Jerry O'Mahony Diner Company

The Jerry O'Mahony Diner Company of Elizabeth, New Jersey, was a manufacturer of roadside diners from 1917 to 1952. The company produced some 2,000 of the long, narrow, primarily metal buildings, perhaps more than any other firm.[2] Prefabricated in a factory and trucked to their locations, the diners resemble and are often confused with actual railroad rolling stock. The company's motto was "In our line, we lead the world".

The Summit Diner in Summit, New Jersey, is a prototypical "rail car" style diner. Built by the O'Mahony Company in 1938, it is the oldest operating diner in the state.[1]

Collin's Diner, North Canaan, Connecticut, USA

Mill Pond Diner, Wareham, Massachusetts

Seaplane Diner, Providence, Rhode Island

History

Jerry O'Mahony (1890–1969) of Bayonne, New Jersey, is credited by some to have made the first "diner".[3] In 1912, the first lunch wagon built by Jerry and Daniel O'Mahoney and John Hanf was bought for $800 by restaurant entrepreneur Michael Griffin and operated at Transfer Station in Hudson County, New Jersey. The wagon helped spark New Jersey's golden age of diner manufacturing, which in turn made the state the diner capital of the world.[4]

The Jerry O'Mahony Diner Company of Elizabeth, New Jersey, produced some 2,000 diners from 1917 to 1952.

Existing examples

United States

• Miss Wakefield, originally Pat & Bob's in Albany, New York, is the northernmost O'Mahony Diner in the United States. It was built in 1949, rescued from a junkyard there, and trucked to a new home in Sanbornville, New Hampshire.[5]
• Summit Diner, a 1938 model, is in Summit, New Jersey.
• Hillsville Diner in Carroll County, Virginia is believed to be the oldest Southern diner (non–stainless steel style).
• Triangle Diner,[6] a 1948 stainless steel O'Mahony original model, is located in the old town of Winchester, Virginia, and is being restored to how it appeared in 1948. The Triangle Diner is the oldest stainless-steel-style O'Mahony diner in Virginia.
• Tommy's Deluxe Diner was moved in 2007 from Middletown, Rhode Island, to Oakley, Utah, where it opened as the Road Island Diner.
• Miss America, Jersey City, New Jersey, a 1942 classic stainless steel model, located next to the New Jersey City University campus.[7]
• Shawmut Diner of New Bedford, Massachusetts, was donated by its owners to the Bristol County House of Corrections in Dartmouth, Massachusetts, and will serve as a training facility for inmates.[8]
• TJ's (formerly the Point Diner) in Tamaqua, Pennsylvania, is a 1940 O’Mahony diner[9], although its exterior has been renovated and no longer has the stainless-metal look. The diner is in the Tamaqua Historic District.
• Palace diner 1923, in Gloversville New York.
• Mill Pond Diner, in Wareham, Massachusetts, formerly operated as Earnshaw's Diner in Fall River, Massachusetts[10]
• Kelly's Diner, Somerville, Massachusetts, built 1953. Formerly located in New Castle, Delaware[11]
• Tilt'n Diner, Tilton, New Hampshire, built 1953. Formerly operated as the Monarch Diner in Waltham, Massachusetts.[11]
• Seaplane Diner, moved to Providence, Rhode Island in 1973 from its former location in Woonsocket. Dates from either the 1940s or 1950s.[11]
• Zip's Diner, Dayville, Connecticut[11]
• Mickey's Diner, in downtown Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States. It has been in continuous operation at the same location since 1939.[12]

Outside the United States

Overseas examples include:

• the former Murphy's Diner from Cambridge, Massachusetts, now the '50s American Diner in Swadlincote, South Derbyshire, in the United Kingdom.
• A 1947 model operated as The Excellent Diner in Westfield, New Jersey, until it closed in 1995; shipped to Germany, it now operates at Disneyland Paris as Café des Cascadeurs (Café of the Stuntmen).

Pre-war Streamline Moderne-style diners

At least 26 pre-war Streamline Moderne-style O'Mahony diners (built between 1932 and 1941) still exist.[13] These include the smaller 50' × 10' Mickey's Diner serial number 1067 in Saint Paul, Minnesota, which is one of several listed on the National Register of Historic Places; the 40' × 16' Collin's Diner[14] serial number 1103 in North Canaan, Connecticut; and the 1938 Summit Diner in Summit, N.J. The Road Island Diner (O'Mahony Dining Car #1107) was added to the National Register of Historic Places by the National Park Service on August 21, 2009.[15]

See also

• Franks Diner
• Frazer Diner
• Tastee Diner
• List of diners
• Diners of Allentown, Pennsylvania

References

1. "N.J's best diner: What to eat at the oldest diner in the state". NJ.com. December 2015. Retrieved October 21, 2017.
2. Offitzer, Karen (2002). Diners. New York, NY: New Line Books. p. 46. ISBN 1-57717-052-0.
3. p.16 Westergaard, Barbara A Guide to New Jersey Rutgers University Press
4. Gabriele, Michael C. (May 2018). "Jersey Gems". New Jersey Monthly. p. 43.
5. http://www.theheartofnewengland.com/travel-MissWakefieldDiner.html
6. "Security Check Required". www.MikesTriangleDiner.com. Retrieved October 21, 2017.
7. "Miss America Diner". www.NJCU.edu. Retrieved October 21, 2017.
8. "Shawmut Diner donated to Bristol County House of Corrections for job training". ABC6.com. Retrieved October 21, 2017.
9. Butko, B., Patrick, K., Weaver, K.R., Breuil, J., Diners of Pennsylvania, Stackpole – Mechanicsburg (2nd. Ed. 2011), p.187
10. "In the News: Mill Pond Diner". Diner News and History. 11 February 2009. Archived from the original on 22 November 2014. Retrieved 1 August 2020.
11. "The Best Diners in New England". Visiting New England. Archived from the original on 21 April 2020. Retrieved 1 August 2020.
12. Wikipedia
13. "A classic Jersey diner comes to an end - Di Ionno". NJ.com. March 2015. Retrieved October 21, 2017.
14. "Welcome to the Collin's Diner". CollinsDiner.com. Retrieved October 21, 2017.
15. Garbin, Randy. "RoadsideOnline Diner Finder". Coffee Cup Media. Retrieved March 28, 2011.