Philly's dance-club scene set for a comeback. In its heyday, the . Sometimes one or two exceptional items can make a restaurant a landmark. You might expect to get dental work inside rather than a good breakfast. I want a good meal at a reasonable price, but I also want to connect with actual peoplestaff and customers. It all shuttered by late 1999. But once upon a time, before the city's restaurant renaissance, downtown Philly was renowned less for its munchies than for its dark and sexy nightclubs. The transformation will shatter your heart to see how the owners destroyed one of the worlds most gorgeous authentic diners and covered over or demolished the surface materials and original fixtures, most of which you cannot get or remake anywhere. RESTAURANT & BAR HOURS. This was the place to reconnoiter, the hub, the treehouse club, the HQ. The operators will take issue with this, chiefly out of pride, but they often order their food from the same suppliers. Kullman would later become the first of the builders to produce retro-style diners on a regular basis, but before then you had diners like this one. 77 Restaurant memories 1970-90 ideas - Pinterest In excellent condition, Weinsteinhad little restorative work to do, but he nevertheless faced a daunting task of connectingthe diner with the existing Roy Rogers building. Facebook/A Slice of the 80s. Up until then the food and service were great, and they had fantastic thick-cut bacon. The big Greek-style diner still reigns supreme in the Northeast Corridor. That is, until 2008 when Bennigan's went bankrupt. Shame its all gone now. nest and fried wontons with complete with a mysterious dunking sauce. The waitress might call you hon, not because afocus group demanded it, but because that is how she talks. To Philadelphians of a certain age, the mere mention of the word diner meant the Melrose, an attitude cemented by the diners own long-running jingle, Those who know go to the Melrose.. looks like the Oak Lane died as well. Whether or not hes actually improved on any of them depends on who you ask. Behind the foreboding, Darth Vader-like facade sits a late-1930s Silk City diner that serves up the most basic of menus. I worked there as a dishwasher in the 1980s. Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Unused Pre-1980 RESTAURANT SCENE Philadelphia Pennsylvania PA hk4537 at the best online prices at eBay! Khmer KitchenClosed in: 2018Thisfamily-run BYO in Pennsport repped Cambodian cuisine,broadening the scope of the citys dining scene and serving incredible chicken curry and pleah (spicy raw beef saladwith lime, peanuts, and fresh mint) in the process. Greater Philadelphia. Senior year, a friend and I went to see Hannah and Her Sisters. Randy, Thanks for acknowledging the original Oak Lane Diner which does in fact still exist in Newburgh, N.Y. One of my favorite Philadelphia restaurants of all time was Frankie Bradley's. I went there for years, and usually ate prime rib, which was . They also all use the same playbook so any differences become nuance. Quaker Diner in Five Points on Rising Sun Avenue. Wildflowers Garden Restaurant & Thai Corner. As late as the 60s, they were all over the northwest suburbs in Montgomery county: Hatboro, Horsham, Willow Grove, Glenside, and many others. Does she imagine shes in some sophisticated, classy city? Throwback Thursday: A fond look back at long vanished South Bend Dinner: 4-10pm Happy Hour: 4-6pm. The Melrose apple would seem to be one of those exceptions. Moreover, many Hispanic immigrants from Central and South America have settled in North Philadelphia. When we walked to school at 17th and the Parkway, dealers would try to sell us drugs (and I have no doubt they sometimes succeeded). We tried the apple pie with vanilla sauce, which made for a decadent pairing. The Love. All things considered, one has to appreciate Stephen Starrs imaginative updating of The Continental. City Hall was a mess. My friends dad picked us up in his car one day without any clothes on. Today, the Dining Car still keeps those traditional hours, but it attractscompany infewer and fewer numbers. In the late 1970s, the Dewey's restaurants in Philadelphia began to fold, victims to competition from national fast food chains like . In Philly, it was hard to tell what adulthood was. Little PetesClosed in: 2017The iconic 24-hour diner at 17th and Chancellor was one of the dwindling number of places in the heart of Center City where folks from all walks of life could congregate over a plate of scrapple or corned beef. Bobsadheres very closely to the basic diner credo: Serve good food at reasonable prices in a clean and friendly atmosphere. However I a native Philadelphian can attest to the experience of eating in diners. Frisco BBQ restaurant raises $33K for boy with rare blood cancer . Not much left to see here