New Jerusalem’s Diners

Diners — small, pre-fabricated restaurants with limited seating — were a New England staple in the early to mid-20th century. Providing inexpensive food quickly and conveniently, diners were found throughout the region, especially in larger towns. New Jerusalem is no different, with several diners of note.

Diners: A General Overview

A Short History

Diners, as we think of them, had their origin with Walter Scott’s “night lunch wagon,” which appeared in Providence, Rhode Island in 1872. These early carts were little more than a horse-drawn wagon with space for prepared food and raw ingredients, and the sole employee, as well as a window from which to make sales. There was an immediate interest from customers — men working the night shift, late night carousers, travelers, and policemen — who had never had an option for dining over-night. As many of the wagons that sprang up after Scott’s appeared served hot dogs, they were sometimes called ‘dog carts.’
Soon a few enterprising souls, some wagon operators themselves, got into business manufacturing wagons specially built for the trade. As an inexpensive means to own one’s own business with a minimal set of skills — if you could make change and drive a horse, you could operate a night lunch wagon — the wagons sold well. By the 1890s, night lunch wagons could be found throughout southern New England; larger ones were scaled to be able to fit on the back of a train and could be fitted with pneumatic tires for transport on roadways. The replacement of horse drawn trolleys with electric ones created a whole market in cheap conversions of old trolley carts into dining wagons.
In the 1890s two innovations were added to the night lunch wagon — a cook-top and a place to sit inside. The interior of the increasingly more lavishly decorated wagons was divided length-wise by a counter. On one side were stools for customers and on the other a compact cooking and food preparation area; sales were conducted across the counter, and gradually the window sales ended. Several wagon owners expanded their business and operated small fleets in multiple cities. One of the largest was in New York City and was operated by the Church Temperance Society, who used their wagons to offer an alternative to saloons, which frequently offered free food with the purchase of a beer.
While the night lunch wagon business boomed — by 1912 there were almost fifty operating in Providence (population 220,000) — after the turn of the century cities increasingly attempted to regulate the industry. Citing rowdy customers (including, it was often suggested, the criminal element) and roadway congestion, several cities began limiting night lunch wagons to operating from dusk to dawn and mandating they be off the streets by 10 am. The solution for many carts was to set up on a semipermanent or permanent basis on unused plots near the street, beginning the era of the ‘fixed’ diner.
By the 1920s, the industry was dominated by a trio of larger firms: the Worcester Lunch Cart Company (of Worcester, MA), O’Mahoney (of Elizabeth, NJ), and P.J. Tierney and Sons (of New Rochelle, NY). The competition between them was fierce, and they offered increasingly favorable terms for buyers, making various fixtures like the cash register or even dishes and silverware a standard part of your package. Additionally, buyers would be trained to operate their new establishment, often placed under the advisement of the builder, who recommended the most profitable locales. Smaller manufacturers, or even owner-built establishments, were only slightly less common. As they had since their earliest days, diners offered their customers a quick meal at a reasonable price and their owners the opportunity to own their own business and a comfortable, if labor-intensive, livelihood.

General Layout

Diners of this era were rectangular buildings with barrel roofs. Most were made of wood, but a few smaller companies were using steel. Diners ranged in size* between 10’×22’ and 12’×36’; custom built diners could be larger, but these were uncommon. Older diners were primarily wood-paneled while newer models had either enamel or tile panels, inside and out. Floors were almost always made of small ceramic tiles, often black and white, sometimes laid out in a variety of pleasant geometric patterns. Windows (which could be opened by the customers, if desired) line one wall and both ends. Normally there were three doors — one on the middle, one on the end, and another in the rear, behind the kitchen.
The main body of the diner was divided roughly down the middle by the counter; to one side were the customers, the other was the cooking and service area. On the customer side every diner had a row of stools along the central counter. Larger ones had an additional row of stools against the outside wall; the largest had small booths or tables along the outside wall, seating two comfortably.
The food preparation and service area on the other side of the counter was a model of efficient use of space. The area beneath the main long counter was used for storage while the area across from the counter was divided between cooking areas (including ventilation), food preparation, cold food storage, and sometimes a sink. In addition to the main dining area and kitchen, many diners built for fixed installation had a small washroom with a toilet and sink. Larger ones offered separate facilities for men and women. Many diners seeking additional space added one or more rooms at the rear, usually off the kitchen.
_{*Diner width was limited by the size of rail-road lines, which were the primary means that diners were transported to their ultimate locations.}

Diner Locations

In the late twenties diners were still a primarily urban phenomenon positioned near a steady base of customers such as a factory, a train station, or a business district. According to one manufacturer’s prospective to potential buyers, the average diner, well placed, might serve 500 or more customers in a day. Most of the customers were expected to come on foot or on mass transit (trolley, train, bus), so parking was not an issue. Often a diner would be placed on a plot only slightly larger than the diner itself.
Early in 1928 the Hi-Way Diners Club Company was established in Springfield, Massachusetts with the goal of operating a chain of diners located not in cities themselves but rather along the rapidly expanding inter-state highway system. One of their diners (a steel model built by the Brill Company) has recently opened in Pierce’s Corner, where the Bolton Road branches off the Aylesbury Pike.

