The Diner Isn't Dead

A love letter to the American diner.

So many significant moments of my life have been summarized at the diner. In elementary school, after our school’s spring concert, my mom would take us to the diner for ice cream sundaes and fries. In high school, after homecoming dances and prom, we would stop at the diner for burgers or chicken tenders before any partying was to commence. In college, on a Sunday morning with smudged makeup under our eyes and an undeniable lack of sleep, my friends and I would go to the diner to rehash the events of the night prior over veggie scrambles and toast. Still today, I text my friends on a Sunday morning and we’ll meet at the diner to recount our weekends and discuss the week ahead. (The only difference is that I’ve learned to remove my makeup before bed.)

I’m using “the diner” here as a general term because I’m referring to the classic American diner that can be found in nearly every zip code in the United States. You know the kind. Laminated menus that contain an expansive list of every food item you could possibly imagine. Vinyl booths. Newspaper clippings framed on the walls. A glass case of cinnamon buns and homemade pies and heavily-frosted cookies. Kitschy collectible objects fitfully placed on a shelf behind the register. A Coca-Cola plastic clock that probably hasn’t worked since 2005. Servers and line cooks who have been working there since Clinton was president. Perhaps a photograph on the wall of what the diner looked like when it opened in the 70s (and it still looks the same). Perhaps a jukebox.

The American diner is a longstanding part of our culture that preserves the past in an understated way we fail to recognize. Flashy new restaurants are always opening, but how often do you walk into a diner and think, Wow it feels really 2025 in here. Times change, but the diner doesn’t. The vinyl booths always welcome you, and the menu always offers whatever your heart desires. At the diner, you can have whatever you want, whenever you want. In many such cases, you can play your own music!!!! It’s the perfect third space, which is why it’s the location for so many iconic scenes in American movies & television. Do you think “I’ll have what she’s having” would’ve worked in a Michelin-starred restaurant with a prix fixe menu? No! Do you think the line, “Shall we get more coffee or shall we get guns and kill ourselves?” would hit as hard if Carrie Bradshaw delivered it while rushing on the sidewalk with a to-go coffee cup? No! What about the opening scene of Pulp Fiction? Would that have been as iconic if it were filmed in a Starbucks? Absolutely not! The diner is quintessential Americana. It’s an immutable symbol of American culture that welcomes anyone, offers everything, and can be found nearly anywhere. And in most cases, it’s cheap.

I can’t think of a time in my life that wasn’t calculated by the kinds of discussions that happen in a diner. There was a snowy Saturday a few winters ago when I wasn’t feeling like myself and didn’t want to leave the house. My best friend Jack suggested we go to the diner. “Come onnnn, you’ll feel better,” he pleaded on the phone. I laced on my Sorel snow boots (first and only time I’ve worn them) and trudged up the west side to get to Empire Diner. There were no cars on the road, and the snow on the sidewalks was pristine. Once I arrived, I remember instantly feeling better after I’d ordered my waffle and felt myself sink into the booth, grateful to have the comfort of a friend and the coziness of the diner.

There’s serenity in enjoying a comfort meal with people you love in a space that’s remained untouched over time. Anytime you want. In the trailer for the 1982 movie Diner, the narrator voices over, “It’s a place to stop [pause]… before movin’ on.” Sooooo true.

The diner isn’t dead! Long live the diner!

My Favorite Diners !!!!!!!!!

• La Bonbonniere (West Village, New York, NY) <3

• Waverly Diner (Greenwich Village, New York, NY)

• Thai Diner (Nolita, New York, NY)

• S&P (Flatiron, New York, NY)

• Glenburn Grill and Bakery (Clarks Summit, PA)

• The Downyflake (Nantucket, MA) - RIP, gone but never forgotten

• Clinton Street Baking Company (Lower East Side, New York, NY)

• Golden Diner (Lower East Side, New York, NY)

• Empire Diner (Chelsea, New York, NY)

• Cowgirl (West Village, New York, NY)

• Winfield’s Diner (Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn, NY)

• Waffle House (Clarks Summit, PA)

• Mission City Grill (Santa Clara, CA)