Urban Chuckwagon: History of the Diner
The
genesis of diners can be traced back to Providence, Rhode Island,
in the late 19th century.
As in many industrial cities in the Northeast,
multi-shift factories discharged hungry workers into the streets at
all hours of the day and night. Street food vendors, carrying prepared
foods
in baskets, filled in when restaurants and boarding houses were not
open to serve customers. In 1872, street vendor Walter Scott converted
a wooden
delivery wagon into a vending wagon, cutting in rectangular windows
through which he would hand food out to his customers. (P,
37) The
wagon was drawn by
a draft horse and could easily be driven from one location
to another. Because there was no space for cooking facilities,
Scott prepared the food at his home, and then transferred it to his
wagon. As such, Scott's menu was relatively
simple – boiled eggs, pie, bread, frankfurters, slices
of chicken, and a shredded meat concoction picturesquely called
the "chewed sandwich.” (W, 17) Scott's
idea took off and was quickly copied by other street entrepreneurs.
In 1883,
the first purpose-built and designed lunch wagon appeared,
followed in 1887 by the first wagon containing a working kitchen, stained
glass,
and space for diners. This wagon, built for Samuel Jones in Worcester,
Massachusetts, cost $800 and measured 16 x 7 feet. (M,
108) While the
earliest dining wagons had no seats, the customers could stand at a
dry, sheltered counter while they ate. (W, 22) |
Early Lunch Wagon
By
the turn of the century, lunch wagons were being mass-produced on
a large scale. (J, 36) Creative
vendors with more imagination than cash were also converting old trolley
cars into mobile dining wagons.
Conversions, in particular, came to be regarded as eyesores
and so many of these vendors were hawking their foodstuffs that Providence
passed a law barring them from the city's streets after 10 am. This
led vendors to find vacant lots and semi-permanently locate themselves
off
the streets. If business was bad in one location, it was a simple task
to pick up and move on. (P, 38) |
Portable Dine-Inside Wagon
By
the 1920's, the dining wagon had metamorphosed into the dining car,
based on the more "respectable looking" railroad
dining cars. The interior consisted of an exposed
kitchen area situated
behind a lengthy counter with stools and, on the opposite wall, booths.
These models contained ventilators, exhaust fans, and, most importantly,
toilets. With these innovations, women could now acceptably use dining
cars. (M 109) No longer exclusively
male, the mix of clientele changed the atmosphere of street dining
from rough and tumble masculinity
to respectable working class domesticity. |
A 1920's-era diner
The
sleek modern-style diner that we are familiar with today began in
the 1930's. Based on contemporary aircraft design,
the streamlined look of gleaming aluminum, bright colors, Art Deco
treatments, and smooth Formica has come to symbolize the "lost era of glamour
and populist elegance.” (M109;
J, 36) The modern styling, updated
slightly over the years, remained popular through the post-World War
II era, into the 1950's. This was the heyday of diners. By 1952, five
thousand diners could be found in the United States. Most were no longer
in urban areas, but located beside highways outside of cities. Options
for the potential diner-buyer were varied. The largest manufacturer of
diners at the time, The Jerry O'Mahoney Company of Elizabeth, New Jersey,
sold several models. A 48ft model would set you back $36, 500; an 80ft
version cost $60,000. If the owner could come up with the first 25%,
the rest could be paid in installments. (J,
37) While not an insignificant
price, diners were far less risky an operation than other restaurants.
Greek restaurateurs, in particular, had stunning success with diner operation.
Owning approximately 80% of diners, their failure rate was a mere 8 – 10%
(the national average was closer to 70%). (Ma, 215) |
A diner from the heyday of the 1950's.
By
the 1970's, manufacturers were no longer producing diners on a large
scale. Because many earlier diners, originally located on highways
outside of cities, had been swallowed up by suburban growth, existing
diners
were often given new brick exteriors to conform with modern sensibilities,
or added onto so that the original structures were no longer evident.
Deindustrialization in urban areas also took its toll on the diner:
fewer factories meant fewer workers and fewer workers meant fewer
diners. Most significantly,
the incredible success of fast food restaurants spelled the end of
the diner monopoly on restaurant concepts. Aided by improvements
in the interstate
highway system, innovative food production and distribution methods,
and increasingly mobile and time-conscious consumers, fast food restaurants
changed the way Americans ate and, in the process, nearly destroyed
a once ubiquitous part of American culture. (W, 118-119) Today, as
much
as 75% of post-WWII diners have disappeared. (Ma, 220) |