Fleetwood Diner
715 Dyer Street
Most diners here, especially in the morning, are primarily interested in eating their orders and moving on. Anyone, particularly those sitting at one of the stools, who deigns to open a newspaper or otherwise appearing to be tarrying too long will earn sidelong glances and unhappy glares at first, and eventually a tap on the shoulder and a request to move things along. The breakfast clientele is exclusively male though a few women take their lunch here regularly. A person of moderately high social standing might get curious looks, but only those that are obviously 'slumming it' and making sport of other customers will be, politely, urged to take their meal at the larger Grafton Diner or perhaps (sarcastically) Crawford's Resturant.
Due to the proximity of the Fleetwood and the pickup point for the Innsmouth Bus, the Fleetwood is one of the few places Innsmouth natives might be seen together in Arkham. The bus departs daily at 8 am for Innsmouth, and most mornings at least one or two of the port town's ill-favored residents come in for a meal before the trip. On rare occasions several Innsmouthers come in together and dine at one of the benches, inspiring the witnesses to gossip about the degeneracy and ill-health of the place. Listeners asking after Innsmouth will result in suspicious looks and stern, but vague, warnings to avoid the town altogether.
Few customers, at least initially, can pick out the Fleetwood's manager, Jim Moulton. Just over sixty, he has worked the grill at the Fleetwood for nearly two decades, training more than a dozen other cooks in the art of making good food very quickly. Moulton works nearly every shift, save for taking one day off, Sunday excepted, every two weeks, where he usually takes in a movie at the Amherst Theater, before retiring, weather permitting, to each a stack of magazines and smoke a cigar or two on Independence Square.
Moulton is a devout Methodist-Episcopal and he attends church at the Asbury M.E.. Church with a regularity that surpases even his time at the Fleetwood. Occasionally, he hires on troubled young congregants or men who have come to the church in need of aid, usually as dishwashers and the like. Some might raise an eyebrow at the paltry salary these fellows are given, but Moulton considers it to be a form of charitable giving. While the pay is quite poor, they are always well-instructed, and more than one has gone on to work at another resturant in Arkham.
Last year, against his better judgement, Moulton was talked into a deal by a salesman for the Bolton Bottling Company to put up a lighted sign atop the Fleetwood, flanked by ads by their 'Washington' brand cherry-soda. While he thinks it tastes like sweet cough syrup, customers can't get enough of the bubby brew and the sales of the stuff has been brisk.
Though best known for their breakfasts (which are simple and excellent), the Fleetwood has the best hamburger in Arkham, with a grilled patty on a toasted Kaiser roll and topped with lettuce, tomato, sauteed onions, and sweet tomato relish. It comes with a dill pickle spear, and potato chips. Miskatonic University President Dr. David Wainscott is an enthusiast and often dispatches a secretary to pick him up one for lunch, sometimes even venturing over himself when the weather is fine.
In addition to its proximity to the bus station, there is a public telephone booth next to the diner, visable from most of the seats on one side. (Huth, Chris, et al. "The Arkham Gazette, Issue 1." Edited by Ian Maclean et al., Sentinel Hill Press, Nov. 2013.)
Due to the proximity of the Fleetwood and the pickup point for the Innsmouth Bus, the Fleetwood is one of the few places Innsmouth natives might be seen together in Arkham. The bus departs daily at 8 am for Innsmouth, and most mornings at least one or two of the port town's ill-favored residents come in for a meal before the trip. On rare occasions several Innsmouthers come in together and dine at one of the benches, inspiring the witnesses to gossip about the degeneracy and ill-health of the place. Listeners asking after Innsmouth will result in suspicious looks and stern, but vague, warnings to avoid the town altogether.
Few customers, at least initially, can pick out the Fleetwood's manager, Jim Moulton. Just over sixty, he has worked the grill at the Fleetwood for nearly two decades, training more than a dozen other cooks in the art of making good food very quickly. Moulton works nearly every shift, save for taking one day off, Sunday excepted, every two weeks, where he usually takes in a movie at the Amherst Theater, before retiring, weather permitting, to each a stack of magazines and smoke a cigar or two on Independence Square.
Moulton is a devout Methodist-Episcopal and he attends church at the Asbury M.E.. Church with a regularity that surpases even his time at the Fleetwood. Occasionally, he hires on troubled young congregants or men who have come to the church in need of aid, usually as dishwashers and the like. Some might raise an eyebrow at the paltry salary these fellows are given, but Moulton considers it to be a form of charitable giving. While the pay is quite poor, they are always well-instructed, and more than one has gone on to work at another resturant in Arkham.
Last year, against his better judgement, Moulton was talked into a deal by a salesman for the Bolton Bottling Company to put up a lighted sign atop the Fleetwood, flanked by ads by their 'Washington' brand cherry-soda. While he thinks it tastes like sweet cough syrup, customers can't get enough of the bubby brew and the sales of the stuff has been brisk.
Though best known for their breakfasts (which are simple and excellent), the Fleetwood has the best hamburger in Arkham, with a grilled patty on a toasted Kaiser roll and topped with lettuce, tomato, sauteed onions, and sweet tomato relish. It comes with a dill pickle spear, and potato chips. Miskatonic University President Dr. David Wainscott is an enthusiast and often dispatches a secretary to pick him up one for lunch, sometimes even venturing over himself when the weather is fine.
In addition to its proximity to the bus station, there is a public telephone booth next to the diner, visable from most of the seats on one side. (Huth, Chris, et al. "The Arkham Gazette, Issue 1." Edited by Ian Maclean et al., Sentinel Hill Press, Nov. 2013.)
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