except for the basic outlines of a classic 50s structure. yeah, they have food but, really I just love the atmosphere and the memories of being 18 long ago. Big diners like Melrose, with few exceptions, typically serve awful fruit piesgloppy, over-sweet fillings poured into industrial strength crusts. I remember the Mayfair diner. Read more G.W. It was unnecessarily renovated in 1996 both inside and out, which stripped away some of the incomparable stainless work. I ended up working in the factory after high school from 81 to around 84 and the diner was still going strong. What I wrote about Kabobeesh applies to the Penrose as well. While a trained eye can often tell if a building was once a diner, you still need the photos to confirm it and just such a search from the comfort of my desk chair confirmed this find. Shame it sits the way it does. Miss Horne and Hardards,italian market, scrapple too. Though a big diner, the Dining Car represents a rare breed that mostly excels in the kitchen, which explains the lines out the door during the dinner and weekend breakfast hours. Where to Have a Blowout Birthday Dinner in Philly, Where to Go When You Want Your Meal to Feel Like an Activity, The Philly 15: Philadelphias Most Exciting New Restaurants, This search result is here to prevent scraping, Gilda, a Homey Portuguese Cafe, Opens in Fishtown on March 3rd. Yet again, it could have been much worse. This is a diner built by Kullman Industries, which at the time wasthe oldest diner builders in the country. that made it all possible. for the luncheonettes griddled cheeseburgers or hand-scooped milkshakes, this The food is better, but kids dont go there to spill secrets over a shared can of seltzer and a ham and cheese sandwich. At one time, the mere word diner meant among other things that it never closed. If you removed the cover from the Oregons menu and dropped it on a table at the similarly-sized Penrose diner on the other end of South Philly, no one would likely notice for a week or so. Northern Liberties was the land located north of the original 1682 boundary of Philadelphia and early purchasers of land in Philadelphia would also be granted a lot in Northern Liberties. I worked for your grandfather Pete and your Dad from the age of 12 to 17 at the Heritage. Jim Clark: You must be referring to Port Richmonds long-standing Aramingo Diner. Another Michael Petrogiannis diner. thriving dining scene. It is a true-and-tried diner. Not surprisingly, we saw movies constantly, and relied upon them as instructional manuals. Bobs was built by the Jerry OMahony company in Elizabeth, New Jersey at its post-war peak. Children playing in the Art Museum fountains in August 1973. A diner renovation nightmare in West Philly | Photo: Randy Garbin. | Photo: Randy Garbin. Horn & Hardarts 54th & City Ave. | 818 Chestnut Or that the chef erred on the salty side with the otherwise tender pot roast? Black-owned restaurants were especially numerous. Being a Jersey boy, he has food memories that are rooted in the Garden State. For fifteen bucks, do you overlook the fact that the mashed potatoes were instant? The Fat Hams hot chicken | Photo by Vanessa Beahn. Lets cut the nonsense, shall we? Photograph by Dick Swanson/The National Archive, Eddie Gindi seems genuinely excited as he stands at the dais in the Union League. But what about the diner? The diner takes its name from the company that built it. Lots of graffiti on everything, and a general fear of walking down the street late at night. Le Bec-Fin - Wikipedia The city elected its first Black mayor in 1983, W. Wilson Goode, whose first administration . Now demolished to make it a storage lot. Live in a walkable community. He currently works as an independent website developer and art director. 1982 Having introduced nouvelle cuisine at Ma Maison in Los Angeles, Chef Wolfgang Puck presents "California cuisine" to patrons of his new chic-casual Sunset Strip restaurant, Spago. When I worked there it was always busy especially on the weekends. Seen here in 1993 during a bus tour of the regions diners sponsored by the Society of Commercial Archeology, the sale of the 1940 Paramount attracted a great deal of interest, but ultimately no takers. All the golden goddesses! I remember thinking we might get in trouble, and also feeling jealous that my friend seemed to be able to identify cocaine. The vibrant restaurant scene is right up there with historical sites on the list of qualities that draw visitors to town food is a strand of culture just as important as the museums and concert halls, and chefs are the city's big celebrities. I remember a Frankford Ave in Mayfair in the 1980s and 90s full of really memorable shops like Joe's Butcher, Bredenbecks Bakery (spelling), Moes Deli, the Jock Shop, Mayfair Movies, Devon Theater, 5&10 store, DePalma's Bakery, Video Village, Seafood America, the clock store at Bleigh Ave, Mayfair Jewlers, McDonalds, Mayfair Madrid, a ton . I feel like I cant truly enjoy a vacation or visiting a town without going to a local diner. 