BELLOWS FALLS — “I've always wanted to own this place,” said Sue Bouley of Charlestown, N.H.
Bouley's dream has come true as she and Wayne Stone of Athens are now the new owners of the historic Miss Bellows Falls diner at 90 Rockingham St.
Bouley had worked at the diner in the past, and she said she knew it was up for sale last spring when she met Stone for the first time while they were both working at Mack's Place Eatery in Grafton.
Her career as a bartender and cook gave her an insider's look at the business, so when she approached Stone later in the summer with the idea of going into business as co-owners of the famous diner, the idea took hold.
The financing came together and, by November, they had made an offer. They signed the papers on Feb. 3.
Stone has been in the restaurant business for 40 years as a short-order cook and in management, but he said the Miss Bellows Falls “is the end of the road. This is it. I'm all settled in.”
He said that Bouley “has the personality and cooking skills, and I have the management skills” to make the diner run smoothly. Their staff consists of two waitresses, three cooks, and three dishwashers.
“We all just pull together,” Stone said, noting that one of the dishwashers has been at the diner for seven years. “When I'm not in the way standing at the end of the counter, which I do a lot, you know we have a professional staff.”
Later on this morning, one customer, retired Chester resident and teacher Lynda Tallarico, had ordered a French toast breakfast “fixed just the way I would at home, with real Vermont maple syrup.” She said how perfect the place was for a stop between her visit to the Springfield pool and a trip to the Bead Store on Canal Street, followed by a leisurely morning of shopping in Bellows Falls.
Stone, overhearing her remark noted “we don't have any generic ingredients in our food. We use real maple syrup, Heinz ketchup, and Thomas's English Muffins.”
As the farmers' markets start to open up, Stone said he intends to move into using local foods as well. He said he's interested in supporting local farmers and the localvore movement in Vermont.
Stone's plans also include bringing back an “old-fashioned milkshake machine.” He said he'd like to bring back the jukeboxes at each booth, “but when I looked into it, that was just too expensive.”
And yes, Stone said business has picked up quite a bit since they've bought the diner.
“One Saturday, we had a line out the door,” he said.
He did say that the fare was “standard greasy spoon,” but customers may order “whatever they want when they want it.”
A handwritten sign at the end of the counter reads “Yesterday was National Chili Day. Chili is always better on the second day. Chili and corn muffin - $5.50.”
Stone said their current hours, from 6 a.m. to 2 p.m., may change in the next month or so to include dinner hours and will be “open straight through.”
Stone said the rules have changed a bit, too. Formerly, customers were not allowed to sit in the quarter-sawn oak booths by the windows if they were not ordering a full breakfast.
“The new rules are there are no rules,” Stone laughed. “Sit wherever you want. Order whatever you like. Stay as long as you wish.”
Stone then amended his statement. “I guess there is one rule. No horses inside the door.”
Well preserved
Stone said he's felt comfortable in Bellows Falls from the first time he saw it 30 years ago. On his first visit to the diner, he was intrigued by the original black and tan square-tiled floor, the original oak benches, and the enameled panels, all still in near-mint condition in spite of over a half century of constant use.
According to Stone, the diner was built by the Worcester Lunch Car Co., the Massachusetts factory that modeled its diners after the railroad diner cars familiar to travelers. The company built 651 diners from 1906 to 1957. Worcester Diners were known for their compact design, holding from as few as 10 seats to as many as 70.
The earliest purveyors of cheap, fast food, Worcester Diners could be found all over New England and as far south as Florida. Most were early-morning eateries for the working class on their way to factory jobs, as in the case of the Miss Bellows Falls diner, before factories started shutting down in the 1970s.
Added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1983, the Miss Bellows Falls [diner] was the 571st Worcester Diner, built sometime in the 1930s. The diner was originally in Lowell, Mass.
It was first called “Frankie and Johnny's” when the diner arrived in Bellows Falls in 1942. The original lettering can still seen on the back side of the diner through the kitchen.
Stone said that one of the reasons for the longevity and condition of the diner is the steel beams that have supported this building since it was set on the current site.
Signs of wear and tear are minimal, Stone said, and the historic diner design has never been altered.
“This was the first granite countertop I'd seen in a diner,” Stone said, pointing at the counter a few feet away.
Stone believes the Miss Bellows Falls diner to be the last intact lunch car in Vermont. “There was one in Newport, but it was moved to Woburn, Mass., last year.”
The diner has borne witness to much local history, some of which has come to light since the duo took over the business.
“I got a call from a woman just last week,” Stone said. “She told me that she used to go down to the train station and 'see the boys off' in the troop trains [during World War II] first thing in the morning, then walk up here for breakfast, where she'd always sit in the first booth.” He gestured to the booth behind him.
“Then she said she'd go home, change clothes, and go to work at the factory across the street…which of course isn't there anymore,” he said, pointing east out the window. “I guess seeing 'the troops' off was kind of her mission.”
Stone said he also got a call recently from the first owner's daughter, informing him of her father's passing.
“She just called. She thought I'd want to know.”
Stone said he has felt welcomed by the community since he got here. He noted the revitalization projects around the downtown area.
“The Miss Bellows Falls fits right in,” Stone said, adding that he's “looking forward to celebrating the diner's 100th birthday,” an event that will cement his connection to the diner and the community.