Miss Mendon Diner

The diner holds a unique place in American history. The first recorded diner was a horse-drawn wagon equipped to serve hot food to employees of the Providence Journal, in Providence, Rhode Island, in 1872. Walter Scott, who ran the lunch wagon, had previously supplemented his income by selling sandwiches and coffee to his fellow pressmen at the Journal from baskets he prepared at home. Commercial production of lunch wagons began in Worcester, Massachusetts, in 1887, by Thomas Buckley. Buckley was very successful and became known for his "White House Cafe" wagons. Charles Palmer received the first patent (1891) for the diner. He built his "fancy night cafes" and "night lunch wagons" in the Worcester area until 1901. In 1906 Philip Duprey and Irving Stoddard established the Worcester Lunch Car Company, which shipped 'diners' all over the Eastern Seaboard. The first manufactured lunch wagons with seating appeared throughout the Northeastern US in the late 19th century, serving busy downtown locations without the need to buy expensive real estate. It is generally accepted that the name "diner" as opposed to "lunch wagon" was not widely used before 1925. Many diners still exist in the Worcester area.
Miss Mendon began her journey in 1950 as a hand drawn sketch at the desk of a designer at the Worcester dining car company in Worcester MA. Since then she has had a storied history and has made a number of stops on her way to the little town of Mendon MA. She has been painted re tiled and seen her share of characters come and go over the years, She has seen good times and not so good times heard stories of times gone by and secrets never to be repeated but has managed to come through the years with grace and character.

Miss Mendon actually started her life as Miss Newport and her car number was #823. She was delivered on May 16th 1950 to 985 E Main St Newport, Orleans County, VT her first owner was Mr. Noble Craft, she remained on the same site for 43 years until she was purchased by Dave Prichard of Salisbury, Massachusetts, Mr. Prichard operated the diner until he sold it to Kevin Meehan in 2006. Mr. Meehan moved the diner to the little town of Mendon in 2008, completely refurbished it and has brought her back to her original glory. Attached are the original hand sketches of the designers impressions of the car. As you will see, not much has changed after all these years. The car layout remains the same as it did in 1950; we have modernized it a little bit, added a new dining area onto the side, and built a professional kitchen on to the back of the car and, re chromed the seats and cleaned up and restored all of the finishes. Today Miss Mendon looks like she was built yesterday, her character however has not changed, she still evokes fond memories of times gone by, neon lighting, juke boxes at every table great American comfort foods and service that is friendly and courteous will take you back to a great time in American history. We are excited to share Miss Mendon Diner to all who pass our way. We look forward to seeing you soon.

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