Lost Diners

abubob

As I am planning a trip to Jay Peak I always look for places to eat along the way. The Miss Lyndonville Diner has been a stop for me since 2005 when my long lost brother took me there back then. Sadly it seems it has never reopened since flooding last July 2024.

What restaurants, pubs, stores, motels do you miss traveling to and from on ski trips?

If I can find photos of The Miss Lyndonville Diner I’ll post them.

obienick

Road Kill Cafe ... there was one up in Greenville by Big Moose (Squaw) and one in Bartlett by Attitash.

lotsoskiing

When I was a kid we'd stop at the Hojo's along the NYS Thruway near the Saugerties exit, I think. Loved that place. Not a diner, per se, but anyway.

I miss the Miss Lyndonville. Ate there several times.

DrJeff

The Chelsea Royal Diner on Route 9 in West Brattleboro just before you start climbing up the hill towards Wilmington. Classic old school diner vibe and good classic diner food. Miss that place. A shame to see it just sitting there getting overgrown with vegetation these days

NELSAP

Miss Lyndonville was such a classic place. I ate there countless times during college, often for a late breakfast with friends on Sunday mornings. Their menu rarely changed and I could get the same meal there for decades. My favorite was the #8 - homemade toast, griddled ham, 2 eggs over medium, and homefries:

Jonni

Miss Lyndonville will always have a special place in my heart. Like Jeremy, I went to school at LSC and would frequent the diner quite a bit. Huge portions, fantastic prices and super close. I was sad to hear that it closed, but it's location was pretty tough given how much the Passumpsic can flood.

I'm hoping to try Martha's Diner at some point in Coventry. I've heard some good things, and it being a classic 1950s Fodero dining car makes it all the more intriguing for me.

Another great loss in my book was Country Kitchen in Newport, NH. While it wasn't officially a diner, it basically was. $16 could get you a 5 egg omelet, home fries, toast and bottomless coffee and easily covered a 20% tip. Sadly it closed in 2020 since they weren't able to easily pivot to the takeout model. This story does end on a good note as a new Mexican restaurant opened in it's place - something that the Lake Sunapee area did not have before hand. It's decently priced, and is absolutely delicious!

lotsoskiing

P&H Truck Stop on 91 south of St. J...love that place

rickbolger

abubob;d-4487 wrote
What restaurants, pubs, stores, motels do you miss traveling to and from on ski trips?

Stores - The old Crossroads in Twin Mountain NH. General store had anything you might need that you forgot to bring, variety of good beer, gas pumps, fresh donuts at the register, and a couple of great brochure racks out on the decaying porch. There's a new building in its place I'll have to check out sometime.

Motels - The Gathering Inn in Hancock VT. Combination hostel/group home/halfway house with chickens run by an awesome firecracker old lady who worked at Porter Hospital over in Middlebury. House is still there but no longer hosting guests. Was an outstanding low cost base for Midd SB, Sugarbush, MRG etc

justkeepmovingne

Neither are closed, but still wanted to highlight a couple.

Already posted recently about the Peterborough Diner in one of my trip reports. Classic small diner car style place, good breakfast with no frills at a reasonable price.

The other place I’d highlight wasn’t known for breakfast even though they did serve it, but New Way Lunch in Warrensburg is so incredibly good. Essentially serves diner food and operates like one, but they’re more famous for their hotdogs. Incredible with the works - chopped onion, mustard and a chili sauce that isn’t like any other I’ve had. Staple of skiing Gore (and I’d bet Hickory back in the day). Once walked in to them taking an order for 600 dogs and they prepped those like CHAMPS.

powderstud

Well, for anyone going to Jay Peak, there is an open restaurant that is INCREDIBLE in that neck of the woods: The Derby Line Village Inn in (drumroll, please) Derby Line, VT. 20 minutes from Jay Peak. The chef/owner is Austrian and he prepares fabulous German/Austrian food, as well as the usual standard fare (prime rib, seafood/fish, etc.). The food is out of this world, and incredible value overall for what you're getting. Reservations are necessary too on weekends (and maybe midweek).