8013 Castor Avenue, (215) 342-3005; 2153 S. Hancock Street, (215) 462-1637, lipkinsoriginalbakery.com. For nearly 100 years, this family-owned classic on 6th between South and South Street - Encyclopedia of Greater Philadelphia I lived in Oak Lane fom 1939 to @1943and after the war from 1946 to 1954. closure took with it the title for worlds largest indoor lobster tank and a retro There isnt a true diner anywhere in this region that makes them as good as Bobs. Long gone, now. Polynesian-themed, date night spot on the 1700 block of Walnut Street. But tax issues forced the spot to close earlier this year, which is a shame Phillys Greek scene is in something of a shambles (though were optimistic about the upcoming Koukouzeli), so it was exciting to see a concept pushing the envelope. The Melrose Diner is the third diner placed atthat location, all ordered by Richard Kubach, Sr. My last visit for Sunday breakfast found the place busier than the OHare Airport at Thanksgiving, and the meals met with my partys expectations, except for the home fries. And they did. The iconic, streamlined style fell from fashion or was outright prohibited by municipal design codes by the mid-1960s. Put a porch on your house. As a preservationist and a diner fanatic, I tend to give considerable slack to vintage diners, especially when they make an obvious effort to do right by the customer and their community. Well regarded by the Oak Lane neighborhood, the current diner is at least the second to sit at that location. Revolution House, but for 60-plus years, this Second and Market corner was The old benches, the ones without armrests in the middle, were wide and deep enough that homeless people could sleep on them. Or we could go to Deluxe Diner for milkshakes; the Midtowns I through IV; one of the two Little Petes; or even R&W, which was kind of repulsive but good for private conversations in the empty back room. His marketing calls it a 50s-themed diner, but you wont see a Marilyn Monroe cutout greeting you at the door and you wont get barraged with Chubby Checker on the overhead sound system. Photograph by Dick Swanson/The National Archive, The opening of Return of the Jedi at the SamEric theater, better known as the Boyd Theater, which is now slated for demolition. On June 6, the City posted a notice on the front door demanding its owners to either fix it or tear it down. Who is this woman? Ill think. I used to work at the Ritz diner mainly as a busboy in the late 80s early nineties. Only bother to go here if youre a hard-core diner fanatic. Disingenuousness aside, the Melrose earned a reputation for its baked goods and sterling service. During the Mummers Parade, my friends and I would zoom through the halls of the Bellevue-Stratford hotel, dashing between parties full of strangers in the rooms that faced Broad Street. Stenton Diner after rehearsals and shows at La Salle Music Theatre, eating liverwurst and Bermuda onion on a Kaiser roll way too lateoh, maybe a buttered toasted cinnamon bun and a cherry coke to wash it down. The Frazer is certainly one of the oldest examples of a pristine OMahony, but I could probably list at least a half dozen others that are in similarly pristine condition. Many of the mentioned ones, I have the privileged to say, I ate there. run as a restaurant and morphing into fast fashion optical retailer Warby I remember when this first opened in about 1966. It is not a storefront. I left the neighborhood a couple years ago for Bella Vista but I go to Bobs every time Im in the area. Its ashame it changed hands so many times after the Ritz and failed each and every time. The Hmong population in Philadelphia left for other cities in the United States between 1982 and 1984, and three-quarters moved to live with relatives in other states. Only a couple of years later Swingle would close up shop, but Morozins request pushed diner manufacturers to fashion restaurants in various styles dictated by the often-dubious tastes of the operator. This makes Hiroki, which opened in 2019, a welcome . My parents met at a diner somewhere near Elkins Park in the mid-1930s that was run by a couple named John and Gay. Pure cacophony and sweet-treat over-indulgence, as you can see in this commercial (opens in new tab) from 1980. The Dom was a hub for the area for a long time. There was a diner on Aramingo Avenue we use to stop in back in the early 60s after a night of bar hopping. Rundown of Eateries Opened from 1875 to 1986. The more creative individuals in the restaurant business began to see that a diner didnt just have to be about meatloaf and brown gravy and it certainly didnt just have to