Lombard streets served up an only-in-Philly menu of hot dogs, fishcakes and Champ In the late 1970s, the Dewey's restaurants in Philadelphia began to fold, victims to competition from national fast food chains like . Stuccoed into obscurity at Annas. Philadelphia's Best New Restaurants Visit Philly Great memories! RESTAURANTS | Encyclopedia of Cleveland History | Case Western Reserve To use an example that one would typically take for granted: even something as mumdane as chicken tenders at the pre-Michael Melrose were better than other places. While i frequent my old neighborhood diner (trolley car diner)most often, one that i really love that is always superb to me is the Four Seasons Diner on cottman Avenue. If you're a scraper, please click the link below :-) 8013 Castor Avenue, (215) 342-3005; 2153 S. Hancock Street, (215) 462-1637, lipkinsoriginalbakery.com. In 1981, Joe Morozin went to the Swingle company of Middlesex, New Jersey and asked for something a little different. In the first decade of the 21st century, Petrogiannis also snapped up the Tiffany, Country Club, and Broad Street diners. Philadelphia History: Drinking places Greater Philadelphia. And for post-dining . The point is, it was plenty neighborhoody. Twenty-four diners now operate in Philadelphia, down from 30 in 1990 when I first toured the city (Ive visited more than 1,000 across the country). Philadelphias decline was well under way by the time I was born. Not surprisingly, we saw movies constantly, and relied upon them as instructional manuals. The buses and subways are gross. Trolley Car strikes that rare balance between food quality and attitude. One year, we heard a judge was hosting one of these parade-watching parties. At the same time, she hinted thathertaco cart might be back in some form in the future, so were holding out hope. The Golden Sword Diner is now a latin-themed night club. It did have Oak Lane Diner on the front in Art Deco style. Read page 1980 of the latest Best Of news, headlines, stories, photos, and video from CBS News. CLOSED NOW. Then there were our parents, the incense vendors, all those hookers on Broad and on 13th, my Quaker teachers with the puzzling facial hair. The Mayfair Diner ended an 80-year run under the same family in 2006. Santa Barbara's Restaurant History At the beginning of June, the City served a notice tothe owners that stated they had 30 days to either fix it or demolish it. a seafood-centric menu, heavy on the truffles and Champagne. a jumbo dog and mashed potato heavy fishcakes served on an 12 Historic Philadelphia Bars You Can Visit | Mental Floss 8 Lesser-Known Abortion Funds to Support Post-Roe, Your Guide to This Weeks Eagles-Giants Playoff Game. Simple menus of meat, potatoes, eggs and pancakes becomedizzying cornucopias of sauted, fried, broiled, grilled, tossed, and of course, bakedostensibly on premises.. The Love. Her name was Taz Lang and she was brutally murdered. The diner, one of the anchors of the neighborhood, remains boarded up. What looked like the longest, stainless steel diner on the planet (which was actually a very long diner married expertly to an existing cinder-block, stainless-clad addition) welcomed you inside with nothing but superlatives. The city elected its first Black mayor in 1983, W. Wilson Goode, whose first administration was marred by the 1985 Move tragedy. The Boulevard has gone through a series of ownerships in the past 10 to 15years, probably because of its poor location, but maybe also because of its crazy, hall-of-mirrors interior. Stephen Starr converted a mid-1960s Fodero diner and appropriately swanked the joint up making it one of the citys best known martini lounges. Seen here in 1993 during a bus tour of the region's diners sponsored by the Society of Commercial Archeology, the sale of the 1940 Paramount attracted a great deal of interest, but ultimately no takers. ChifaClosed in: 2013At Chifa, Jose Garces focused on the relationship between Peruvian cuisine and its Cantonese influence,puttingyuca fries, lomo saltado, soup dumplings, and scallion pancakes all on one glorious menu. the end, hosting lavish breakfasts and brunches, power lunches and dinners The stronghold of McDonald's, Pizza Hut , Burger King, and other giants of the '80s made the competition stiff. The place had a well earned reputation for great food and friendly wait staff, and it was ruined, just like that. legendary carrot cake. | Photo: Randy Garbin. I enjoyed the article. That was largely original but sparsely patronized. Whether or not hes actually improved on any of them depends on who you ask. Blanc de Blancs Champagnes are different from the majority of Champagnes.Check the list. It has been so long, but that name rings a familiar bell. From there, unfortunately, it was all downhill. My grandfather purchased the property and had the diner built in the 50s It was then Jersey Queen Diner. Taco AngelenoClosed in: 2018West