Miss Bellows Falls Diner

A Diner with Character

Miss Bellows Falls Diner has retained its historic 1920´s ambience.

By: Nicole S. Colson

     BELLOWS FALLS - As the folks who reopened the Miss Bellows Falls Diner three weeks ago know, it takes a family to run a diner - no matter what form that family may take.
     The group that toiled for many hours to make the inside of the diner shine like a new penny may not all be related to each other - but after the work they´ve done together they might just as well be.      Claremont native Larry McElreavy bought the diner in July as a Mother´s Day gift for his fiancee, Fran Desantis. It had been on the market for a year.
     McElreavy likes things that have character - like his ´67 Mustang - which is why the barrel-roofed Worcester dining car caught his attention.

     He was also attracted to the restaurant because it needed re-building, a task he´s all too familiar with having been a former football coach of 30 years who helped teams end losing streaks and win championships.
     Before McElreavy made the purchase, he did a little scouting by sitting outside the diner to watch the flow of business. He noticed a lot of tourist traffic passing by and he figured her could make it work.
     Desantis, who had no previous restaurant experience, had worked as a Wall Street secretary.
     "It was a challenge, I´ll tell you that," Desantis said, referring to the work involved to ensure that necessary safety and health codes were met.
     Desantis and her diner manager, Brina Parker, met as co-workers at Wal-Mart in Claremont.
     "We´re as close as mother and daughter," Parker said.
     The two have worked even more closely together over the past months on various chores, including sanding Sheet rock, scraping paint, scrubbing chrome and putting coats of polyurethane on woodwork.
     "We took 200 before-and-after pictures," Parker said.

     Parker´s husband, Rick, who helped a local contractor repair the building´s roof (among many other improvements) came in after working 12-hour days at his full-time job to help get the diner up and running.
     Other than adding new white curtains to the windows, they haven´t made any significant aesthetic changes so the diner´s historic character is retained.
     In the spring, DeSantis plans to add a take-out window and outdoor seating, as well as adding some landscaping. And because the diner is such a historic gem, Parker plans to line the table tops with old local photographs for customers to peruse while they´re waiting.
     Desantis and parker have kept prep cook Gloria Lindsay and line cook Sandy Lynch - both of them long-time employees of the diner´s previous owners on staff.
     Parker´s children - Corbin, Cameron, Courtney and Coty - have helped out by washing dishes and stocking supplies as well as with the renovations.

     The grill in front of the counter is still functional, which McElreavy said is unique. At one time, one of the attractions of eating at a diner was watching the cook prepare the food. In order to continue using it, Parker said, they had to add a costly hood system.
     Patrons will find the menu pretty much unchanged, although Desantis is known for her "mean" New York cheesecake, or a tasty corned beef hash with onions and peppers. "It´s not greasy," she said.
     Before McElreavy saw the diner in person, he had seen it on the American Diner Museum´s Web site.
     What he learned was that it was built in the late 1920's by the Worcester Lunch Car Company and was moved to town from Massachusetts in 1942. On the back was the diner´s former name, Frankie and Johnny´s, and some of the original painted enamel pieces are still there.
     "At some point, they wanted to attract more women," McElreavy said, so the restaurant was renamed the Miss Bellows Falls Diner.

     McElreavy knows about eating in diners. They were a popular destination when he was on the road recruiting football players when he needed a place that opened early - and wasn´t too tough on a small budget.
     Worcester cars are more than just inexpensive eateries for diner buffs - they are destinations. The Miss Bellows Falls Diner has porcelain panels and railroad-style windows on the outside, the original marble counters, the floor, and oak and chrome details. And it is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
     "It blends with Bellows Falls and the uniqueness Bellows Falls has," McElreavy said. It´s a wonderful mix."