In today’s world, grabbing a quick breakfast or lunch is as easy as pulling into a fast-food drive-through. But “back in the day” your choices were much more limited. You either sat down at a formal restaurant or dined in a hotel’s dining room. That all began to change in the 1920s, with the rise of the dining car, an innovation that brought affordable, casual meals to the everyday person. Bradford has had several dining cars in its history.
Most dining cars in the region at that time were manufactured by Charles Ward & Lee Dickinson of Silver Creek, N.Y., who were prolific builders in the late 1920s through the 1940s. Their diners, inspired by railroad and trolley car designs, were widespread, with nearly 320 diners throughout southern New York state and Pennsylvania attributed to their success. Three of these diners were located in Bradford.
The first dining car in the city, Blanding’s Dining Car, was located at the corner of Main and Congress streets. Owned by Lloyd Blanding of Salamanca, N.Y., it opened in May 1925. Close to local banks, offices, stores, theaters and the trolley line, Blandings Diner was a success from the start.
Upon learning that a filling station was planned for the corner where the dining car was located, Blanding arranged to relocate the diner to 7 Kennedy St., right beside Graham’s Florist. It was moved in October 1928, completely redecorated, and remained at that location for several years. In 1930, Blanding sold it to F.E. Tinker of Geneva, N.Y., who kept the name Blanding’s Diner.
An early 1930s home movie, donated by a local family, shows the Blanding Dining Car at this location on Kennedy Street.
The second dining car was the Bradford Dining Car, managed by Mrs. Margaret Moore. It opened in April 1931 and expanded in July 1936. It was located at 122 Main St., next to Olson’s Department Store, currently the parking lot of Tops Market.
The third dining car was located at 401 E. Main St. across from Bagley Alley. Now an empty lot, this dining car was moved to the corner of East Main and Kendall Avenue in 1935, and later became Anderson’s Diner, owned and operated by Benjamin Anderson.
The Main Street and East Main Street dining cars were owned by the Bradford Dining Car Co., a silent corporation formed by Dr. S.A. McCutcheon, Clarence Hooker and Cal Hullihen. McCutcheon was a doctor, Hooker an insurance agent and businessman, and Hullihen the founder of City Creamery in 1929.
The dining car business was so successful that in April 1937, Mrs. Moore, acting as an agent of the Bradford Dining Car Co., requested a building permit from Bradford’s City Council to install another dining car next to the Emery Hotel, located at the corner of Mechanic Street and St. James Place.
The lot was owned by Bryman & Orange and they were eager to sell.
However, the Bradford Dining Car Co. immediately encountered opposition. Petitions protesting the proposed dining car were signed by 78 property owners, 30 business owners and, most notably, Grace Emery, the owner and principal stockholder of the Emery Hotel Corp. Emery had recently built the luxurious Emery Hotel at a cost equivalent to nearly $1 million today. She strongly opposed the dining car, arguing that “the erection of an eating place opposite the north side of the hotel was a menace to all lodgers in the hotel.” She further claimed that the dining car “would be a disgrace to the city itself.” And of course, a dining car that close to the hotel would provide direct competition to the hotel’s dining rooms and coffee shop.
A week later, on Aug. 10, the city council unanimously voted to deny the permit, likely swayed by Grace Emery’s opposition and her influence in city affairs. They declared that “the City Planning commission is making an effort to turn Bradford from something that once resembled ‘a shantytown’ into a city and we don’t put things in a place where it shouldn’t go. Certain things don’t fit in anywhere.”
Another said a diner erected at that location would be “a noisy and odoriferous business next to a sleeping place,” adding, “It seems out of place from the standpoint of good looks of the city.”
The refusal of the city to grant a building permit didn’t stop the Bradford Dining Car Co. from going ahead with plans to build a diner at 16 Congress St., however, and plans were announced in 1939.
This diner would be a little different. Unlike the older diners, which had wheels and were rolled into place, this diner was built onsite by the Rochester Grill Co. It even had a basement! It opened in August 1940, and was promoted as “the latest in elaborate and efficient construction that gives Bradford an eating establishment that parallels the most up-to-date diners.
It was known as The Congress Street Diner.
Rochester Grill employed local labor for the entire project and, unlike the other three Bradford dining cars, which were limited in size, the Congress Street dining car was 76 feet long and more than 15 feet wide.
The car had two entrances; one leading from a vestibule on the side into the dining area, and another door into the kitchen from the rear.
The interior of the diner was divided into a dining room, which measured 56 feet in length; a spacious kitchen; and restrooms for both men and women.
A stainless steel, glass-topped counter could seat 12 customers and counter stools were covered with genuine leather. On both sides of the car were 12 large, specially constructed booths, which could seat six people. Double mirrors were also in each booth, and metal hat racks fastened to the walls above the windows. Each window had metal venetian blinds.
Behind the counter were coffee urns, cooking facilities, a steam table and an electric refrigerator under the work area. Large ovens were in the back, as well as refrigerators, a dishwasher, sinks and other work tables.
Like the other diners in Bradford, the Congress Street Diner catered to businesses, shoppers, office workers and people of all ages and backgrounds but it was also “the place” for nearby Shea’s Theater-goers and actors, who often frequented the diner after shows. My mother remembers seeing Boris Karloff in a rear booth of the diner when he visited Bradford in February 1943.
In its heyday, breakfasts cost 50 cents for ham or bacon, eggs and toast, and coffee, tea or milk. Orange juice was 15 cents. Coffee just a nickel. For lunches, a hamburger on a toasted bun was 20 cents; two grilled pork chops with potatoes, bread and butter, and applesauce was 50 cents. Cube steak on a toasted bun just 30 cents. A slice of pie, a dime. And many more things on the menu, all reasonably priced.
By the 1960s, however, the popularity of a dining car was fading. Most had been built on very small lots and with the growing popularity of automobiles and mobility, there simply wasn’t room to park many customer cars. Competition from modern food franchises became widespread; think McDonald’s, Kentucky Fried Chicken, Denny’s or Arby’s, all of which began in the 1950s. Drive-through food pickup became popular. Economically speaking, diners never made their owners financially rich and most only made a small profit.
In Bradford, the Congress Street Diner was sold to John and James Johnson in 1945. They owned Johnson’s Restaurant next door (currently the site of the Grocery Stretcher) and invited their uncle from Greece, Gus Johnson, to run the business. He did so until 1965. Other Johnson relatives continued as owners until 1980, when it was sold to Mike and Rosa McAndrew, Juanita Delvecchio, and Juan Domenech. It closed as a restaurant on June 3, 1993, having been a working diner for 53 years.
Over the years, smaller businesses found a home inside the diner. Bloomers, a shop specializing in dried and silk flowers, was opened by Janet Kassir in 1994, followed by Mary Jane Hand’s Grandma’s House of Tea and Gifts, which welcomed customers starting in May 2007.
Today, the old diner is empty, though it holds nostalgic memories for those who once enjoyed meals there and is an important part of Bradford history. It is also architecturally significant, as it is believed to be one of the last four diners built by the Rochester Grill Co. still standing in the Lake Erie region.