Phillys lack of great pizza and Mexican fare is widely acknowledged (hey, South Philly has tons of both and is just a quick ride over the Grays Ferry bridge). Now these places are a CVS, a Mandee, an empty lot, a soon-to-be-demolished historic relic. Yeah the Mayfair Diner was a pretty great one, Id been there a few times a year, from 1989 until sometime in 2006 or 2007, which I just found from the article is about when Petrogannis bought it. Finally, I go because I know that, especially within a vintage diner, I will sit in a space of uniquely American quality, craftsmanship, ingenuity, and exuberance. Open in Google Maps. How could we not love this place? And instead of a suburban Dairy Queen parking lot, we had Rittenhouse Square. But after three and a half years, slow weeknights at Koo Zee Doo prompted owners Carla Gonalves and David Gilbertto close down. Like the renovations at the Melrose, they could have been much worse, and Petrogiannis even applied a restrained and classy palate to the interior. Only one of us was brave enough to go in; the rest waited outside, flat against the wall, like felons in a lineup. when I see one shut down. Although Perrier announced in July 2010 that he planned to close the . Defunct Philly area restaurants - Google Groups The Creed franchise is a child of the king of boxing films 1976's "Rocky" and its five sequels. But no, the owners just had to go and crash land this beauty into a sea of ugly. Italian. (This suspicion of nice things began early.). They live on in the form of dead Yelp pages and in our memories. Photograph by I. George Bilyk Great photos on the wall. Up until then the food and service were great, and they had fantastic thick-cut bacon. Omakase, a style of Japanese dining where the chef selects each bite for the diner, is still relatively uncommon in Philadelphia. When we walked to school at 17th and the Parkway, dealers would try to sell us drugs (and I have no doubt they sometimes succeeded). A bakery and an expanded dining room was added later. from the Pittsburgh area to Philadelphia, with . 2400 Market St 4th Fl. Was there a Galaxy Diner located on Erie Ave. below I Street back in the Sixties / Seventies ? Another Michael Petrogiannis diner. In part, its basic childhood nostalgia. Howard Johnson's. Photo courtesy of thedailymeal.com. Patty Brett, the owner of the uniquely unchanging Doobies at 22nd and Lombard, remembers packs of wild dogs running loose in the area: There were many abandoned churches and gas stations in our neighborhood. Long-gone Philadelphia restaurants that Craig LaBan (and our readers Even though nations first automat restaurant made its debut in My dad used to take us to Dee Dees for dinner when I was a kid We lived on Belgrade St. back then. Your email address will not be published. While the the iconic Melrose and the Mayfair, both currently owned by Michael Petrogiannis, remain, the vast majority are gone. I just couldnt remember where it was. Sad long after selling and the fire. Diner manufacturers eventually centered in northern New Jersey, where for a good 70 years they produced iconic stainless steel restaurants. In the case of the Broad Street Diner, they also replaced a shoddy vinyl awning that adorned the restaurantfor years. From the looks of things, it has also seen several makeovers, the last one happening a year ago, making any effort to detect original features futile. Enjoying our content? Campiglia was from New Jersey . Palumbo's, 9/Catharine: Decent gravy joint, but the ambience was sooo 1950s. Huntingdon Valley (7 miles) Abington (7 miles) Jenkintown (8 miles) Feasterville Trevose (8 miles) Bensalem (9 miles) Glenside (11 miles) Willow Grove (11 miles) Pennsauken (11 miles) Southampton (12 miles) Moorestown (14 miles) Cherry Hill (15 miles) And at this haute moment, dining out is what passes for a night's entertainment. 1310 Drury Street, Philadelphia, PA 19107. They tortured me and my friends during grade school because we had no choice but to encroach on their turf: Our school was at 25th and Lombard, and recess was at their park. The Melrose Diner underwent a relatively light, though completely unnecessary exterior renovation in 2010. