54. DINERS: Modern Diner

Weird Island

The history of the classic American diner started right here in Rhode Island. It began as something called a Night Lunch Wagon. But over time the diner grew and changed, following trends in the workforce, the American family, and food culture to become the uniquely American restaurant we know and love today. And one of my favorite diners around is Modern Diner–which also happens to be the first diner ever listed on the National Register of Historic places.

To Visit: 364 East Ave, Pawtucket, RI 02860

Episode Source Material:

• If you really enjoy diners, read anything by Richard Gutman: American Diner Then and Now: Gutman, Richard JS: 9780801865367: Amazon.com: Books
• A Life Devoted to the American Diner | Arts & Culture| Smithsonian Magazine
• NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES INVENTORY-- NOMINATION FORM NAME LOCATION tq.
• Modern Diner – Pawtucket, Rhode Island - Gastro Obscura
• Restaurateur sues, wants shirt off Disney's rack
• RHODE ISLAND DINER SETTLES TRADEMARK SUIT WITH DISNEY – Orlando Sentinel
• Why So Many Diners Look Like Train Cars - Gastro Obscura
• Streamline Moderne - Wikipedia.
• Hidden for more than 75 years, the origins of a Chepachet diner are being revealed | WJAR
• History of Purple Cat Restaurant to be preserved by new owners | News | valleybreeze.com
• Drive I-95: Exit by Exit Info, Maps, History and Trivia
• From Hash House to Family Restaurant: The Transformation of the Diner and Post-World War II Consumer Culture
• DINER HISTORY
• Walter Scott – Rhode Island Heritage Hall of Fame
• Modern Diner
• HOW THE DINER GOT ITS START – Daily Press
• Diner - Wikipedia
• Where No-Frills Fast Food (the Real Thing) Was Born - The New York Times
• Rhode Island Diners – Where to Eat – Vacation Travel Info
• From Chuck Wagons to Pushcarts: The History of the Food Truck
• Food truck - Wikipedia
• TH Buckley- Come Get Your American Dream
• The Transition from Horse-Drawn to Stationary
• The Classic American Entrepreneurship
• The Original Lunch Wagons
• The Masters of the Booming Lunch Car Industry
• Appealing to the customers
• Diners of New England | Randy Garbin
• Bluefield Daily Telegraph | April 1, 1987
• Clovis News Journal | June 22, 1986
• Today's special
• Haven Brothers: Legacy of the American Diner – Food on a truck, man! - Motif
• PROVIDENCE DINER, 97, VS. CITY HALL, '87 - The New York Times
• News in Antebellum America
• Long Live the Lunch Wagon King! Worcester's Diners Prove Resilient | Mass Food & Wine
• Whence Came the Rhode Island Food Truck? | Edible Rhody
• History of the American Diner - Legendary Route 66