her words, she “was going to make it a real diner again,” only to find out in the paper a few months later that Chung had the place up for sale without her knowledge.

Mr. Chung, good f’ing riddance. You took what was arguably the finest diner and perhaps one of the best short order restaurants in the entire country, and killed it with your ineptitude, incompetence, and inconceivable neglect. The fact that you seem to be experiencing problems at some of your other properties as well only solidifies my belief that when it comes to restaurant management, you’ll make a fine Wal-Mart greeter. I’d chuck a Lou-Roc award at your sorry self, but you aren’t even worthy of that. At least Lou-Roc’s is still operating -- as a diner.

For more on this story, click here.

melliot
Posted at 2009-10-13 21:29:48
>Mr. Chung, good f’ing riddance. You took what was arguably the
>finest diner and perhaps one of the best short order restaurants in the
>entire country, and killed it with your ineptitude, incompetence, and inconceivable neglect.

Say it plain, brother. Nobody can accuse Roadside of being wishy-washy when it comes to these national treasures. One day these schlock operators and two-bit tyrants will be recognized for having driven these venerable institutions into the bargain basement cuisine-wise (and imagination-wise). If anything, we'll be celebrating the stewards who shepherded the diner through tough times without robbing them of their dignity - or tarting them up with Sha Na Na crap.

Perhaps the best thing that could happen to diners is the current turn back toward healthy food. It has redirected patrons' attention to community-grounded establishments (though higher-dollar fare). Entrepreneurial imagination, then, wouldn't suggest ersatz mid-century decor but rather higher quality, locally-sourced ingredients incorporated into a traditional menu. I recall with delight the solid and imaginative dishes at O'Rourke's; it distinguished the place. Too, Gordon Tindall's tilted at windmills in Iowa by demanding reasonable prices for food cooked with local ingredients and TLC. Perhaps Gordon was ahead of his time (or the place).

Good quality dishes from ingredients with local-tie in wouldn't only reposition the diner and offer cover for its (undeserved) "greasy-spoon" reputation, it might also be the best way to convince moderate-budget consumers that fast food is junk and gourmand presentation and pricing unnecessary.
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