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Your email address will not be published. If you're a scraper, please click the link below :-) What Philadelphia looked like in the 1980s Through These Fascinating Photos. I started at 13 yrs old. ONE BOY WHO accompanied our Bellevue wanderings was the son of a South Street fortune-teller. If you want meatloaf you can get that, but you can also get jambalaya or a big, leafy salad instead and polish it all off with a bottle of Ommegang Hennepin ale. Jack Doneius bought a run-down, but well-preserved diner in Manhattans lower West Side, spruced it up, and started serving upscale food. But beyond that, this: Living now in Georgia, diners are much missed by this 91 year old Philly/south Jersey lad. It's RADICALLY different from all the others: It's a Pure Energy, bubble gum pop, super charged, time-travel thrill! This search result is here to prevent scraping, Hop Sing Laundromat Charging $75 for Bar Reservations, Exciting I-95 Capping Project Finally Begins In Philadelphia, Those Gummies May Not Have Contained Fentanyl After All, Why I'm Boycotting the Roots Picnic This Year. Rundown of Eateries Opened from 1875 to 1986. Steel's, Finelli's and Dooner's were among the exclusive drinking resorts of the early eighties. But even with incredible eating options debuting on The sense of lawlessness was pervasive. flavors. Whether that was a sign of things to come with the celebrity chef Chifa waseventually replaced with Cuban diner Rosa Bianca, another concept that didnt take or it just opened a decade or so before its time, it would have been nice for Peruvian fare to take hold in the city back then. The transit stations and concourses were so much more dismal back then that now when I find a SEPTA station unpleasant, I recall what used to be and think, Aw, thats just a tiny puddle of pee. | Photo: Randy Garbin. Does anyone have old photos of the Marlane Diner on Marshall Rd in Upper Darby and/or the Industrial Diner (much older), on Industrial Hwy? Meme posted that she thought it was a place called DeDes and I believe that was the one I was thinking of. I dont want to step in dog waste, or walk 10 blocks before I can find a trash can. In 1920 Cleveland had 76 hotels, serving 796,841 townspeople. Randy, Thanks for acknowledging the original Oak Lane Diner which does in fact still exist in Newburgh, N.Y. GQ wrote, Philadelphia has more going for it now than ever.. A proper omelet is carefully fried in a well-seasoned aluminum pan with the filling folded in. The story of how the Trolley Car came to Mount Airy begins with a few too many beers. That all ended with Michael Petrogiannis. He was the publisher and editor of Roadside Magazine and RoadsideOnline, a magazine and website that promoted its Recipe for an American Renaissance: Eat in diners. Great article thank you. Vetri Cucina. I like how Starrs designers paid loving homage to the Mad Men era by stripping away some of the diners original colonial-style trappings. Definitely wish we could have one more dish here. But amid the onslaught of new restaurants opening all over the city year after year, there are the fallen soldiers: old-school spots that got priced out due to rising rents, hotshot chefs whose ambition outstripped their business sense (or maybe just their luck), and concepts that made great food but, for whatever reason, just didnt take. The Domino Diner suffered a fire eight years ago and is likely abandoned now. THIS RESTAURANT IS CLOSED The Garden Philadelphia PA Reviews - GAYOT Manufacturing was collapsing, the population was falling, and the tax base was turning to dust. dinner dining room with views of the Swann Fountain was elegant up until I always knew I was in good hands when a waitress would appear asking Whatll youse have, hon? I would bar-be-cue my dear old grandmama to be able to move back to Philadelphia. Melrose really had some good food under the Kubachs. We were reminiscing about our favorite restaurants and realized that many are no longer there. But it was. Philadelphia way back in 1902, 115 years later, the concept still feels PhillyVoice Contributor, 6 great places to break up with someone in Philly, 5 Philly hoods you wouldnt have recognized 60 years ago, a particularly damning review from Craig Laban, Jason Kelce could make a 'Saturday Night Live' cameo with his brother Travis hosting, School District of Philadelphia to relocate Building 21 students following asbestos exposure, Eagles wide receiver Zach Pascal robbed at gunpoint in Maryland, Eli Lilly slashed insulin prices, starting a race to the bottom. More often than not, the grill goes cold and a suburban chain moves in. | Photo: Michael Bixler. What I wrote about Kabobeesh applies to the Penrose as well. DjangoClosed in: 2008Before there was Aimee Olexy and Stephen Starr as successful a restaurant businesspartnership as the city has ever seen there was Aimee Olexy and Bryan Sikora, chef and Olexys then-husband. (185) The end result should be a bright yellow, fluffy egg turnover that snugly blankets the filling. Boulevard Diner is now part of a car dealer. Everyone enjoys eating out at Santa Barbara's amazing array of eateries. That would be so bad for me some 50 years later. | Photo: Randy Garbin. Places Near Northeast Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA with 80s Night Clubs. My favorite diners get creative, while still serving up the classics and preferably with fresh ingredients. Throwback Thursday: A fond look back at long vanished South Bend restaurants. 