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New issue announcedThe fourth issue of By The Way will hit the countertops and mailboxes soon. New in this issue:
Jerry Soucy rediscovers the neighborhood grocery in West Concord, Massachusetts. Now run by third generation family members, the West Concord Super thrives in the era of the mega store.
Craig Fitgerald, a regular contributor to the Boston Globe, visits the American Soda Fountain Company in Chicago, Illinois, and tells you where and how you too can make a real soda fountain a part of your next rec room remodeling.
Plus, the regular features such as letters, a new recipe, book reviews and Randy Garbin's take on the Amtrak crisis. Subscribe today and don't miss getting your own copy.
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Debbie Carter and her customers breath much easier in the Tumble Inn's smoke-free atmosphere.
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Tumbling toward smoke freeDebbie Carter still smokes on occasion, but you won't see her light up at her diner, the Tumble Inn in Claremont, New Hampshire. Seeing a way to quickly bolster the bottom line, Debbie took her own initiative and banned the butt on October 2nd, and immediately saw up to a 40% increase in business. With little room to expand her seating capacity, prohibiting cigarette smoking helps to increase turnover and therefor the overall operational efficiency.
We otherwise love the Tumble Inn for the big, hardy breakfasts, and the turkey club sandwiches with real turkey breast. Be sure to stop by during your foliage trip to Northern New England. Otherwise, she and the diner are doing fine, after four years of operation.
Roller coasters safe for your brain
A University of Pennsylvania study recently released has determined that people who ride roller coasters do not have a higher risk of brain and neck injury as previously believed. With new roller coasters featuring ever more frightening and forceful twists, turns, and bends, the media has reported on an increasing number of incidences of people bursting blood vessels and damaging nerve fibers on these rides.
However, researches discovered that even the largest, fastest coasters do not generate enough force to cause such injuries. According to an article in the Philadelphia Inquirer, one researcher suggested the following for people looking to protect themselves from injury: "Make sure your seat belts are buckled up on the way to the amusement park." Read the full article here.
Surfside saved
Today's Philadelphia Inquirer reports that the Surfside Restaurant in Wildwood, New Jersey will be saved after all, albeit at a different location. A last-minute donation of $3,000 will allow preservationists to dismantle the doo-wop structure and reassemble it near a planned visitor's center in Wildwood Crest. For more, read the whole story here.
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Before (top) and after (above). Diner restorationist Steve Harwin completes the restoration of the Pole Tavern Diner, which we first saw in 1993, abandoned in a New Jersey farm.
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Pole Tavern restored and ready to shipOne of Steve Harwin's more amazing restoration projects will soon hit the road to its new home in New Hampshire. The Pole Tavern Diner, formerly located in southern New Jersey, abandoned in a field. We had believed Harwin certifiable for acquiring this wreck of a structure, but he's managed to pull off quite an accomplishment in essentially reconstructing a complete Silk City diner.
Hats off to Steve, who in our estimation, has no current equal in the field of diner restoration. He is, at least, someone who has a proven track record of completing projects.
See the progression of this project by clicking here.
Preservation Alert
One of the best places on the east coast to immerse yourself in an authentic doo-wop, 1950s experience is in Wildwood, New Jersey. However if the Ranalli family have their way, the town will lose a little more of that character.
The family which recently bought the Surfside Restaurant from Michael Johns, plans to demolish the entire structure to make way for the development of condominiums. Johns' family had owned the business and property since 1963.
The Doo-Wop Preservation league is now seeking help in raising $20,000 to move the restaurant to safe storage for eventual relocation. To find out more, go to their website at http://www.doowopusa.org/surfside.htm.
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Dan's Windsor Diner, now without Dan.
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Ownership change at the WindsorWe'll be scratching Dan's Windsor Diner in Windsor, Vermont off our Diner For Sale list. Dan Kirby passed on the spatula to new owner Fred Borcuk as of the end of September. Dan had expressed his interest in leaving as early as last May, telling us he "wanted his life back." We liked Dan a lot and we're sorry to see him go, but we'd also like to wish Fred the best of luck. On the basis of our visit yesterday, we'd say he's off to an excellent start. The fish chowder is fantastic.