Cuisine

Most diner meals are prepared fresh and served hot. Smaller diners lacking storage space favor canned or dried products. The ideal foods for diners are those that can either be prepared quickly — eggs, hot dogs, a grilled sandwich — or those that can be prepared in large quantities in advance — mashed potatoes and gravy, baked beans, pies. Menus also included regional specialties. Coffee, tea, milk, and bottled soda (commonly called ‘tonic’ in parts of New England) are generally available. Fruit juice is sometimes to be found, but in summer months lemonade is common, as is iced tea. Soda fountains are generally the province of drugstores and larger restaurants.
Most diners come equipped with a gas stove, a grill, an oven, and (by the late 1920s) refrigerated storage. Electric ovens and griddles, easier to move than gas ones, are increasingly popular and come standard from certain diner manufacturers; toasters are ubiquitous. Dishes are ceramic, heavy, and sturdy; dishes are constantly being washed, often visibly behind the counter by a busboy. Some diners have dishes and flatware marked with the diner’s name for promotional purposes and to reduce theft.

A Few New England Specialties

• American Chop Suey — pasta, usually macaroni, mixed with tomatoes, hamburger, and cheese; can be baked or prepared on the stovetop.
• Baked Beans — beans, usually navy, baked with molasses and diced ham or bacon.
• Boiled Dinner — corned beef or pork shoulder, boiled in a pot with cabbage, potatoes, and carrots; served with mustard or horseradish. Popular among those of Irish descent.
• Boston Cream Pie — actually a cake made from two layers of sponge cake with a layer of custard in between and topped with a chocolate glaze.
• Brown Bread — a mildly sweet quick bread, usually steamed in a can, made from a blend of corn meal, graham flour, rye, and whole wheat.
• Clam Cakes — deep-fried fritters mixed with pieces of diced clams (often quahogs most common in southern New England, especially Rhode Island.
• Coffee Milk — a coffee simple syrup blended in milk, often made for children; most common in Southern New England, especially in Rhode Island.
• Corn Chowder — a soup made from milk or cream thickened with crushed crackers or a roux, with corn and typically onions and celery.
• Fiddleheads — a spring specialty, the new fronds of several varieties of ferns, sautéed or boiled, with a flavor similar to asparagus.
• Hot Weiner — hot dogs (made from veal and pork) topped with a seasoned meat sauce, chopped onions, celery salt, and yellow mustard on a bun. Sometimes called ‘Coney Island’ or ‘New York System’ Hot Dogs.
• Indian Pudding — a porridge made from cornmeal, molasses, and spices like cinnamon and ginger. A traditional recipe.
• Moxie — a sweet carbonated beverage flavored with gentian root, giving it a pronounced aftertaste, considered unpleasant by many.

A Typical Menu

Here is a sample menu from the Miss Florence Diner of Florence, Massachusetts. The Miss Florence’s menu reflects the sort of things offered by diners looking to attract a wider customer base, including women.

• Steaks and Chops — Steak, lamb chops, pork chops, fried sausage, Hamburg steak - 55¢ to $1.00
• Eggs and Omelets — 2 Eggs with ham, bacon, or toast; ham, cheese, western, or plain omelets - 45¢ to 75¢
• Potatoes — French fried, mashed, boiled, baked, Lyonnaise, hash browns, potato salad - 15¢ to 30¢
• Vegetables — String beans, green peas, stewed corn, stewed tomatoes, spinach - 15¢
• Relishes — Hearts of celery, green olives, stuffed olives, pickles, chow chow - 15¢ to 30¢
• Sandwiches — Ham, egg, cheese, Western, chopped ham, fried ham, chicken (hot and cold), club - 15¢ to 60¢
• Fruits and Salads — Fruit salad, grapefruit, peaches, pineapple, banana, prunes, sliced oranges, orange juice - 15¢ to 30¢
• Desserts — Jell-O with cream, baked apple, raisin cakes, pudding, ice cream, pie a la mode - 15¢ to 25¢
• Cereals — Oat meal, cornflakes, Post bran flakes, Shredded Wheat, Grape Nuts, French toast, buttered toast, milk toast, griddle cakes - 15¢ to 55¢
• Pies — Blueberry, apple, strawberry-rhubarb; oat meal cookies, doughnuts or crullers, coffee rings - 15¢ to 20¢
• Coffee, Tea, Etc. — Coffee, tea (one pot), milk, Postum*, cocoa, iced coffee or tea - 10¢ to 15¢

_{* Postum is a “roasted grain beverage,” served hot, as a caffeine-free substitute for coffee sold by Post Cereal.}

Culture

Diners were mostly a lower- and middle-class phenomena, but were generally regarded as a respectable place to dine by all but the most hidebound New Englanders. The transition from night lunch wagons to serving food at a fixed location helped to improve their reputation from a spot for lowlifes and rowdy drunks to respectable establishments. The diner’s low-cost food and quick turn over continued to make them attractive to working and middle-class customers* regardless of other changes in the industry. Some diner owners who were in business near train stations, schools, or offices blocks improved amenities to make their establishments more like a traditional restaurant to attract a more upscale crowd, installing curtains and awnings, sometimes even adding facades to conceal that the place was a diner at all. Perhaps most effectively, menu expansions made diners more attractive to the general public.
One of the most notable changes in diner culture in the 1910s and 20s was the push by many diner owners to attract women customers. In addition to basics like replacing counters and stools with small booths or tables, many owners assume that more female customers might be attracted by beautifying the diner’s interior — placing flowers at tables for example — and by softening the more masculine elements of the place, such as prohibiting pipe and cigar smoking. Diners looking to attract female customers often explicitly advertised, posting “Ladies Welcome” signs or positioning a baby carriage in front of the building.