15 January 2009

Moondance: Wyoming; Cheyenne: Alabama


The rest of the country once again benefits from our cruel discard for classic diners.

First, the Moondance Diner of Soho was shipped off to a new life in Wyoming. Now midtown's Cheyenne Diner, which was to have been moved to Red Hook, will go to Birmingham, Alabama. (Irony, no? Shouldn't the Cheyenne go to Wyoming?)

Boy Diner Saver Michael Perlman notifies us that he has found a new savior for the Cheyenne, which was recently abandoned by sometimes-say-die Boy Brooklyn Developer Mike O'Connell, who had planned by plant the Cheyenne in Red Hook, but then said it would be too expensive to move the hulking metal eatery.

Perlman has brokered a deal between Joel Owens of Birmingham, AL and property owner George Papas for "an undisclosed amount." Owens is the head of NAIC, an investment group, and seems excited. "This is a dream come true, especially in a state that has no historic freestanding diners," he said. (Is that right? Are there no old diners in Alabama?)

Maybe we should start being proactive in our diner saving. Let's get West Virginia on the phone and see if they'll receive the next classic diner our stupid City decides to discard.

2 comments:

Ken Mac said...

maybe we should start by giving this city's residents av art history lesson

anne said...

isn't there an abandoned diner right near Auburn? maybe it's a gas station. either way, it has an amazing old neon sign. and a lil stretch on both sides of the street of cool old falling down bldgs