Once your trip gets longer and longer one of the most important things you might find on the side of your way are diners. In their earliest appearance they were only wagons drawn by horses and placed on the roadside. Later, the classic American roadside Diners started to become popular after WW I, when automotive travelling began to grow rapidly.
Garfield Diner diners © by Muffet
Along the highways diners were built to cover the demands of hungry tourist. Around 1930 there was already an early stage of mass traffic to be experienced on American roads making diners an absolutely essential part of long distance routes.
After a short decline during WW II roadside diners became an ubiquitous roadside phenomenon during the 1950s. They offered full menus including breakfast, lunch and dinner. The quality of the meals was supposed to be of decent quality while still supposed to be cheap. Whoever needed a fresh, quick meal was able to find it there, from the poor to the rich people.
The diner’s rapidly evolved from simple eateries to elegant and decorated restaurant-like places. A special phenomenon among the diners could be found in all-in-one-package diners. Those diners were readily assembled as prefabricated houses and then transported to the place the new owner bought for it. This way, a whole diner could be pop out at a new place over the course of a few days.
Nowadays, most traditional diners are gone and replaced by drive-in-restaurants. So, if you find one don’t miss the chance!