appeal to truck drivers and middle America. Beau Monde. Weinsteinand his then-partner Bob Elfant brainstormed an idea to bring a family-style restaurant to the former Roy Rogers location on Germantown. Heres a list of some of the bygone Philadelphia restaurants we miss the most. March 4, 2023 / FoxNewsFeeds. I visited the site of the former Aramingo, and it looked like about the only thing left to it was the foundation, so I chose not to include it in this list. Pizza with Duck Sausage wins quick stardom. The former Boulevard Dinernow called theFive Star Dineris all glass and steel and looks like a small, Reagan Era officebuilding. I have the original plans and zoning for the building. Restaurants in Philadelphia Area - OpenTable One of the first major restaurant chains, it went public in 1961 with 605 . In July 1928, 681 Cleveland restaurants were feeding an average of 300,000 people daily. Many of us went to preschool, elementary school and high school together. Sep 13, 2019 - Restaurants that I ate at as a child..most no longer exist. Freshly ground meat, a Melrose tradition, has been replaced by portion control. | Photo: Randy Garbin, When the Kubach family owned the Melrose Diner they managed to build up something of a one-diner empire. He was the publisher and editor of Roadside Magazine and RoadsideOnline, a magazine and website that promoted its Recipe for an American Renaissance: Eat in diners. Unused Pre-1980 BOOKBINDERS RESTAURANT Philadelphia Pennsylvania PA Given the extent of his investments along the corridor, I dont think youll find anyone who has made a bigger bet on its comeback. The real estate developer Ken Weinstein loves Germantown Avenue. Thanks to a tip by someone who grew up in the Olney neighborhood I managed to find this diner which, up until that point, existed on no one elses list. I started at 13 yrs old. As far as the food at Bobs, I must loudly sing the praises of the omelets. Life unfolded there. This diner is a perfect example ofwhy you do not want to become a diner aficionado. 15. I have been telling my now hubby that my parents and family would go there after bowling .They were in a league. Up until that time the Mulholland family ran, what was in my estimation, the best of the big Philly diners in terms of its preservation, food, and overall hospitality. Charcoal House Nick Evlon 1836 Lovering Ave, Wilmington, DE 1973-1980s Closed Charlotte's Restaurant Jimmy Costalas 3207 W. Chester Pike, Newtown Sq., PA 1991-Present Operating . Enter your account data and we will send you a link to reset your password. . like the OG. Updated on Nov 18, 2019, 5:00 a.m. . Somewhere under that brooding exterior is a shiny, 1950s structure. Continental A full ten years before the culture rediscovered the vintage diner, Joe Morozin wanted his new diner to look like something out of the 1930s, but at about six times the size. A couple of notesthe Boylevard Diner is now closed, the K Diner was first known as rhe Crest Diner and around 1978-79 it became Mil-Lees Luv-in, and Casa DEspana on Whitaker Ave was formerly known as the Franklin Diner, which was a local icon and was always busy. I think the name was Leon. Back then, it was like there was no one on duty. By 1930 Cleveland had 1,073 restaurants with 5,959 full-time employees, doing $27,084,127 worth of business. Whether that was a sign of things to come with the celebrity chef Chifa waseventually replaced with Cuban diner Rosa Bianca, another concept that didnt take or it just opened a decade or so before its time, it would have been nice for Peruvian fare to take hold in the city back then. These days, the legend lived on in Abington, until just a few days ago. Many were hobbled by some kind of frailty. Brunch: 12-3pm Dinner: 4-10pm Happy Hour: 4-6pm. Please let me know. Ask ANYONE who remembers. Sorry, Bern, but thats just not true. It isnt a converted rail car. I like how Starrs designers paid loving homage to the Mad Men era by stripping away some of the diners original colonial-style trappings. The third being the current location at 1501 Snyder Ave. Did anyone mention STENTON DINER? He gave me my first French kiss at the TLA, back when it was a movie theater that showed cartoons during the day, repertory film at night, and Rocky Horror Picture Show at midnight. Days Deli. Your Dad Steve was a great boss back then. Now, well have the opposite a luxury hotel erected by New York developers ona spot thatmany Philadelphiansconsiderhallowed ground. Michael Petrogiannis got his start working in this diners kitchen. The 15 Best Old Hollywood Restaurants - The Infatuation We do, and it was great. The second was on the South Side of the 1600 Block of Passyunk Ave, which was across the street from the first diner where the two avenues intersect. 