Millerton Diner (Closed)
Millerton, NY Photo courtesy Jay Lin
Stop in at the Millerton Diner near the Connecticut border for
a quick chow. Good to see the proud owner keeps it in great shape. Many thanks to Jay Lin for info.
Here's a nice little Silk City diner sitting along Main Street in Millerton. Millerton Diner had the classic stainless-steel lunch car look, just right for a quick breakfast and a cup of coffee before getting back on the road. The diner is a vintage Silk City car, No. 5871, built in New Jersey. Over the years it operated under a few different names, including Coach Ali's Millerton Diner, but the old dining car remained a familiar sight in town.
In 2010, the place became Oakhurst Diner. The menu changed a bit, but much of the old diner atmosphere survived inside, including the booths and counter stools.
UPDATE: The former Millerton Diner remains open as Oakhurst Diner. The old Millerton signage is gone, but the vintage Silk City diner car still stands on Main Street. 08-26
Tom Sawyer Diner (Gone)
Allentown, PA Photo courtesy Mark Hackett
If you're cruising through Allentown with a little Billy Joel playing on the radio, here's one old diner that would have been hard to miss. Tom Sawyer Diner sat along Hamilton Boulevard with a big roadside marquee featuring ol' Tom himself, paint bucket and all. 08-01
The diner opened in 1962 and was built by DeRaffele, giving it that classic mid-century roadside look made for highway traffic. For years it served the Allentown crowd until the Route 222 bypass project came along and changed everything.
Tom Sawyer closed in June 2002 after the state acquired the property for the new highway. The diner car itself wasn't demolished, though. After a few failed plans to move it elsewhere, the structure finally wound up in Harrisburg in 2006, where it was remodeled into an entertainment spot called Sawyer's.
The great Tom Sawyer sign didn't make the same comeback. It was removed when the diner closed and never returned to public view.
As for the Billy Joel connection, the diner was part of the same Allentown roadside landscape that gives the old photo a little extra flavor, even if you won't hear "Well we're living here..." coming from the jukebox.
UPDATE: The Tom Sawyer Diner closed in June 2002 due to a new highway bypass. The diner was moved to 2nd Street in Harrisburg and opened for business in March 2006. (Note: Earlier reference to a Tom Sawyer Diner being burned in 9/06 was associated with the diner in Paramus, NJ) Many thanks to Linda Mills for update. 01-07
UPDATE: The original Allentown site is gone. The diner structure survives in heavily altered form in Harrisburg, but the classic Tom Sawyer roadside marquee is no longer at the site. 08-26
Neptune Diner (Gone)
Oneonta, NY Photo courtesy Jay Lin
Need a place where you could get hash browns and a cocktail at just about any hour? Neptune Diner in Oneonta had you covered. The big New Jersey-style diner sat along Route 23 with a roadside sign advertising family dining and cocktails, which made for a pretty good combination if breakfast needed a little extra kick.
The Neptune opened in 1985 and quickly became a favorite stop for locals, travelers, and the nearby college crowd. Inside was the usual oversized diner menu, plenty of Greek specialties, baked goods, an espresso bar, and yes, a full cocktail bar.
For nearly three decades, students piled in for late-night meals, study breaks, and weekend recovery breakfasts. It was the kind of place where you could order a club sandwich, souvlaki, pie, coffee, or that double vodka martini with your eggs if you were feeling adventurous.
The diner closed rather suddenly after dinner service on December 29, 2013, ending a 28-year run.
UPDATE: The Neptune Diner was demolished in early 2014, and the property was redeveloped as a modern retail plaza. The old roadside sign, including that wonderful "Cocktails" promise, is gone. 08-26
Americana Diner (Gone)
Grand Gorge, NY Photo courtesy Jay Lin
The stainless steel exterior still beckons the hungry traveler. The letters
which adorn the Americana Diner were taken from the closed Great
American supermarket in town. Many thanks to Mike Engle
for info.
Here's one diner that really got around. Americana Diner sat at the junction of Routes 23 and 30 in Grand Gorge, where its little roadside building and old sign made a natural stop for anyone wandering through the Catskills.
The diner had already lived a few lives before landing here. It was once found abandoned in a field near Gilboa before contractor Frank Pizzicarola rescued it and began bringing the place back. After his death, the restored diner was moved to Grand Gorge in 2008, where it later became known as both the Americana Diner and Crossroads Diner.
For a while, it looked right at home at the busy highway junction, the kind of place where a cup of coffee and something off the grill seemed like a pretty good excuse to stop.
Then the diner hit the road again.
UPDATE: The Americana Diner was removed from Grand Gorge in 2017 and relocated to Germantown, New York. The original roadside sign was removed, and the former diner lot at the crossroads is now vacant. 08-26
Modern Diner
Wellsville, NY Photo courtesy Jay Lin
Always ready for lunchtime patrons is the Modern Diner in Wellsville,
NY. Modern, perhaps 75 years ago, but times have progressed. It has probably
the oldest working neon sign I have ever come across. Check out this close-up of the sign out front. Many thanks to Jay Lin for info.
Driving through downtown Wellsville, here's one of those old diners that's easy to miss if you're only looking for chrome and neon. Modern Diner sits along North Main Street looking more like part of the storefront than a separate dining car.
Hidden inside is a rare 1930s Ward & Dickinson diner, built by the small Cattaraugus, New York manufacturer. Over the years the old lunch car was worked into a larger downtown facade, but the diner itself kept serving the Wellsville crowd.
Modern Diner
Wellsville, NY Photo courtesy Jay Lin
Inside it's still very much a neighborhood breakfast stop, with all-day breakfast, comfort food, and the kind of no-frills atmosphere that feels right at home in a small western New York town.
If you're passing through, take a closer look. There's more old diner hiding behind that storefront than you might expect.
UPDATE: Modern Diner remains open on North Main Street, with the vintage Ward & Dickinson dining car still serving customers today. 08-26
Galaxie Diner (Gone)
Montreal, Quebec Photo courtesy Jay Lin
Now here's a diner that looked like it rolled straight out of the 1950s. Le Galaxie Diner sat in Montreal with its gleaming stainless-steel exterior, colorful glass blocks, and some great neon lighting up Saint-Denis after dark.
The diner actually came from Massachusetts, where the old dining car was rescued and brought across the border in the early 1990s. After a careful restoration, Le Galaxie opened in Montreal in 1994 and became a rare sight in Canada, a genuine American-style stainless-steel diner sitting right in the middle of the city.
The building later became La Pizzaiolle, keeping the old diner shell but losing much of the original Galaxie look.
UPDATE: The restaurant eventually closed, and the stainless-steel diner was dismantled and removed from the Saint-Denis site in 2024 for storage. The original Galaxie neon is gone. 08-26
Millerton Diner (Closed)
Tom Sawyer Diner (Gone)
Neptune Diner (Gone)
Americana Diner (Gone)
Modern Diner
Modern Diner
