The diner is a uniquely American eating place, once especially common along the Eastern Seaboard, up into New England. Today there are examples found not only there but scattered around the country, though their numbers have diminished dramatically since the mid-20th century and the rise of cookie-cutter fast-food places.
Diners grew out of horse-drawn lunch wagons — a process equivalent to today’s food trucks spawning brick-and-mortar restaurants. New Jersey, in particular, was a center of lunch wagon manufacturing, and transitioned naturally into becoming the nation’s diner-making capital, producing prefab units that could be shipped around the country and set up almost ready for business.
There are a handful of still-extant diners that were once railroad dining cars (or are built around them), but all classic diners have a shape similar to those conveyances — long and narrow, a configuration that made them easy to deliver by truck or train. Many diners were built in the Art Déco era of the 1920s and early ’30s, and are vivid expressions of that style — which became so firmly associated with these places that even those built later often echoed the look.
Though there are exceptions, traditional diners tend to share a group of characteristics: Most are open only for breakfast and lunch; most have menus featuring a wide assortment of egg and pancake/waffle dishes and burgers and sandwiches, though some also serve heartier fare; they almost never serve alcohol; most have counters, along with at least a few booths; many are found along roadsides. And many are iconic features of their local restaurant landscape.
What makes a diner iconic? Design, longevity, food specialties, associated legend and lore, and its place in the community. To determine the most iconic diners in America, 24/7 Tempo reviewed numerous websites dealing with state or regional dining and commercial history, as well as some sites published by diner candidates themselves, then used editorial discretion to make a final choice.
Though age was not the final determinant in assembling this list, we did find that older diners were the most likely to deserve iconic status. Two date their origins back to the late 19th century, and even the newest one listed here has been around for 66 years. (For more choices, check out the can’t-miss restaurant in every state.)
Angel’s Dining Car
- Location: Palatka, Florida
- Year opened: 1932
- Sample menu items: Clam strip basket, chicken gizzard dinner
Arcade Restaurant
- Location: Memphis, Tennessee
- Year opened: 1919
- Sample menu items: Harry’s hash brown bowl (with sausage and eggs), fried peanut butter n’banana sandwich
Band Box Diner
- Location: Minneapolis
- Year opened: 1939
- Sample menu items: Breakfast burger, tuna melt (fresh tuna)
Blue Benn Diner
- Location: Bennington, Vermont
- Year opened: 1948
- Sample menu items: Matheson’s Creation (chocolate chip and raspberry pancakes), roast turkey dinner
Bob’s Diner
- Location: Bainbridge, New York
- Year opened: 1935
- Sample menu items: Monte Cristo sandwich, Big Blue Cheese Bacon Burger
Brunswick Diner
- Location: Brunswick, Maine
- Year opened: 1946
- Sample menu items: Sinatra (slow-cooked beef brisket hash with eggs, home fries, and toast), lobster BLT
Casey’s Diner
- Location: Natick, Massachusetts
- Year opened: 1922 (1927 in current location)
- Sample menu items: Egg salad melt, chopped ham and cheese sandwich
Casper’s
- Location: Springfield, Missouri
- Year opened: 1909
- Sample menu items: Frito pie, deep-fried “mac & chz”
Clanton’s Café
- Location: Vinita, Oklahoma
- Year opened: 1927
- Sample menu items: Belgian waffle, chicken-fried chicken
Clover Grill
- Location: New Orleans
- Year opened: 1939
- Sample menu items: Biscuits and gravy, jalapeño and cheese corn dog
Dumont Crystal Diner
- Location: Dumont, New Jersey
- Year opened: 1928-1932 (exact date unknown)
- Sample menu items: Super Omelette (with sausage, ham, cheese, bacon), Dumont Fire Dept. sandwich (breaded chicken, mozzarella, tomato, honey mustard)
Florida Avenue Grill
- Location: Washington, D.C.
