nosh nook #133 - wednesday, september 16, 2009

beloved new york diner begins move south (link)
09.15.09 - cnn - by chris kokenes

i'm a big fan of the diner food. give me a buttery grilled cheese with tomato, some greasy hash browns & an endless cup of joe & everything's all good in the hood. i'll let a gristled, crotchety, slightly aloof diner waitress with a thick accent take my order before i'd let a witty, struggling actor (like you'll find at many of nyc's restaurants) take my order any day of the week. if i'm in your establishment, i'm either drunk or hungover or lazy, so personally, i prefer less charm & more gruff with my diner.

as cnn reports, as of this monday, the cheyenne diner, a former nyc diner that used to be around 9th ave & 34th & is named after a city in wyoming is finally on its way to alabama. the former owner decided to close down the diner so he could build condos, so after 68 years in business, it shuttered its doors last april. thanks to the efforts of joel owens, an alabama businessman, the structure that housed the cheyenne diner will soon be reopening 860 miles south in birmingham, alabama, where it will become the first free-standing diner in the state. southbound!

actually, its survival is due to the efforts of michael perlman, " a 26-year old patron saint of sorts for unwanted diners." dude's so excited about diners that he goes around trying to save old timey diners that are being closed down. actually, we should thank joel owens. perlman arranged the whole thing, but owens fronted the money so they could haul the cheyenne all the way down to what i've dubbed the "civil rights belt." of course, that's only because i've just taken off my pants & belts are on my mind, but i'm sure that if the cheyenne diner's that important, it has the potential to host the first sit-in at a free-standing diner in alabama. did i mention that we have a black president now & he likes burgers?...something to keep in mind.