Ground Zero Diner

"You get yourself a map, grab some crayons, draw in the fallout zones, take a gander and you're gonna say to yourself, 'Jack, looks to me like Salina, Kansas is the new center of the world!' Seems pretty obvious, biggest city in Kansas that didn't have a warhead pointed at it, and right next to the only straight north-south shot east of the Denver fallout zone. You know a thing or two about Salina, you probably already got a schemes running through your mind. Maybe you'll get those old steam-powered flour mills running and become the Bread King of the Boomlands, or maybe there's a plane at the Beechcraft plant that'll take you to some tropical island where they don't even know the world ended. Hell, maybe you just want a new pair of blue jeans. You just gotta follow your dreams, buddy. 'Course, the bitch of it is that everybody with a map, a crayon, and a dream had the exact same idea. Didn't take long for Salina to turn into a a full-fledged war zone. Early on they were fighting for resources and territory, but at this point I figure most of them are just doing it to pass the time.
Look at your map again and you see that Abilene looks promising. It's outside of the fallout zone now, but early on it still got hit hard by the nuke dust, and a couple atomic tornados chased out most of the folks who were thinking they'd wait it out. Nobody left there these days but perverts and Amway salesmen. Least the warlords in Salina just shoot you like decent folks.
In between the two lies the little ol' town of Solomon. Twenty minute detour down 40 from 135, big enough to protect themselves, small enough that they didn't turn against each other. It wasn't long until there was a never-ending swap meet just outside the town barricades. That's how I wound up here. When the locals decided they didn't like so many strangers right on their doorstop, the flea market migrated to the parking lot of an abandoned highway cafe down the road. That's when Charlie came up with the idea of reopening the diner, one thing led to another, and here we are.
Speak of the Devil, looks like Charlie's heading this way, so your ol' pal PJ better get back to the kitchen. Nice talkin' to you folks, hope you enjoy your meal. If you don't mind a little unsolicited advice, don't order the meatloaf. We're not completely sure what the meat's made of." --Peoria Johnson, short-order cook, Ground Zero Diner 

The Ground Zero Diner is the one that started it all and still the most frequent convoy destination in the Boomlands. It started out as nothing more than a local trading post, but a combination of timing, location, and business savvy turned it into the first dinertown and the template for all those that followed. The restaurant in the center of it all is a classic American diner complete with red vinyl seating, Wurlitzer jukebox, carhops on roller skates, and a meatburger that'll make you forget the world blew up.

Demographics

Ground Zero doesn't have a permanent population, just a bunkhouse for migrant workers a small barracks for security, and whatever visitors are sleeping there for the night. Most of the permanent owners and employees of dinertown businesses are residents of nearby Solomon, Kansas.

Government

The Ground Zero is owned by the town of Solomon, though some of the permanent businesses there (most notably the diner itself) are privately owned. Profits from the dinertown are used to fund the city's defenses, emergency food supplies, and other expenses.

Defences

The Ground Zero is surrounded on two sides and most of a third by the Solomon River and a short wall of broken-down cars, highway divders, sandbags, and other large debris provides protection for defenders in the event someone tries to attack the camp from across the river. The landward sections of the camp are protected by higher and sturdier walls. Watchtowers are located at the main gate and along the perimeter. Private areas within the camp are surrounded by additional fences. The camp's security force ideally consists of 60 people working in 3 shifts of 20 guards each. They operate out of a cinder block building that includes an armory and small barracks. When the dinertown expects large crowds or trouble, they recruit additional guards from Solomon.

Industry & Trade

In addition to meals, the diner (with help from a smokehouse and bakery out back) provides an assortment of road food. Thanks to their proximity to the RRV, the Ground Zero usually has fuel available for sale. The water tower provides drinking water and warm showers at reasonable prices, and those who want to camp inside the dinertown walls can rent an assortment of "rooms" in the form of campers and converted trailers or railcars, or they can rent a spot of ground to pitch their own tent.
To make trading easier, the Ground Zero writes up its own script that can be bought outright or held temporarily by putting up fuel, vehicles, or other valuables as collatoral. The paper for the script has a uniform design courtesy of an old mimeograph machine located at Solomon Elementary. Each bill is marked with a serial number generated using some secret procedure and recorded along with the value in the Ground Zero's logs. They expire one year after the issue date. Given the Ground Zero's reputation, the script sees limited circulation outside the camp (with very close attention paid to the expiration date of each bill).

Infrastructure

A repurposed electrical substation connected to a series of windmills provides electrical power to Ground Zero, the town of Solomon, and a few outlying buildings and farms. Both the town of solomon and the dinertown have water towers fed from the heavily-guarded town reservoir. Underground sewage pipes carry waste out to a few large holding pools downwind of the settlement.

Maps

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  Ground Zero Diner

Alternative Name(s)

Charlie's Place, West Solomon

Type

Trade post