- Year opened: 1944
- Sample menu items: Fish & grits breakfast, steamed pigs’s feet
Franks Diner
- Location: Kenosha, Wisconsin
- Year opened: 1926
- Sample menu items: Frank’s Garbage Plate (eggs, breakfast meat, cheese, homemade toast), Spam sandwich
Fuller’s Coffee Shop
- Location: Portland, Oregon
- Year opened: 1947
- Sample menu items: Pig in a blanket, Reuben sandwich
Hamburger Inn Diner
- Location: Delaware, Ohio
- Year opened: 1932
- Sample menu items: “World Famous Mighty Cinnamon Rolls,” garlic burger
Haven Brothers Diner
- Location: Providence, Rhode Island
- Year opened: 1893 (as a horse-drawn lunch wagon; today it’s a mobile unit pulled by a truck)
- Sample menu items: Crispy Buffalo chicken sandwich, bacon and cheese fries
Hector’s Cafe & Diner
- Location: New York City
- Year opened: 1949
- Sample menu items: Greek burger wrap, meatballs and spaghetti
Historic Village Diner
- Location: Red Hook, New York
- Year opened: 1927
- Sample menu items: Arleen’s homemade corned beef hash, homemade diner dunker donuts
The Hole in the Wall
- Location: Blairsville, Georgia
- Year opened: 1931
- Sample menu items: Stuffed N.Y.-style French toast cheesecake with blueberries, Malibu chicken sandwich grilled with ham and Swiss
Jerry’s Main Lunch
- Location: Burlington, Iowa
- Year opened: 1946
- Sample menu items: Country-fried steak and eggs, homemade pies
Joe Brown’s Café
- Location: Vancouver, Washington
- Year opened: 1932
- Sample menu items: The Fried Thing (ham, eggs, and cheddar on sourdough), turkey melt
Kuppy’s Diner
- Location: Middletown, Pennsylvania
- Year opened: 1933
- Sample menu items: Eggs Benedict, chipped beef on toast
Lindy’s Diner
- Location: Albuquerque, New Mexico
- Year opened: 1929
- Sample menu items: Pickle fries with ranch dressing, tamale plate
Littleton Diner
- Location: Littleton, New Hampshire
- Year opened: 1930
- Sample menu items: Littleton buckwheat pancakes, diner steak-cut chili
Luxury Diner
- Location: Cheyenne, Wyoming
- Year opened: 1926
- Sample menu items: Red or green chili cheeseburger, chicken club salad
Majestic Diner
- Location: Atlanta
- Year opened: 1929
- Sample menu items: Gyro omelet with feta and mushrooms, fried crispy haddock with tartar sauce
Al’s Breakfast
- Location: Minneapolis
- Year opened: 1940s (Al’s since 1950)
- Sample menu items: Grina (scrambled eggs with kosher salami and onions), buttermilk pancakes with corn
Oasis Diner
- Location: Plainfield, Indiana
- Year opened: 1954
- Sample menu items: Indianapolis Country Fried Breakfast (Fried tenderloin or chicken breast with eggs, home fries. and toast), Oasis Burger (double burger with pulled pork, bacon, BBQ sauce, coleslaw, pickles and cheddar)
Orem’s Diner
- Location: Wilton, Connecticut
- Year opened: 1921
- Sample menu items: Brioche French toast, chicken souvlaki on pita
Original Market Diner
- Location: Dallas
- Year opened: 1954
- Sample menu items: Chili cheese enchiladas, milky caramel cake
Payne’s Soda Fountain & Sandwich Shop
- Location: Scottsboro, Alabama
- Year opened: 1869 (counter installed 1939)
- Sample menu items: Southern pimento cheese sandwich, Grandma’s potato salad
Rae’s
- Location: Santa Monica, California
- Year opened: 1958
- Sample menu items: Bacon tidbit waffle, grilled beef liver with onions or bacon
Rudford’s
- Location: San Diego
- Year opened: 1949
- Sample menu items: House-made albacore tuna salad, mushroom Swiss burger
Ruth’s Diner
- Location: Salt Lake City
- Year opened: 1930
- Sample menu items: Ruth’s Famous Mile High Biscuits and Country Gravy, peppered pork chop
St. Francis Fountain
- Location: San Francisco
- Year opened: 1918
- Sample menu items: The Poor Man (chicken-cilantro soup over a biscuit), hot fudge banana split
Snappy Lunch
- Location: Mt. Airy, North Carolina
- Year opened: 1923
- Sample menu items: Breaded cheeseburger, World Famous Pork Chop Sandwich
Virginia Diner
- Location: Wakefield, Virginia
- Year opened: 1929
- Sample menu items: Fried green tomatoes, World Famous Peanut Pie
Summer’s Restaurant
- Location: Newberry, South Carolina
- Year opened: 1954
- Sample menu items: Flounder dinner, Double Tom Cheeseburger with avocado
The Summit Diner
- Location: Summit, New Jersey
- Year opened: 1928 (current location since 1939)
- Sample menu items: Taylor ham and egg breakfast sandwich, Yankee pot roast
White Mana Diner
- Location: Jersey City, New Jersey
- Year opened: 1939
- Sample menu items: Spicy chicken strips and fries, Big Web burger with cheese and bacon
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