Casey's, Town Deluxe and the Boulevard

Today was a day to remember. New England had its first storm of the winter season today. Snow started falling in the morning, and just after lunch turned into a robust "thunder-snow" by about three o'clock. That's right. I said "thunder-snow." I saw the lightning and heard the thunder, with my own eyes and ears. Luckily I was inside the comfort of some good diners, during the worst of it. I started my day at Casey's Diner in Natick, MA. Casey's is recognized as one of the oldest diners in America. It was manufactured in 1927 by the Worcester Lunch Car Company. When I arrived at Casey's, I found myself a stool and ordered up a hot dog all the way, which means mustard, relish and onions. This was breakfast, since Casey's is one of the few diners that doesn't serve breakfast. This diner is has been run by three generations of the Casey family. As told by Richard Gutman, in American Diner Then and Now, Fred Casey bought his first diner in 1921. Six years later, he purchased a second hand lunch car, formerly called Mulligan's Diner, brought it to Natick and named it Casey's. Fred's son, Joe took over operations in 1952 and today, his son Pat runs things. In 1977, the Caseys moved the diner to its current location, where it is an institution and that year made the National Historic Register .
After Casey's, I traveled to Watertown to visit the Deluxe Town Diner, owned and operated by Don Levy. I first heard about Don Levy, from Randy Garbin. He told the story of Don's first diner, the former Blue Diner in downtown Boston. The Blue Diner was the setting of Gary Zemola's epic diner experience, the experience that inspired his love for diners.