For some, the Edgemere Diner is a run-down eyesore along a sparse portion of Rte. 20, while others see it as a historic building worth preserving.

The weathered, red and white façade of the traditional looking diner sits at 51 Hartford Turnpike where people generally speed by at 40 mph on their way to or from Worcester.

Although the diner has faced difficult times in recent years, which is evident from the overgrown weeds and cracked pavement defining the parking lot, a local diner enthusiast came forward recently to offer his assistance to the town with its ongoing attempt to sign a new lease for the land.

Greg Anderson, a volunteer with the American Diner Museum of Providence, has been in contact with Town Manger Dan Morgado since learning about the town’s hope for the property.

“The museum would be available to help with trying to find a new home for the diner or a new lease for the land,” said Anderson in a recent interview.

“We’ve rescued many diners over the years from being demolished.”

The museum recently helped a 1939 diner formerly located in Fall River move to a small town in Utah town named Oakley rather than let it be demolished.

The museum’s mission since it was founded in 1996 has been to preserve and celebrate the cultural and historical significance of the American diner. Nonetheless, whether the museum and town will work together is uncertain, as is the fate of the diner itself.

“We’re thinking about the bottom line,” said Morgado, who’s still optimistic about finding a new tenant.

The town isn’t interested in selling the diner separate from the land lease at this time, according to Morgado.

“I think it’s just finding the right person who’s willing to invest the time and resources,” he said.

The bid invitation asked for a minimum of $1 for the diner and $2,000 per month in the first year of the land lease.

The town had hoped to sign a 20-year lease by June 29. It doesn’t want to sell the property due to a water pump located on the 20,787 square foot site.

Anyone who had signed a lease on the land would’ve been able to sell or demolish the diner after six months.

Only one bidder replied to the invitation and failed to include a $5,000 bid bond requested by the town.

According to Morgado, there may be a reluctance to propose a bid for the land due to the public nature of any transaction that will take place.

“We can’t market this as you’d market a normal business,” he said.

It has been about two years since a tenant last occupied the space and the town recently decided to take a second look at the original bid invitation. The Edgemere Diner named for the area in which it resides, was built in the 1940’s by the Fodero Dining Car Company, according to Anderson.

The age of the building is apparent, but despite the faded paintjob, all the booths and bar stools inside the restaurant are still intact.

Authentic diners, such as the Edgemere, are prefabricated structures made in a factory and delivered to a site for installation. Walter Scott, a part-time journalist with the Providence Journal first came up with the idea for the iconic structures in 1872, according to the museum’s Website.

The Board of Selectmen will likely re-open the bid invitation in coming weeks.

Originally published online here: http://www.townonline.com/shrewsbury/homepage/x53161570