Moody's Diner
Waldoboro, ME Photo courtesy Paul Bauke
If you're traveling along Route 1 through Maine, Moody's Diner is one of those places that's hard to pass without stopping. The big roadside sign, long diner building, and motel next door make it look like a complete old-fashioned travel stop. 09-10
Moody's got its start in 1927 when Percy and Bertha Moody opened cabins for early automobile travelers. A few years later, Percy added a lunch wagon serving coffee and sandwiches, and that little operation eventually grew into the diner travelers know today.
The old slogan says it best: "When I get hungry, I get Moody."
UPDATE: Moody's Diner remains open along Route 1, and the adjacent motel and cabins continue to welcome travelers seasonally. The classic roadside sign still survives out front. 08-26
Seaplane Diner
Providence, RI Photos Tony Makalinaw
Here's one diner where the sign isn't the only thing worth looking up for. Seaplane Diner sits along busy Allens Avenue in Providence with a model seaplane perched right on the roof. Between the plane, the old roadside sign, and the classic diner underneath, there's plenty here to make you pull over for a closer look.
The diner itself is a genuine 1950s O'Mahony car, complete with the familiar booths, counter stools, and close quarters of an old East Coast diner. It didn't start out here, though. The car originally served customers up in Woonsocket as Girard's Diner before being moved down to Providence in 1973.
The Seaplane name wasn't just somebody having fun with an airplane on the roof. This stretch of Providence once had seaplane activity along nearby Narragansett Bay, giving the diner a nice little connection to its surroundings. The rooftop plane makes sure nobody forgets it.
Seaplane Diner
Providence, RI Photos Tony Makalinaw
Inside, breakfast and lunch are the order of the day. Along with the usual eggs, burgers, and coffee, you might even find some Rhode Island flavor like clam cakes. It's the kind of neighborhood diner where port workers, hospital employees, and just about anybody passing along Allens Avenue can squeeze into a booth or grab a stool.
Before heading back down the road, take another look at that plane on the roof. Plenty of diners have neon signs. Not too many come with their own aircraft.
UPDATE: Seaplane Diner remains open on Allens Avenue, with its classic roadside sign and distinctive rooftop seaplane still intact. 08-26
O'Rourke's Diner (Closed)
Middletown, CT Photo courtesy Richard Weiss
I came across this diner called O'Rourke's in the town of Middletown, Connecticut. It probably looks the same as it did in the late 1940s. I can not comment any further as it was closed when I was there. I could not even look inside but what is known is that on the outside it is every inch a classic diner although the glass block wall is probably not an as-built feature. Many thanks to Richard Weiss for photo and info. 08-13
Here's another great old East Coast diner, complete with stainless steel, glass-block details, and a tall vertical sign hanging above Main Street. O'Rourke's Diner had been part of Middletown since the O'Rourke family took over the location in 1941.
The Mountain View diner car arrived in 1946, and for decades this was the place for breakfast, coffee, and Connecticut's unusual steamed cheeseburgers. A bad fire nearly ended things in 2006, but the community helped bring the diner back, and it reopened in 2008.
Unfortunately, the grill finally went cold in 2023.
UPDATE: O'Rourke's Diner closed in June 2023. The old diner remains standing on Main Street with its familiar vertical sign still hanging outside. 08-26
The O'Rourke's was also featured on the Food Network's Diners, Drive-ins and Dives.
Ellen's Stardust Diner
New York City, NY Photo by RoadsidePeek.com
With all the lights around Broadway, it takes a pretty good sign to stand out, and Ellen's Stardust Diner manages to do just that. The sweeping neon lettering, stars, and glowing marquee have a little old Las Vegas flavor to them. Take a look at that Stardust lettering and you might even be reminded of the famous Stardust sign that once lit up the Las Vegas Strip. 11-20
Ellen's opened at Broadway and 51st Street in 1987, bringing a little bit of the 1950s back to Times Square. Inside you'll find plenty of chrome, old signs, colorful memorabilia, and even a collection of Miss Subways photographs. Founder Ellen Hart Sturm knew something about that herself. She was Miss Subways in 1959, when her photograph appeared aboard New York City subway cars.
A view of the Stardust Diner from the diagonal corner
New York City, NY Photo by RoadsidePeek.com
Of course, the real attraction here isn't hanging on the walls. It's carrying your dinner.
The waiters and waitresses, known as the Stardust Melodians, serve up burgers and shakes while taking turns belting out Broadway tunes and pop songs. Many are performers waiting for their own big break, and former Stardust servers have gone on to shows including Wicked, Jersey Boys, The Lion King, and others. Some have even turned up on American Idol. So take a good look at whoever brings your burger. You might be seeing them on a much bigger stage next time.
There's another nice Broadway connection tucked into the Miss Subways story. The old New York promotion helped inspire "Miss Turnstiles" in the musical On the Town, and in 1998 a group of former Miss Subways winners even gathered at Ellen's for a reunion celebrating the show.
A close up of the neon Ellen's Diner sign in front
New York City, NY Photo by RoadsidePeek.com
The diner has made it onto the screen too. Ellen's appeared in the 2011 movie New Year's Eve, with Sarah Jessica Parker's character stopping by after the Times Square ball drop.
If you're wandering out of a Broadway show and aren't quite ready for the entertainment to end, follow the neon, grab a booth, and enjoy another show with your meal.
UPDATE: Ellen's Stardust Diner remains open on Broadway, with its singing waitstaff still putting on a show and that colorful neon marquee lighting up the theater district. 08-26
Moody's Diner
Seaplane Diner
Seaplane Diner
A view of the Stardust Diner from the diagonal corner
