Before franchised eateries, we had the diner

Where have all the diners gone?  Better yet, where did they come from in the first place?  I decided to do some research.  An article by Donald Dale Jackson, published in the November, 1986 Smithsonian magazine gave me a start. 

What the diner was:  The steel diner was built in a factory, and shipped, sometimes intact, sometimes as a pre-fab to be assembled on site.  It had a counter, with stools, and a grill.  Some also had booths.  Many were built on assembly lines, with identification number plates riveted onto the steel, just like a motor vehicle. 

What the diner was not:  A diner did not have tablecloths, did not take reservations, or require that jackets be worn.  They did not have "please wait to be seated" signs, rented plants, no-smoking areas, or serve gourmet food. 

The diner began as a mobile lunch wagon in Providence, Rhode Island around 1872, and became such a success that they were mass-produced.  Then as electric streetcars came into being, the obsolete horse-drawn trolleys were converted into lunch wagons.

Patrick J. (Pop) Tierney, of New Rochelle, New York, is considered to be the father of the mass-produced steel diner.  "Pop Tierney was to the diner, what Henry Ford was to the automobile." says Randy Garbin, publisher of Roadside, a newspaper devoted exclusively to preservation of diners and other historic roadside treasures.  Tierney's factory built them at the rate of one a day, sold them on credit, and financed the buyer.  He changed the name from lunch wagons to "dining cars", taking advantage of America's affection for the Pullman dining cars on the railroads.  Since the manufacturer was also the finance company, it was in his interest to make the diner profitable; he did this by providing training and business advice.  Tierney died a millionaire in 1917.  Ironically, the cause of death was "acute indigestion". 

Jackson suggests he died from a meal he had eaten at one of his own diners!  Garbin, however, doubts that story.  "I believe the food was served at a family get-together or company dinner." 

Many other manufacturers can be traced back to Tierney.  Sam Kullman, Tierney's accountant, quit and began his own diner manufacturing company.  Nearly 100 other manufacturers have come and gone over the years.  At their peak, just before WW II, there were 20 manufacturers, most of them in the Northeast.  Although factory-built, the purchaser could order the diner to be customized, from a large assortment of colors and equipment.

By the 1920's, diners grew, and included booths to accommodate women, who disliked sitting on the stools.  Jerry O'Mahony of Bayonne, New Jersey, one of the leading manufacturers, delivered a turn-key diner operation complete with dishes, glasses, cutlery and cookware for about $7,000.  "That was the appeal," says Randy Garbin, "The customer would order the diner from a company brochure, and 3 months later, he'd be in business!"

1950s Postcard of Karter's Diner, courtesy of Alec Karter

Road Island diner trucked from Rhode Island to Utah
(Photos courtesy of Keith Walker)

Road Island Diner, restored to 1939 appearance, and open in Oakley, Utah, July 2008

Mickey's Diner, St. Paul, Minnesota, Since 1939, and now on National Register