NYC Diners

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.

Day 1

NE Diners & Co

For the first two weeks of December, I will be traveling throughout the Northeast visiting as many authentic diners as possible. The tour is a pilgrimage of sorts because it is the segue between a two year scholarly study of diners and a the quest to open an authentic diner in Austin, Texas. The trip begins in Baltimore, Maryland because the non-stop round-trip flight was $160. Thanks Southwest! From there I begin a 2000+ mile loop, through nine states, to visit approximately 50 diners. Most of the diners were selected during the my final semesters at the University of Texas. I chose the diner as a subject of study, in my pursuit of an American Studies degree. Since there are few classic diners in Texas, I decided that a trip to the Northeast would be a neccessary "right of passage" informing my plan to open an authentic diner in Austin.