The restored Red Rose Diner, which was built in 1927, has opened for business in downtown Towanda. The eatery contains all original fixtures, including a 1927 telephone.

The diner will serve breakfast, lunch and dinner from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m., Monday through Saturday, said owner Gordon Tindall. Tindall said he wants to be open Sundays as well. However, there may be a few Sundays in the near future when the diner might be closed, because he might still need to spend additional time working on some of the equipment in the diner.

The Red Rose Diner was built by P.J. Tierney & Sons in New Rochelle, N.Y. Tindall found the diner in Stroudsburg, Pa., and bought it in October 1998.

Tindall then moved the diner to Lancaster, Pa., where he restored it.

In September 2003, Tindall moved the diner to its current location at 526 Main St. in Towanda. Tindall said he chose the current location because it is kitty-corner to the Keystone Theatre, which dates back to the late 1800s.

"I always wanted to put the diner close to an old movie house," Tindall said.

Tindall said he spent thousands of hours restoring the diner, searching for an appropriate site for it, and constructing a two-story attached building that provides supplemental kitchen space for the diner.

There are a variety of breakfast items on the menu, including French toast, waffles, muffins, eggs and omelets. The lunch and dinner items include hamburgers, cheeseburgers and a variety of other sandwiches. Tindall also plans to serve daily specials.

There is also a small courtyard next to the diner which patrons can use. "If they get a cup of coffee and want to sit outside and drink it there, they can, as long as they bring the cup back," he said with a laugh.

Tindall uses the upstairs floor of the attached building as an art studio, and said he would like to someday use it for dinner seating.

Tindall moved several years ago to Towanda. A $90,000 state Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program grant helped fund the Red Rose Diner project in Towanda. In the past, Tindall had restored a 1940 diner and operated it for nearly six years in Decorah, Iowa.

originally published online here: http://www.thedailyreview.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=14795469&BRD=2276&PAG=461&dept_id=465038&rfi=6