Five more diners.
Since the last post, I have visited a few more diners in the Allentown, Pennsylvania area. A couple of new photographs and I was able to eat in a few that I have not partaken in a meal yet.
I did get the news that the Pantry Diner on Long Island in Rockville Centre is being remodeled. I can only imagine that it is going to change severely. I guess that is what I get for delaying a visit. It was a typical 1970s diner, which is way more rare than you might think, on Long Island. People like to update their diners often and frequently on Long Island.
In the spirit of that, lets look at some Long Island Diners. We will go from the cool to the new.
One of the most original diners on Long Island is the Cutchogue Diner. Cutchogue is far out on Long Island, and this Kullman has stood the test of time. There is the shell of a barrel roof diner in the back that I did not get to see. There is nothing special about their food. The diner keeps it real and serves simple diner food. The interior of the diner is pure Kullman from the 1940s. The porcelain flutes on the outside are typical of Kullman at the time. All in all, it is the perfect diner, amazingly located on Long Island. At one time, there were probably 200 of these types of diners on Long Island, if not more.
After going through the stainless steel and exaggerated modern phase on Long Island, the vast majority of diners followed into the environmental phase. Using bricks, stucco, stones facades. And terra-cotta on a mansard Mediterranean roof line. This fake roof hid the vast amount of air conditioning and other machinery on the roof. This is the Sea Crest Diner in Old Westbury on Glen Cover Road. Yelp says the diner is closed. These buildings were still built by the diner manufacturers, but now these were six or more pieces all put together on site.
The Sherwood Diner in Lawrence is a mammoth place. Not tall, but it sure has a large footprint. Most diners on Long Island are large, and many seats for many customers. As the environmental phase went away, flashy stainless and mirror finishes came back. windows at an angle came into popularity for a time. The Sherwood Diner sure liked the bumped out windows. The roof line shared the mirror and stainless steel finishes. The insides were owner a space for a counter, tables and booths, and then additional dining rooms with tables and booths only. The counter was very minimal in these diners.
So if you had a 1960s environmental diner, you have two choices. You could remodel the diner with some new materials like the Sherwood, or you could use new materials like the Majestic Diner in Westbury shown here. The other option is to go all out and rebuild or completely remodel the diner. I am not sure if this is a remodel or a new diner, but with the Majestic Diner the owners went with what is known as a Retro diner. Tons of stainless steel, larger windows and glass block, all with a grand tower to show the name of the diner and the entryway. Inside would simply be an updated interior with the same layout.
The Wantagh Lighthouse Diner is shown in 2006. If you look close enough you can see that they are still putting the finishing touches on this remodel. The back right end still needs its facade. Like the Majestic, this diner sports a larger than life roof line, done in a reverse step. There is another remodeling company on Long Island who is taking diners to a new look and some of the recent remodeling on the island are taking on an updated environmental look, where the diners look quite similar to a drug store or strip mall. The next five diners will bring us up to 100, so I'll try to pick out some more classic looking diners. But remember, if you're on Long Island, you are more than likely to find these diners then an older diner.
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