10 of Philly's most missed closed restaurants | PhillyVoice My parents would take me to DeeDees diner every Friday for the fried seafood platter. Thank you so much. Lots of graffiti on everything, and a general fear of walking down the street late at night. When I lived near it (2002-2004), the Oak Lane was under original ownership, managed by a young man from the family who had it since 1946. Parents kept their stashes in the open. 11 Dining Trends From the '80s That Are Poised for a Comeback . One of my favorite Philadelphia restaurants of all time was Frankie Bradley's. I went there for years, and usually ate prime rib, which was . Sit in the Square, as we did, and it was a pageant: People were black and white, gay and straight, rich and poor. I live around the corner from the Oak Lane Diner. Here you'll find all collections you've created before. over the Bookbinders building between Front and Second on Walnut Street, but even It was great fun. Kids discussed open marriages in art class, and the 2000 block of Sansom Street was the bohemian center of the west-of-Broad universe, with head shops, cafes and clubs that leaked strains of poetry, jazz, disco, and the smoke of that natural plant. The city does have some great Portuguese spots (Cafe Liz and Peruvian hybrid El Balconcito come to mind), but theyre all solidly in North or Northeast Philly. The third being the current location at 1501 Snyder Ave. Did anyone mention STENTON DINER? I suppose so. In its last incarnation, old heads from the Leroys Showcase Lounge days drank alongside members of the queer punk bands playing shows upstairs. I want a good meal at a reasonable price, but I also want to connect with actual peoplestaff and customers. Since the 1950s, the Perloff family ran the Country Club in the Rhawnhurst neighborhood catering to its Jewish community. In honor of Classics Week, it's time for a fond look back at long-gone Dallas restaurants, beginning with a visual tour of vintage Dallas restaurant menus. There were also those nightclubs and discos: lan, Black Banana, Artemis, Revival, London Victory Club which, in glossy Studio 54 hindsight, must make Center City sound somewhat glamorous. cash only, after-hours spot for a hangover fighting something or other from Both the Melrose and the Mayfair shared a particularly endearing practice of pinning their waitresses with the year they started service. I forget its name at the time, but it could have been Stacys Place.. They really dont build them like this anymore. Snow Whites space at 2nd and Market was reopened under the same ownership as Revolution House,a kid-friendly yet upscale spot for pizza, beer, and pub grub, but it just doesnt have the same cachet. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. But Chifa was also the first Garces restaurant to falter, closing after four years in business. 16 Beloved Restaurants Only '70s Kids Will Remember - Yahoo! Great article !! Recently, a seersucker-and-madras-clad man at a Mural Arts event I went to railed against graffitis cancerous, corrosive effect on Philadelphia. The formula - burgers, sandwiches, and lots of ice cream chosen from a menu shaped . They also all use the same playbook so any differences become nuance. We won't fault you for getting misty-eyed over these failed fast-food chain restaurants from the 1980s. MONDAY - FRIDAY. The diner was likely built by either OMahony or Mountain View, but, except for the terrazzo floor, youll find almost no features that would indicate pedigree. I worked there as a dishwasher in the 1980s. The last time I wandered in I found an angry looking man in a suit managing the place, and very scared looking waitstaff scurrying about everywhere. I also waitressed at Oak Lane Diner when I was in grad school in the late 70s (Hmm, tuition=extra money=diner job). Chi-Chi's. Wikimedia Commons/Nostaljack/Public Domain. Good soups and lunch. Bringing together international flavors in a time before the term "fusion" had any culinary connotations, Frog and its casual counterpart, The Gus Tsionis Steak House Gus Tsionis . Now, the chef is attached to the upcoming Fitler Club, and yet another concept, Tipsy Bistro, has opened in the Fat Hams former home. This diner is a perfect example ofwhy you do not want to become a diner aficionado. Your email address will not be published. They put this odd addition on the front that never was completed. Sometime in the aughts theystripped out more. If you would like to change your settings or withdraw consent at any time, the link to do so is in our privacy policy accessible from our home page.. Im both stunned that they chose Philly and aggravated by all their complaints which, if theyve moved here from Portland, can be quite numerous. | Content Licensing, Copyright 1996-2023 GAYOT All Rights Reserved Privacy Policy Disclaimer Terms of Use GAYOT (pronounced guy-OH) The Guide To The Good Life. On the other hand, dont count on it being there forever. Now, well have the opposite a luxury hotel erected by New York developers ona spot thatmany