Author Offers ‘Food for Thought’ at SHU Talk
Michael C. Gabriele, author of “Stories from New Jersey Diners—Monuments to Community,” was at Sacred Heart University in early October to share his insights about the inception, spread, history and future of diners. It’s a favorite topic for him; after all, he pegs New Jersey as the diner capital of the world, and he’s a New Jersey guy.
“Diners have always been a hub in the community, a place to meet and eat, where you talk with friends and make your memories,” said Gabriele, who went to New Jersey diners with friends as a young man, usually at 2 a.m. on the way back from a foray to New York City, with interest in having a bite and curious about who they might see there.
The diner concept was born in Providence, RI, in the 1870s. An entrepreneur perceived that late-shift factory workers would want food after work, which he provided via horse-and-wagon. People liked the roadside attraction, which was radical at the time, and it became popular as a “night lunch business.” Companies began to build wagons specifically for the budding industry, which spread through New England and into New Jersey, taking root there. Jerry O’Mahony, in Bayonne, NJ, was an early pioneer. A people person, he started to build and sell lunch wagons in 1912. His creations became the gold standard for diner builders, who concentrated in New Jersey.
Next came pre-fabricated, stationary diners built in factories and carefully tailored to their intended location. The manufacturers were a great support to people who wanted their own businesses. The “Streamline Moderne” Art Deco design was very popular, with horizontal lines, rounded corners and a shiny, stainless steel exterior — “capturing speed in design” according to Gabriele. It helped diners become part of the American scene from the 1920s to 1950s, though diners didn’t translate nationwide. “Drive-ins” were the trend outside the Northeast.
The industry became saturated and slowed down by the late ’50s, when the fast food restaurant march began. Manufacturers shut down, the last two being Coleman and P.M.C. Favorite diners survived and their owners started to buy the properties on which they sat so they could expand, maintaining the retro style but shrinking the counter space, which Gabriele bemoaned. “That’s the best place to meet and talk with people,” he said.
Though Sacred Heart’s own diner, JP’s, is not a New Jersey-based eatery, it holds a spot in Gabriele’s book. The connection is its inspiration and namesake—SHU President John Petillo—who is a “Jersey guy.” Opened in October 2017, the diner’s façade bears an image of Petillo’s trademark bowtie.
Other author favorites in New Jersey include Moustache Bill’s in Long Beach Island, which won a James Beard award for quality and freshness; Broad Street Diner in Keyport, which was voted the state’s best diner; Shamong Diner in southern Jersey, owned by an Indian man and his Kuwait-born wife, offering Indian dishes; and classic Summit Diner in Summit, which has stayed mostly intact since its establishment in 1938.
Asked if the diner model is sustainable in the 21st century, Gabriele offered that diners likely will survive in New Jersey. Some are being bought and relocated, even shipped to Europe. A New Jersey-bred woman recently bought (through e-Bay) the Crossroads Diner of Belvidere in her home state and is moving it to upstate New York.