According to published reports, 2009 will be the year New York City's former Moondance diner will reopen -- nearly 2000 miles to the west, in La Barge, Wyoming.

According to owner Cheryl Pierce, she and her husband will be getting final health and other inspections after the first of the year -- and they hope to open on January 9th.

And while the Moondance is long gone from the streets of NY, a report in the blog, AMNY, says that the Market Diner in Hells Kitchen has reopened. The zig-zag styled eatery is at near the corner of 43rd St. and 11th Ave. Check out the rest of the story, and a cool shot of the funky, aging signage, here.

Foster's Daily Democrat | Dec. 18, 2008

Wells, ME
The Maine Diner, a family-owned eatery, expects it will celebrate serving its 5 millionth customer this week of at the blue-and-white landmark on Route 1.

This event marks a crowning achievement for brothers Myles and Dick Henry, who opened the diner 25 years ago. The Diner's food has earned them accolades on NBC's Today Show and The Phantom Gourmet.

It took the Maine Diner 12 years to hit their first milestone of serving 1 million customers. Four years later they hit the 2 million mark, and have averaged a million customers roughly every three-and-a-half years since then. Statistically, the Diner serves 1,200 to 1,600 people a day in a season, or roughly 300,000 to 325,000 customers a year.

Numerous prizes will be awarded to that one lucky winner, expected to come through the door this week, including cake, gift cards and foods from a variety of supportive vendors.

They trucked it 700 miles, braving the snow, sleet and ice with tons of ’50s-style steel made to house good eats.

The one-time Manheim Diner, located on Route 61 in North Manheim Township, is undergoing a face-lift for its planned reopening late this spring. Owner Dave Frew is adding an authentic bit of jukebox Americana by fitting the fire-damaged restaurant with a stainless steel diner car dating back to the age of beehive hairdos and hoop skirts.

Frew found out about a no-longer-used diner car in Saint Henry, Ohio, a few months ago and realized it would be the perfect touch to resurrect the old Paradise Restaurant, formerly the Manheim Diner, that sustained heavy fire damage in a December 2000 blaze. As it turned out, the diner body was sitting in the midst of a vacant car lot and hadn’t been used in years.

Frew stood on the diner’s construction site Wednesday, fresh from a trek back from Ohio to retrieve the diner car.

The weather didn’t cooperate with his plans, Frew said. Workers who removed the diner car to be transported faced 10 degree temperatures and 35 mph winds, he said.

Marlton, NJ
The owner of Olga's Diner says he's closing the doors to the Marlton Circle landmark for good.

John Stavros said this afternoon he will not reopen his family's landmark diner at the intersection of routes 70 and 73, which was shut down nearly seven weeks ago when PSE&G turned off its gas and electric service. Stavros has said for weeks that he would try to return to business.

"I'm 78, and my sons are not going to come with me," he said, adding that waitstaff and cooks he employed before the business was abruptly closed in October have since found new jobs. "It's not in my heart to go back into business."

The once-thriving diner has sat on the Marlton Circle since the late 1950s, but business had declined steadily since the mid-1990s, the family has said.

Stavros said he's unsure what he or his family will do now, but added that his family's financial situation means he can't retire.

He also isn't sure what will become of the building itself, and said he will try to put it up for sale.

By Katie Warchut | The Day | Dec. 8, 2008

Groton,CT
If you've ever gone out for a diner-style meal in the area, Brenda Trask is likely a familiar face.

She has waitressed for 30 years at The Shack, Bee Bee Dairy, Rosie's Diner and more - those popular joints where service is fast and friendly, and the food a reliable comfort.

While she was raising her daughter alone, she would work 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. at one place, and 3 to 10 p.m. at another. At one point, she even juggled three jobs at a time.

She always fantasized about having her own little place, but it wasn't until now that she has had the chance.

Her husband of six years, Mark Trask, who owns Bremar Construction, gave her the ultimate Christmas present: Norm's Diner.

”She deserves it,” he said.