Going with the Flo
We had heard enough rumors. It was time to go and see for ourselves what Konstantine Sierros had in mind for the Miss Florence Diner in Northampton, Mass. Since his purchase of this Western Mass. institution, the local rumor mill has worked overtime speculating about Konstantine's plans for the vintage Worcester diner.
Yesterday, we went up there to see for ourselves, and found a somewhat flustered new owner nearly overwhelmed with a project much larger than he originally expected. What originally started as an idea to simply move in, do a little fix-up, and quickly reopen turned into a major project involving major renovations, cleanup, and kitchen overhaul. Konstantine has his work cut out for himself, undoing years of deferred maintenance and neglect, and compliance with the city's health codes that have largely gone either unheeded or unenforced for too long.
So far, Konstantine has replaced the countertops with a new granite surface, the backbar with new stainless fan-patterned backsplash, and the laminate ceiling panels with real-wood veneer, none of which was original to the diner, but he's using Lamy's Diner, currently on exhibit at the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Michigan as his guide and Steve Harwin as a consultant.
Though Konstantine's original plans had him opening on October 1, he's had to push that date back at least a couple of weeks. He doesn't plan to change the original menu much, but does plan to add some new features.
Generally, we have a good feeling about this transition and have faith that Konstantine will continue the diner's tradition of service to the community and the industry.
Bottle registers historic
The fine folks in Collinsville, Illinois happily announce that their monument to condiments is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Roadside congratulates the town for their continued efforts.
And incidentally, you can learn a little more about ketchup and its history in this story written by Cliff Lowe at www.inmamaskitchen.com. For the story, click here.
Louis Vitelli 1925-2002
The man that ran the Moran Square Diner in Fitchburgh for the first 52 years of its existence died last week. Louis Vitelli was one of the last of the old-time dinermen, easily fitting into the image that many of us have of the affable, capable, and hardworking souls who turned these venerable places into precious memories for its patrons.
I met Mr. Vitelli several times both at the diner and once during one of the many diner road-trips he took with his wife after he retired in 1993. With each meeting, he reaffirmed my belief in the importance of the diner's place in society. Louis typified the "regular Joe" at the grill, ready with a kind word or witty wisecrack, while embodying a wealth of information about the business, his community, and human nature.
When Mr. Vitelli retired, we immediately worried about the fate of his diner that he kept in near-pristine condition. Easily one of the most beautiful diners in the country, Mr. Vitelli barely changed a thing, exemplifying the adage of "if it ain't broke..." Luckily, the diner landed in the able hands of Chris Gianetti, who continues the fine traditions set by Mr. Vitelli in a community that needs the place now more than ever.
Miss Adams goes to the dogs
We love diners and we love hot dogs, but we're not too sure how we feel about putting them together. Yesterday, we read of the plans of Jeff Levanos to open a second Jack's Hot Dogs location inside the Miss Adams Diner in Adams, Massachusetts. According to an article published in the North Adams Transcript, Mr. Levanos plans to put an arcade in the dining room addition and offer a few extras to the standard Jack's menu.
Jack's Hot Dogs has served the Adams community for over 85 years, so we can't argue with its pedigree, but in our experience, diners used for any other purpose than serving "diner" food typically don't bode well for the structure's preservation. Indeed, before purchased by the Garton's in the late 1980s, the Miss Adams was a fish fry restaurant with a poor reputation and little regard for the value of its original facade and interior furnishings. Upon its purchase, the Garton's began a long-running effort to restore the diner's originality while establishing it as one of the best diners in the country.
Mr. Levanos plans to eventually purchase the building from its owner, Jae Chung, who bought it from the Gartons in 1999, installing a succession of managers and lessees since that time.
Amtrak comments by Alan Sloan
On the "Marketplace" radio program by Public Radio International, commentator and Wall Street editor Alan Sloan noted that Amtrak only managed to pry two-thirds of its budget from Congress. Meanwhile, the airlines are expected to get nearly all of the $8.5 billion it is currently requesting, citing problems attributed to 9/11.
Sloan went on to surmise that since 1938, the airlines as an industry, "a capitalistic enterprise, has made no money" while Amtrak has always been expected to make a profit.