According to a published report, the rebirth of the Miss Portland Diner is now on track to happen before the end of this year.

The AP article further states that Newsweek magazine exec Thomas Manning will proceed with the purchase of the 58 year old diner building as well as land along Portland's Marginal Way, now that the city has granted him and win and beer license, which occured earlier this week.

Here's a link to the brief piece.

When National Guard Cpl. Scott Carter of Wilmington was stationed in Iraq, in 2004, he told a Star-News reporter that he was thinking about fried shrimp at Middle of the Island, with sweet potatoes and green beans. Somehow, mess hall chow just wasn’t the same.

Lots of folks would agree with the corporal – and lots of them will be dreaming more and more, now that Middle of the Island is a thing of the past.

Officially, the end came with the closing of Middle & McDaniel, the nine-month-old merger of Middle of the Island with McDaniel Farms Creamery on South College Road.

For old-timers, though, nothing’s been the same since the original MOI – everyone called it by that abbreviation – shut down on Oct. 8 at its Wrightsville Beach location, 216 Causeway Drive.

A beach institution since 1959, MOI harked back to an earlier, less glittery, pre-condo Wrightsville. In latter days, a whole wall at the Causeway Drive location was given over to a mural of a yellow “beach car” – the locals didn’t call them trolleys – rumbling on its way from Wilmington, sometime long before World War II.

Staten Island, NY
The Victory Diner is finally scheduled to move from Richmond Road in Dongan Hills to Midland Beach early Tuesday morning, according to the Parks Department.

The landmark chrome-and-neon diner is expected to be hoisted from its current location onto a flatbed truck tomorrow and start its journey to the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Boardwalk Tuesday morning at 4:30. It will temporarily be stored behind the women's comfort station, before being moved to a more permanent spot at the end of the boardwalk and the start of the promenade, near the Freedom Circle. It is not certain when that move will happen.

Originally scheduled to be moved last week, Parks Department officials and workers for the Lancaster, Pa.-based rigging company in charge of the project hoped the relocation could happen early Monday morning. But delays in moving the Moondance Diner out of Manhattan, en route to its new Wyoming home, pushed back the Victory Diner move.

Moving the restaurant from Dongan Hills to Midland Beach is expected to take about 45 minutes and be done in time for the Tuesday morning rush hour, said Bonnie Williams with the Parks Department.

Facing an uncertain future of demolition or sale, the Victory Diner was saved when a group of Island leaders intervened to purchase it for use near a future kiddie park, proposed by Borough President James P. Molinaro. Among them were the Parks Department, the Richmond County Savings Bank Foundation, the Advance, and the nonprofit Staten Island Community Preservation Conservancy, established by Molinaro and developer R. Randy Lee.

A brief piece in The Adirondack Daily Enterprise should be of interest to diner fans. Click here and scroll down to read the snippets from the 1942 police blotter, in which a couple of lunch cars / diners play a part...

It now stands as just a shadow of its former self. The Triangle Motel, built around 1945, has fallen into disrepair the last 30 years, but its new owner is convinced he can turn it around. "It's been around for like 60 years and it's in really good shape for something that old," said owner Alan McNeil. "It's old and it's been neglected."

McNeil has been putting in long hours, giving it the attention it has missed for decades.

He bought the motel, at 7954 Amarillo Blvd., a year ago, right after it had been condemned. The Texas Historical Commission later sent a letter to the city claiming the motel was eligible to be placed on the National Register of Historical Places. No further action has been taken.

Howard Bilderback, of Amarillo's Department of Building Safety, said the motel got a one-year moratorium for the new owner to make substantial progress cleaning it up. Bilderback said the building should be coming up for review soon.

The motel served as a Route 66 motor court and as a stop for travelers during the route's heyday. It consists of two buildings with carports and motel rooms and has been boarded up since the 1990s.

McNeil said he's certain he can restore the Triangle Motel to its former glory.

Retro 50 Diner, a venerable Coney Island eatery off the Cropsey Avenue exit of the Belt Parkway, was abruptly shuttered last weekend, leaving many in the community scratching their heads attempting to figure out what became of Coney Island’s only traditional stand-alone diner.

“Is there nothing on the door that says ‘Summer Vacation’ or anything?” asked a disbelieving Judy Orlando of Astella Development Corporation, a non-profit community-improvement organization.

Orlando said that because of its location just off the Belt Parkway, the diner drew many more motorists than pedestrians. Citing a nearby Pathmark, as well as a Home Depot and a Linens ‘n’ Things that have sprung up in recent years, Orlando was surprised the diner did not benefit from the increased vehicle traffic.

“There’s so much stuff around there now. If anything, I would think business would be better than ever before,” she said.

Chuck Reichenthal, District Manager of the local Community Board 13, was similarly mystified. “It’s hard to imagine that it couldn’t make it a go of it in that spot,” he said. “But obviously there are things beyond our understanding.”

From time to time, diners pop up for sale on eBay. If you're in need of a tiny Kullman, which looks to have been "renovated," one is now on the auction block. The diner is a '55 era car with 15 stools and is currently in Cleveland.

Here's the link.

By Jeff Gearino | Jackson Hole Star Tribune | August 09, 2007

The plan has been clarified, New York City inspectors appear satisfied, and the cross-country odyssey of the famed Moondance Diner from Manhattan to its new home in southwest Wyoming could begin later today, the new owners said.

"We certainly ran into a bump yesterday, but things were running smoothly today and seem to be moving along," new owner Cheryl Pierce said Wednesday afternoon. "Hopefully they'll be loaded onto the truck and ready to leave New York City late Thursday."

Find the rest of the story here.

Harrisburg, PA
The Spot and its famous franks are headed toward memory lane.

After almost seven decades in business, the Kaldes family is shutting its landmark city restaurant at Walnut and North Second streets.

Increases in rent and the cost of food prompted the family's decision to close the eatery at the end of September.

"It went up, everything is going up," said owner Billy Kaldes. "There is only so much you can do with the hot dog. It's getting tough."

"I knew it was coming," Kaldes said, adding that he tried to delay the inevitable. "I didn't want to let it go. I guess it's going to be a shock to some people."

Restaurants and bars serving everything from martinis and sushi to steaks and chicken wings have come and gone along Restaurant Row, while The Spot, with its simple menu, which includes hot dogs, hamburgers and cold beer, remained a city fixture.