New Hampshire has a lot to offer. Not only the White Mountains and a sliver of coastline, fabulous fall foliage, tax free shopping and covered bridges, New Hampshire also boasts a great collection of vintage diners. Here are a few from my collection of fine art photography and artwork.
Daddypop’s Tumble Inn Diner is a 1941 Worcester (#778). It is still at its original location. The lettering on the diner’s side is original and unique for Worcester. “Daddypop’s” was added to the diner’s name in 1997 when it was bought by the man that owns “Daddypop’s Diner” in Hatboro, PA.
Claremont, NH isn’t exactly known for good food. In fact, it’s dang near impossible to find a good meal in that town since Todafrali’s Deli closed.
But there is one notable exception: The Tumble Inn Diner. A classic Worcester Diner Car that’s still churning out good greasy breakfasts.
Situated right in the middle of downtown Claremont, this diner is an obvious favorite of the locals, and it appears to be family-owned and operated, since most of the cooks and waitstaff seem related.
The food is your basic diner breakfast and lunch fare: pancakes and omelletes are particularly good choices for breakfast. A number of delicious sides that are a little less usual include scrapple, kielbasa (usually deepfried) and baked beans. However, one of the best items are the home fries — at any given time in the morning, half of the grill is dedicated to a veritable mountain of diced potatoes, which are carefully grilled until just crispy on the outside. Delicio.
The Four Aces Diner is a Worcester (#837) from 1952. It was originally located downtown and moved to this bigger building where it is now enclosed on three sides.
The Tilt’n Diner is an O’Mahony from 1953. It was originally located in Waltham, MA where it was known as the Monarch Diner. It was moved to Salisbury, MA around 1970 where it was known as Linda’s Jackpot Diner (early 1980s) and the Lafayette Diner (late 1980s). The diner closed around 1987. It was restored and opened here in 1992 with a larger building behind it that serves as kitchen and dining room. The interior is “nostalgic” with Elvis, 45-rpm records, and other 1950s signifying memorabilia.
You can see more of my diner artwork here: http://pixels.com/profiles/edward-fielding.html?tab=artworkgalleries&artworkgalleryid=226013
Did you know?
A diner is a prefabricated fast food restaurant building characteristic of American life, especially in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, New York, and in other areas of the Northeastern United States, as well as in the Midwest, although examples can be found throughout the United States, Canada, and parts of Western Europe. Diners are characterized by offering a wide range of foods, mostly American, a distinct exterior structure, a casual atmosphere, a counter, and late operating hours. “Classic American Diners” are often characterized by an exterior layer of stainless steel—a feature unique to diner architecture. Diners share culture with drive ins, and car culture with hot rods and muscle cars.
The first diner was created in 1872, by a man named Walter Scott. He decided to sell food out of a horse-pulled wagon to employees of the Providence Journal, in Providence, Rhode Island. Scott’s diner can be considered the first diner with “walk up” windows that were located on each side of the wagon. Commercial production of lunch wagons began in Worcester, Massachusetts, in 1887, by Thomas Buckley. Buckley was very successful and became known for his “White House Cafe” wagons. Charles Palmer received the first patent (1893) for the diner, which he billed as a “Night-Lunch Wagon.” He built his “fancy night cafes” and “night lunch wagons” in the Worcester area until 1901.
List of diners in New Hampshire:
104 Diner
752 NH Route 104
New Hampton, NH 03256
Airport Diner
2280 Brown Avenue
Manchester, NH 03103
The Bacon Barn
4 Sanborn Rd
Londonderry, NH 03053
Coffee Pot Restaurant
30 Main Street
Littleton, NH 03561
Cross Roads Diner
94 New Rochester Road
Dover, NH 03820
DaddyPops Tumble Inn Diner
1 Main Street
Claremont, NH 03743
The D.W. Diner
416 Daniel Webster Highway
Merrimack, NH 03054
Donna’s Place
28 Lowell Road
Hudson, NH 03051
Fast Eddie’s Diner
320 Lafayette Road
Hampton, NH 03842
Four Aces Diner
23 Bridge Street
West Lebanon, NH 03784
Four Seasons Diner
1328 Hooksett Road
Hooksett, NH 03106
Friends Diner
85 Allenstown Road
Allenstown, NH 03275
George’s Diner
10 Plymouth Street
Meredith, NH 03253
Gilley’s Diner
175 Fleet Street
Portsmouth, NH 03801
Hollis Market Place Diner
4 Ash Street
Hollis, NH
Joey’s Diner
1 Craftsman Lane
Amherst, NH 03031
The Lebanon Diner
24 Hanover Street
Lebanon, NH 03766
Lindy’s Diner
19 Gilbo Avenue
Keene, NH 03461
Littleton Diner
170 W Main Street
Littleton, NH 03561
MaryAnn’s Diner
29 East Broadway
Derry, NH 03038
Marcus P’s Diner Plus
50 Main Street
Greenville, NH 03048
Margie’s Dream Diner
172 Hayward Street
Manchester, NH 03103
Miss Wakefield Diner
7 Windy Hollow Road
Wakefield, NH 03872
Moe Joe Country Diner
649 E Industrial Park Drive
Manchester, NH 03109
Murphy’s Diner
516 Elm Street
Manchester, NH 03101
Norton’s Classic Cafe
233 Main Street
Nashua, NH 03060
Union Diner
1331 Union Avenue
Laconia, NH 03246
Peterborough Diner
10 Depot Street
Peterborough, NH 03458
Pink Cadillac Diner
17 Farmington Road
Rochester, NH 03867
Plain Jane’s Diner
897 Old Route 25
Rumney, NH
Poor Boy’s Diner
136 Rockingham Road
Londonderry, NH 03053
Red Arrow Diner – Manchester
61 Lowell Street
Manchester, NH 03101
Red Arrow Diner – Milford
63 Union Square
Milford, NH
Remember When Diner
1 Wildwood Lane
Rochester, NH 03867
Roundabout Diner
580 U.S. 1 Bypass
Portsmouth, NH 03801
Steves Diner
100 Portsmouth Avenue
Exeter, NH 03833
South Side Diner
127 Rockingham Road
Derry, NH 03038
Sunny Day Diner
Route 3
Lincoln, NH 03251
Suzie’s Diner
76 Lowell Road
Hudson, NH 03051
Tilt’n Diner
61 Laconia Road
Tilton, NH 03276
Trackside Cafe
66 Lincoln Street
Exeter, NH 03833
