Smyrna Diner (Gone)
Smyrna, DE Photo courtesy Paul Bauke
Cruising down Route 13, the rooftop lettering on the Smyrna Diner was hard to miss. The old Fodero dining car had been serving travelers here since 1956, with plenty of stainless steel and just enough space-age styling to make it worth another look.
For more than 50 years, this little diner sat at Route 13 and Glenwood Avenue serving locals, truckers and anyone else looking for something hot off the grill. Then in 2008, the original 75-seat diner was split into two sections, loaded onto flatbed trailers and hauled away.
The Smyrna Diner name didn't disappear, though. A much larger restaurant opened nearby, keeping the business going even after the vintage dining car left town.
UPDATE: The Smyrna Diner remains open in a newer building near Route 1. The original Fodero diner and its rooftop lettering seen here are gone from Route 13. 08-26
Burlington
Diner (Rem.)
Burlington, NJ Photo courtesy Paul Bauke
Sitting along Route 130, the Burlington Diner was one of those old roadside places you hoped wouldn't disappear while nobody was looking. When this photo was taken, the diner had closed and was waiting for a new owner, leaving its familiar building and sign sitting quietly beside the highway. Hopefully somebody would fire up the grill again before the wrecking ball arrived.
This place had already been feeding travelers for a long time. The Burlington Diner traces its history back to 1928, when highways, automobiles and roadside dining were just beginning to change the way America ate. Over the decades, generations of Burlington locals stopped here for breakfast, coffee and the usual diner fare.
Longtime owner Ted Kopsaftis Sr. kept the place going for decades before another name appeared out front. In 2004, the diner became Amy's Omelette House. The menu and sign changed, but fortunately the old roadside location kept serving customers.
Burlington
Diner
Burlington, NJ Photo courtesy Paul Bauke
And there's something fitting about a diner sitting here along Route 130. This old highway through South Jersey was once lined with diners, motels, gas stations and plenty of neon competing for the attention of passing motorists. Some disappeared, while others changed names so many times you'd need an old postcard to remember what they started as.
For the Burlington Diner, that old name wasn't quite finished yet.
UPDATE: The Burlington Diner is OPEN again though it looks like they took out the old diner and put in a new one. Looks really nice from the outside. Have not been in the place yet. Many thanks to Kevin Boylan for info. 08-06
UPDATE: After 22 years as Amy's Omelette House, the diner changed hands in 2026 and the Burlington Diner name returned. The restaurant reopened in May 2026, meaning this old Route 130 stop managed to dodge the wrecking ball after all. Better yet, you can once again pull in beneath a Burlington Diner sign and grab some breakfast. 08-26
Freehold Grill
Freehold, NJ Photo courtesy Paul Bauke
The Freehold
Grill in Freehold, NJ welcomes hungry shoppers strolling along Main
Street. Bruce Springsteen attended grade school in Freehold. Hmm... could
he have ever eaten here? Many thanks to Paul Bauke
for info.
Here's one little downtown diner with a pretty good rock-and-roll story hiding behind its neon. The Freehold Grill has been sitting along East Main Street since 1947, with its narrow dining car, long lunch counter and row of old stools giving the place just the right small-town diner look.
For years it was known as Tony's Freehold Grill. Tony Iliadis started working behind the counter as a cook in 1961 and bought the place just a couple of years later. The Iliadis family kept the grill going for nearly 60 years, serving breakfast and lunch to generations of Freehold regulars.
One of those familiar faces happens to be Bruce Springsteen. He grew up in Freehold, attended St. Rose of Lima school nearby and has returned to the diner over the years. There's even a panini on the menu named for The Boss. Somehow a Taylor ham sandwich seems more appropriate here than backstage catering.
Freehold Grill
Freehold, NJ Photo courtesy Paul Bauke
The rock-and-roll connection got even better in July 2025 when Springsteen and fellow Jersey rocker Jon Bon Jovi stopped by together. The two ended up sitting at the old lunch counter and posing for photos with the crew. That's quite a lineup for a little diner with only a handful of stools.
The Freehold Grill changed hands in 2022 and became Roberto's Freehold Grill. Chef Roberto kept the breakfast standards while adding Mexican favorites such as chilaquiles, pozole and tortas. The old-fashioned atmosphere stayed put, right down to the cash-only register.
So if you're wandering through downtown Freehold, keep an eye out for that familiar neon lettering along Main Street. Grab a stool at the counter and you never know who might sit down nearby.
UPDATE: Roberto's Freehold Grill remains open, and the vintage diner interior and familiar neon lettering still survive along East Main Street. 08-26
Empire Diner
New York City, NY Photo courtesy Paul Bauke
Here's a little Art Deco flash along 10th Avenue. The Empire Diner occupies a shiny Fodero dining car built in 1946, although the Empire name didn't arrive until 1976. With its stainless steel and glowing script sign, it's easy to see why Hollywood came calling.
The diner has appeared in Manhattan, Home Alone 2 and Men in Black II. Harry Connick Jr. once played piano here, and Bruce Springsteen reportedly proposed to Patti Scialfa outside in 1990 with a makeshift ring fashioned from a twig. Not bad for a little diner in Chelsea.
UPDATE: The Empire Diner remains open, with its vintage Fodero dining car and familiar neon script still lighting up 10th Avenue. 08-26
Point Diner (Rem.)
Somers Point, NJ Photo courtesy Paul Bauke
Now that's an arrow. The Point Diner in Somers Point had one of those giant roadside signs that practically reached out and pointed your car toward the parking lot.
The old Fodero diner dates back to the 1950s and sat for years at the busy Somers Point traffic circle, catching plenty of shore traffic headed toward Ocean City and Atlantic City. The building was expanded over time, but it still kept plenty of classic diner character.
The Exadaktilos family took over in 1981 and kept the place going for decades. Even when the old traffic circle disappeared during a major highway redesign, the diner managed to stay put.
UPDATE: The Point Diner remains open in Somers Point. The huge arrow sign seen here has been modified over the years, with the original towering top section now gone. 08-26
Cheyenne Diner (Gone)
New York City, NY Photo courtesy Paul Bauke
Here's one Manhattan diner that really showed off its stainless steel. The Cheyenne Diner sat along Ninth Avenue in a classic 1940 Paramount dining car, complete with wraparound windows, a curved entrance and plenty of shiny metal catching the city lights.
The diner originally opened as the Market Diner before becoming the Cheyenne in the mid-1980s. Over the years it picked up plenty of regulars and even a few famous visitors. Jerry Lewis once stopped in for an egg cream and apparently liked it enough to send the owner a thank-you note afterward.
But rising Manhattan real estate values eventually caught up with the little diner. The Cheyenne closed in April 2008, and it looked like another old New York dining car was headed for the wrecking ball.
Instead, the diner was cut into sections and hauled more than 1,000 miles to Alabama in 2009.
UPDATE: The Cheyenne Diner is gone from Ninth Avenue, where newer development now stands. The old dining car survives in storage in Alabama, awaiting another chapter. 08-26
Smyrna Diner (Gone)
Burlington
Diner (Rem.)
Burlington
Diner
Empire Diner
Point Diner (Rem.)
Cheyenne Diner (Gone)
