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Winsted and Skee's: Connecticut diners in contrast

Category: Eat in Diners

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Written by Randy Garbin

In terms of its diners, Connecticut is a true study in contrasts. It hosts some of the oldest and newest operating diners in the country. Diner hunters will find two of the oldest at the northern end of the Naugatuck Valley, in Winsted and in Torrington.

Both Skee's Diner and the Winsted Diner made news in the past few years. The Winsted, a 1920s era Tierney suffered a near catastrophic fire in December, 2005 while its owner Bob Radocchio had it on the market. Despite its condition, the property did attract Jean Bauer, who moved in and refurbished the diner's severely damaged interior, replacing many of the surfaces with tongue-in-groove paneling, which actually enhances its Jazz Age charm. Jean tells Roadside that despite the economy and the competition, she's holding her own and she still sees Bob come in for a meal on a regular basis. And yes, she still makes the ra doc a doodle sandwich.

Skee's Diner finally closed up for good after a succession of operators came and went, while its landlord, the Saint Maron's Church finally make the decision to unload this little treasure. Some of the past operators told Roadside that they didn't believe the church had much interest in keeping the diner in operation in any case, raising its rent, and imposing onerous conditions on its lessees that made it difficult to stay in business.

In steps the Northwestern Connecticut Chamber of Commerce which proposes to buy the diner, restore it, move it, and turn it into a visitor's center for the tourist trade.

Frankly, the thought of using diners this way hardly has our hearts aflutter. Diners not used as diners tend not to have promising futures. In fact, we predict that within five years, this diner will again face the threat of neglect and misuse.

Here's what we predict will happen: With great fanfare, the Chamber will move Skee's to its new home at a commuter lot near Route 8. At first, they'll keep it open six or eight hours a day, five or six days a week. It'll pay a little more than minimum wage to a staffer to man the diner. As the weeks and months pass, the diner will attract far fewer visitors than hoped, and the Chamber will cut back hours to five hours a day only on weekends. In time, it will continue to lose interest on what will soon look like a burden to it and to the city of Torrington. By the time they decide to close it for good five years after it moved, the diner stayed "open for business" for only about four hours a day, one day a week, monitored by a bored college student who at least got the opportunity to do some homework and get paid in the process.

The diner will remain shuttered for another couple of years, during which it will try to find a way to diplomatically unload the historic gem without drawing the ire of preservationists. After spending about $400,000 restoring, moving, and maintaining the diner over that period, Skee's will again begin to decay, and a couple of years later will look much the same as you see it here.

Please prove us wrong.

More information and a torrent of commentary found here.