While we couldn’t eat at the Triangle Diner in Winchester VA, how could we not stop and check up on the progress of this 1948 vintage O’Mahony diner under meticulous renovation? Especially when there was free parking and restroom facilities at the “restaurant” next door 😉
(Every road scholar knows where that arrow points – even if you swear you never stop there!)
The photo below of the Triangle Diner was taken in 2009 by Flickr Pal and fellow road photog i saw the Sign.(thanks for the share!) Here you can see the sad state of the diner, covered over and hiding its shiny stainless steel beauty. Oh, and that poor sign!
 If you look closely at the vestibule of the photo above you can see a banner proclaiming that the Triangle Diner has “New Owner, New Management, Delicious Food” and the optimistic reopening date of Fall/Winter 2009.
The very same banner now hangs on the chain link fence surrounding the diner, in Fall/Winter 2011, but as you can see, while they have made some great progress on the diner, it isn’t ready to open anytime soon.
The Triangle Diner website shows a great “before” photo of the diner in its heyday in the 1950’s when, big surprise – Patsy Cline worked there for a spell.
Their website also informs us:
Mike’s Triangle Diner Company purchased the diner in November 2008 and are now carefully and lovingly restoring it to how it originally looked in 1948 using historical photos, interviews, and research.
When comparing the 2009 photo with ours below you can see that they have made great strides in bringing the old diner back to life. The construction updates via the Triangle Diner Facebook page show photos of what they’ve been finding under all that mess – and some great photos of the historic renovation of the signage and more.
While we’re bummed about the timeline of the restoration, we’re equally as excited about someone taking the time and care to do it the right way, and look forward to their parking lot being even more packed than the corporate giant that shares the small triangle plot of land with them.
How could I mention Patsy Cline and the Triangle, without having this song running through my head? Everybody now, “Tra-la-la-la Triangle!”
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