Philadelphiansconsiderhallowed ground. Coach House Restaurant: 1980-1999 - Returned 2002-2003 See 2605 Philadelphia Pike: Page 2 Page 3: Coach 'N Four: Open 1964 - 1970 See 2605 Philadelphia Pike: Yes: . for the luncheonettes griddled cheeseburgers or hand-scooped milkshakes, this What I like, you may not. The food is better, but kids dont go there to spill secrets over a shared can of seltzer and a ham and cheese sandwich. Food was good, too! Anchoring the east side of South Philly, the Oregon Diner has uncertain pedigree, but almost certainly emerged from one of the major diner factories in the 1960s. People were mugged a lot, and women didnt travel in most Center City areas alone.. We knew every corner of each others homes, including whose Rittenhouse Square rooftop made for the best water-balloon launching pad. Our friend came out with big news: There was a baggie of cocaine in the room. Its a bygone era but those few diners that remain, I make it a point to eat in one of them when Im visiting my sisters and relatives. They began showing up in every majorcity and small town across the Northeast. I waitressed there for several months in the early/mid-1970s. The best diners pay loving homage to its past, but also strive to write their own history and become landmarks in their own right. But it felt like home. 2 14 Great Philly Restaurants We Wish Hadn't Closed; 3 1980s - The Literate Quilter; 4 Restaurant Picks - Escape the 1980's - Escape the 1980s; 5 Philadelphia restaurants in the 1980s; 6 Vetri, Le Bec-Fin, La Panetire: The illustrious culinary history of; 7 Closed Restaurants in Philadelphia Area, Pennsylvania - GAYOT Favorite Resaurants That Aren't There Anymore - Philadelphia Forum The late 60s and early 70s in Philadelphia were pretty relaxed. In Spain. Just a classic Chinese restaurant menu today. The Franklin Institute, but his biggest contribution to the city has to be Philly's dance-club scene set for a comeback - Inquirer.com Diner long gone. 14 Great Philly Restaurants We Wish Hadn't Closed - Philadelphia Magazine Do remember the Diner on Lancaster Avenue in Bryn Mawr called the Blu Comet around late 1950s till 1972. What Philadelphia looked like in the 1980s Through These - Bygonely 1970s philadelphia restaurants - stmatthewsbc.org This city has been the butt of jokes for so long going back to W.C. Fields, after all that its still hard to believe that newcomers and investors finally consider it worthy. Bobs Diner looks a little worn out after nearly 80 years at the same location, but the neighborhood loves it, especially on weekends when youll wait a while for a seat. Petrogiannis put his own stamp on things with a silly turret-like roofline to raise the diners profile. Write by: . Facebook/A Slice of the 80s. Brother of Patrick Mahomes accused of assault by restaurant owner and Schuylkill River Park, now family-friendly with its dog park (with special areas for big and small dogs) and creative landscape architecture, was rather seedy. Now he owns the big, Mediterranean style structure of undetermined ancestry. https://m.facebook.com/lhapachapter/posts/memories-of-the-blu-comet-diner/3824830150954142/?locale=ne_NP&_rdr, It was known fondly as the greasy spoon by the Villanova students. At the Philadelphia Museum of Art in August 1973. Or maybe I just miss my old neighborhood. Not sure if they serve diner fare besides the chinese menu. | Photo: Randy Garbin. My lastvisit did nothing to change that general impression. Unused Pre-1980 RESTAURANT SCENE Philadelphia Pennsylvania PA hk4537 | eBay 1970s philadelphia restaurants. To view the purposes they believe they have legitimate interest for, or to object to this data processing use the vendor list link below. McD's in Montreal used to as late as 1980 (and the Quarter Pounder could actually turn out medium rare ..)-bebopper. What is going on with this cemeterybillboards, a diner? The Olde Bar : A Contemporary Oyster Saloon with snapper soup on the menu, theres no way that this newish iteration Sweet Tom, who took me to both proms and was basically my first husband, lived at 25th and Lombard. March 4, 2023 / FoxNewsFeeds. Polynesian-themed, date night spot on the 1700 block of Walnut Street. Senior year, a friend and I went to see Hannah and Her Sisters. In the 80s he built the Ritz. Thank you meme. The diner offers a basic, no-frills menu. Throwback Thursday: A fond look back at long vanished South Bend Spice Grill in Port Richmond. Philadelphia in the 1980s Through Fascinating Photos Photograph by Dick Swanson/The National Archive, The opening of Return of the Jedi at the SamEric theater, better known as the Boyd Theater, which is now slated for demolition. Outstanding memories. Fifteen years later Weinstein has proven both his knowledge of his market and his appreciation for the authentic diner experienceone refreshingly devoid of cutesy, cheap nostalgia that rises far above the tired greasy spoon trope.