NELSAP

We used to stop at Al's Capitol City Diner in Concord, NH on the way up from MA to ski in NH in the 1990s. Used to be a Hojos. Had excellent eggs Benedict. It's twin, the Tilton Diner, is still open.

ciscokid

Awesome thread Bob!
I’ll revert back to my Jersey days and food is one of the things I miss the most.
Jorgensen’s good food and grog in Stockholm on the way to VVGG I miss.
But for the most part any good old greek jersey diner would do.
Don’t remember when the Jefferson diner opened but we had our original Snowjournal south Snowbowl post hike there.

A good ‘ol Taylor ham and egg on a good hard roll , yum!

ski_it

Speaking of Newport, what about the Miss Newport Diner? We'd walked across the street from the hotel when staying there on our way to Canada. I don't recall the food being spectacular but it was breakfast. It's a Worcester Lunch Car diner. It was moved and remodeled and is now the Miss Mendon Diner in Mendon, MA in the middle of car dealership. And I've eaten at that location too. Sadly it looks to have closed again.
dinerhotline blog

JimK

I had a favorite diner for decades in Western MD, the Park-N-Dine. It started in the 1940s and kept expanding from a diner to a 200 seat restaurant. It's been closed for about five years now. Building is still there off I70 near the intersection of I68 in Hancock, MD. All Balt/Wash skiers had to drive by this spot to get to/from numerous ski areas in western PA-MD. It was consistently cheap and good from my first meal there in the '70s until about ten years ago. Even that recently you could get a full turkey/pork/beef dinner for under $10, in the old days for under $5. It changed hands once or twice near the end. A local business man bought it out of bankruptcy and may reopen it someday? See here.

Brklynskier

lotsoskiing;c-67573 wroteWhen I was a kid we'd stop at the Hojo's along the NYS Thruway near the Saugerties exit, I think. Loved that place. Not a diner, per se, but anyway.

It's still a restaurant. We stayed at the hotel (still a HoJo) and had breakfast there when we were on a Habitat for Humanity Build in Saugerties. Both the restaurant and hotel were nothing remarkable, but they served their purpose. (Kind of the point)

ciscokid

Jeremy posted a pic of the old Ho Jo’s in Old Forge recently

FlyingZ

DrJeff;c-67575 wroteThe Chelsea Royal Diner on Route 9 in West Brattleboro just before you start climbing up the hill towards Wilmington. Classic old school diner vibe and good classic diner food. Miss that place. A shame to see it just sitting there getting overgrown with vegetation these days

The diner has new owners andis open Fri Sat Sun for lunch -early dinner

DrJeff

FlyingZ;c-67629 wrote
DrJeff;c-67575 wroteThe Chelsea Royal Diner on Route 9 in West Brattleboro just before you start climbing up the hill towards Wilmington. Classic old school diner vibe and good classic diner food. Miss that place. A shame to see it just sitting there getting overgrown with vegetation these days
The diner has new owners andis open Fri Sat Sun for lunch -early dinner

I just saw a story about the new owners and it's rebirth in the Brattleboro Reformer. Good to see that someone bought the place and is bringing it back to life! Might have to alter my typical route too Mount Snow on Friday in the near future and catch an early dinner to see what the new owners have done!

And on a similar note, the Former Dot's of Dover near Mount Snow, which then became Betsy's, before the owner Betsy passed away a year or so ago (I might be off on that time frame a bit as things just all morph together...) Just reopened in the last 2 weeks as 1 MTN, for breakfast and lunch. Hearing generally good things about the food so far, haven't been there yet either, but it is on my radar screen in the not too distant future

woodcore

The Dam Diner on Rte 30 in West Townshend, VT appears to have been lost.

ceo

Not really a diner, but when I was a kid we used to stop at the HoJo's at Exit 8 (Portland/Westbrook, not sure what it is now) on the Maine Turnpike every year on the way to and from our February ski vacation to Sugarloaf. Loved the fried clams.