It will also be a nice gift for Norm's regulars, who saw the place shuttered a month ago by former manager Dan Logan, owner of Dano's Pizzeria & Lounge.

Brenda didn't even know Norm's existed until she stopped in one day.

After inquiring about a job, she likes to joke that she was hired and fired in one day, over a miscommunication between managers.

Fortunately, Rose Phelps, sister of owner Annie Brochu, (wife of the diner's namesake, Norm Brochu) called her back the next day and offered her the job again.

Trask left the job in June, but stayed in touch. So while Logan was planning to shut down Norm's, Phelps asked if Mark and Brenda were interested in taking over.

Since Brenda's father's name is Norm, all the parties decided it was meant to be.

By Matt Fredmonsky | The Record Courier | Dec. 8, 2008

Kent, OH
Half of the old red diner in downtown Kent is gone.

Mike Zenone, the North Olmsted resident who purchased what is commonly referred to as Jerry's Diner from the city last month for $50, has removed the portion of the building where the diner's counter and stools once served countless customers.

All that remains is the back half, where cooks and dishwashers toiled for 23 hours a day, and a front portico that served as the entrance -- both are separated by the empty void where the diner itself stood until this week.

The city sold the diner to Zenone in October with the condition he remove it from its corner lot across from the Kent courthouse by Nov. 19. The city granted him one extension to Dec. 1 to remove it when he didn't meet the initial deadline due primarily to weather.

Zenone purchased it with the intention of restoring the diner to a functioning state for a future buyer.

Kent Economic Development Director Dan Smith said if Zenone has no further plans for the rest of the building, then the city will demolish what remains.

"Now that the historical value has been removed, we'll go ahead and take the rest of it down," Smith said. "And we'll probably do it very quickly."

Cole's in LA Re-opened today!

The restaurant which claims to have invented the "French Dip" was re-opened tonight, at a party sponsored by the LA Conservancy.

Read more about it here. And we'll try to keep you up-to-date on the "new" Coles as well!

Photo courtesy Glenn Wells BEFORE

By Dale Sheffield | The Wellington Enterprise | Dec. 4, 2008

Wellington, OH
For more than 75 years, a diner near the railroad tracks on Depot Street has been a part of Wellington's landscape.

Now, it's a restaurant on the move.

Last week, the diner made a thousand mile trek to its new home in Minnesota. For the last 19 months, it has been in Towanda, Pa., undergoing an extreme makeover.

"We put it back as close to the original as we could figure," stated Gordon Tindall, who bought the diner in 2007 from Mike Engle of the American Diner Museum.

The renovations were an arduous task, Tindall said, and only 6 feet of wall space is still the original material. Major aspects of the project included building new walls, getting floors straight, and repairing the roof.

Courtesy Mike Engle AFTER

Tindall said the project was a worthwhile endeavor and a way to preserve a piece of American history. The diner was manufactured in 1926 or 1927 by Goodell Hardware of Silver Creek, N.Y., and is the only Goodell diner still known to be in existence. According to Tindall, it is also only one of two wooden diners that are still operational.

The diner now looks first-class, with mahogany wainscoting, marble countertops, and period-authentic stools and lighting fixtures. "It's just like it was when it was built," Tindall said.

The refurbished diner will begin a new life as the Spud Boy Restaurant in Lanesboro, Minn. Tindall and his wife Val hope to open the new restaurant next summer.

Harrisonburg, VA
For the folks at L&S Diner, Christmas will come a bit early this year.

The Harrisonburg icon, which closed its doors at the end of the summer, will reopen Thursday and begin dishing up its signature fried chicken and home cooking.

Located at 255 N. Liberty St., the 24-seat restaurant will operate for breakfast and lunch between 5:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. Monday through Saturday.

If business is good, they'll add dinner, said the new owner, Linda Raines, 56, of Elkton.

And, for the longtime waitresses and cooks, who will return to the business, said they couldn't be happier.

"We're going to be back together with our family," said Carol Kaiser, a waitress from Harrisonburg. "We can't wait to see the customers and catch up on the news. ... It's going to be a Merry Christmas this year."