18 Classic Restaurants Every Philadelphian Must Try Not a Philadelphia native, my first visits to the Melrose in 1991 left me bewildered by the citys reverence for the restaurant. with snapper soup on the menu, theres no way that this newish iteration My great uncle, Pete Kyriakodis opened what is now know as the New Boulevard / Five Star Diner a long time ago. Sometime in the aughts theystripped out more. The pillars around the fountain were chipping, like teeth losing their enamel. Funny, converted to an urgent care centerback then after a night of drinking thats what the diner was to us. But no, the owners just had to go and crash land this beauty into a sea of ugly. The point is, it was plenty neighborhoody. The Mayfair Diner ended an 80-year run under the same family in 2006. The wife loved the steak, but couldnt finish it. | Photo: Randy Garbin. Philadelphia dining. Thanks for this article. until 2011. But I think its also that we Center City kids of the 70s and early 80s enjoyed a lot of freedom in our comparatively down-at-its-heels, unmanicured downtown. In honor of Classics Week, it's time for a fond look back at long-gone Dallas restaurants, beginning with a visual tour of vintage Dallas restaurant menus. (215) 735-5562. Word has it that Bobs owner Jim Evans has the place up for sale, but as hes currently asking an obscene amount of money$1.9 milliondont expect any major changes soon. In its place first came the colonial style diner, then the Mediterranean style diner complete with Doric columns, the modern design and its glassy glitz, or some unfortunate melange of all three. In fact, I miss all the movie theaters of my youth. People might offer you drugs. Originally part of the Pillsbury Corp., the restaurant was founded in 1976. Not sure if they serve diner fare besides the chinese menu. The city elected its first Black mayor in 1983, W. Wilson Goode, whose first administration was marred by the 1985 Move tragedy. Days Deli was my favorite, until it closed; the rumor was that someone affiliated with the restaurant had put the profits up his nose. It adjoined a convenience store, and in back were rows of booths where you could while away hours smoking cigarettes with Jasons, Jennifers and Michaels. PEOPLE OFTEN FEEL sorry for me because they assume Center City wasnt a real neighborhood. Formerly known as Mil-Lees Luv-Inn Diner, the K Diner on Rising Sun features Korean Specialties as well as a good American-style breakfast. AS A PERSON WHO works in Center City and who writes about real estate and economic development I cant claim to be disappointed by downtowns success. As an added bonus, a seat at the counter gives you front-row access to the action. My favorite diners get creative, while still serving up the classics and preferably with fresh ingredients. Its where I met my husband. https://m.facebook.com/lhapachapter/posts/memories-of-the-blu-comet-diner/3824830150954142/?locale=ne_NP&_rdr, It was known fondly as the greasy spoon by the Villanova students. Palumbo's, 9/Catharine: Decent gravy joint, but the ambience was sooo 1950s. But it felt like home. A Slice of the 80s is located at 19 Congress St, Bradford, PA 16701. The Commissary - in its orginal configuration. There is a broad variety of dishes, but not its not overwhelming. Huntingdon Valley (7 miles) Abington (7 miles) Jenkintown (8 miles) Feasterville Trevose (8 miles) Bensalem (9 miles) Glenside (11 miles) Willow Grove (11 miles) Pennsauken (11 miles) Southampton (12 miles) Moorestown (14 miles) Cherry Hill (15 miles) Campiglia was from New Jersey . But it was. In 1980, this magazine called subway trains slums-on-wheels. Buses werent much better. His new old-style diner came by truck in six sections, pieced together on site. I can say i have a lot of respect for these structures. Hard core diner fans feel tingles up their inseams upon such discoveries. Thomas Hawk, Flickr // CC BY-NC 2.0. Center City is still mourning the passing of this 24-hour Greek go-to that | Photo: Randy Garbin. . Thats wear Teddy Pendergass made his first public appearance and sang since his terrible accident. These 1980s Restaurants Didn't Stand the Test of Time - Eat This Not That The famed space at 1532 Walnut St. was briefly Where else can you be greeted by name and your kids asked after? Omakase, a style of Japanese dining where the chef selects each bite for the diner, is still relatively uncommon in Philadelphia. And for post-dining . Petrogiannis has also restored the the 24/7 hours of operation. Despite economic woes (recession and inflation), the energy crisis, urban decline, crime, and escalating restaurant prices, restaurant-going continued to rise. pleasure of visiting the Queen Village location know that theres nothing I dont know of any other diners that serve their apple pie quite like this, and the sauce is not overly sweet, but it could easily mask any faults of the pie.