Some 3 1/2 years ago, city officials put out the welcome mat to allow Patricia Brown to park her idle dining car, covered by a blue tarp, sitting rent-free on a city-owned vacant lot on Middle Street.

Then they waited. And waited.

Now they’re hoping to finally get a definitive answer on her intentions for finally putting the classic Kullman dining car, which operated in Providence’s Promenade area for 60 years as the Silver Top diner, to reuse.

Biddeford, ME. The Palace Diner's regular customers can breathe easy.

The downtown landmark began operating under new management Monday, but the lunch menu still featured roast stuffed turkey, and an egg-salad sandwich could be had for less than $2. "I don't want to make people angry," said Kyle Quinn of Biddeford, who bought the Palace along with his wife, Debbie. "It's going to remain Biddeford's baby."

This 15-stool eatery, which resembles a red and yellow railroad car, is believed to be Maine's oldest diner. It opened 78 years ago, originally catering mostly to mill workers, and the Quinns are just its fifth owners.

Tom Cunningham fondly remembers the days of the drive-in theater. Cunningham, a 75-year-old Pittsville resident, often went to the theaters as a teenager. He also went after he was married to Jackie, now 74, while the couple lived in Ohio in the 1940s and '50s.

"Everyone who had a car would be there," he said.

And many children were there in their pajamas: Parents would dress them so they could fall asleep in the backseat of the car during the show, Cunningham said.

Those are the types of stories author Charles Bruss is collecting as he does research for a future book on drive-ins in Wisconsin. The 34-year-old Milwaukee resident recently was in Wisconsin Rapids trying to find information about the Highway 13 Drive-In Theater, which was open from 1953 to 1989 at the intersection of highways 13 and 73, the current location of Clancy's Pro Driving Range.

Australian Broadcasting Company | October 3, 2005

Territory Heritage Minister Marion Scrymgour has announced that two sites in Alice Springs will now be heritage-listed.

The sites are the Seven Mile aerodrome at the Alice Springs Airport and the Pioneer drive-in cinema. Ms. Scrymgour says the drive-in was built in 1963 and is the only remaining drive-in in the Territory.

She says the developers of the site will put the screen back into use and will incorporate it into a new resort.

"To integrate, you know, the screen, the cafe, projector room and the open spaces and integrating that as part of the development is a job well done and I congratulate all that have been involved, and we can still maintain certainly the heritage and the significance of that area," she said.

Originally published here: http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200510/s1473441.htm

Quoting the station's report and the Providence Journal...

"The Providence Journal reported that efforts to reopen the diner have stalled, and now Pawtucket officials have given the Silver Top's owner an ultimatum.

Patricia Brown has until Oct. 20 to open the diner, or the Silver Top will be evicted from its site on Middle Street. Brown told the newspaper that the delay is not entirely her fault.

Groton -- A dinner napkin with “Closed” scribbled twice in black ink was taped Wednesday afternoon to the glass door leading to the vestibule of Rosie's Diner on Route 184.

Inside the 44-seat restaurant, the lights were off and the condiments normally stored on the counter were gone, as were six tables. The shelves off the back kitchen were empty. The red-framed photograph of the red neon “Eat” sign atop the building with Rosie's name highlighted as “The Name in Lights” was gone, too.

The white board on which the specials were listed was still there, noting that the soups of the day were clam chowder and chicken noodle and that the vegetable selections were baby carrots and spinach.

London's first taste of retro bowling, the Bloomsbury Bowling Lanes has laid to rest the preconceptions many Londoners have about ten pin bowling.

In the US, 10 pin bowling has been repackaged as retro cool by the likes of Lucky Strike Lanes and Chicago 10 pin.

For London, the Bloomsbury Bowling Lanes (www.bloomsburybowling.com) lanes takes the idea one step further by adding a stylish bar and diner to the package.

The team behind Bloomsbury Bowling have also forced on presenting an interesting range of drinks. By using only independent suppliers and fitting out the bar themselves they have total control over whom they source from. So forget the unusual suspects, Bloomsbury Bowling offers the likes of obscure Estonian and Czech beers, Russian and Bulgarian Vodkas and organic English ciders.

Lanes side, those with a keen eye will notice the lanes have above lane ball returns and vintage seating which came from an old bowling centre in Boston.

The Bloomsbury Bowling Lanes in open daily from 11am until late.

Stick a fork in a Fairfield dining landmark.

It's all over for the Fairfield Diner and Vegetarian Enclave, the oldest of five diners in Fairfield, closing Sunday after 63 years.

"It's a loss," said Eileen O'Hara, of Fairfield, a longtime customer fond of the fresh vegetables, reasonable prices and family atmosphere. The diner has been known by several names over the years — most memorably, perhaps, as the Green Comet.

O'Hara, a regular at the 90 Kings Highway Cutoff diner for 15 years, said she formed friendships with waitresses and the diner's owners. "It has warmth," she said. "It's like a family. You kind of get to know everybody."

This auction is for the Wildwood Diner in Wildwood, New Jersey. This is a unique opportunity to make an investment in true Americana. The diner is a historical landmark located in the Doo Wop Capital of the World. This attractive and well-maintained building will draw business to itself wherever it is located.

It has been in daily operation since the diner was built by the Superior Dining Company of Berlin, New Jersey in the late 1950s. It is believed to be one of the 3 remaining diners built by the company.

This was originally a 16' x 54' Stainless Steel Diner (second photo), and was then expanded in the 1960s to include seating for approximately 250 patrons

Originally published on eBay. Full details on the aution are available here.