Rosie's Diner

Rosie's Diner is located in Cedar Springs, Michigan. The dining car originally opened during the 1940s in Little Ferry, New Jersey, as the Silver Dollar Diner. After multiple commercials were filmed in the diner for Bounty paper towels with a fictional character named Rosie the Waitress, the diner was renamed Rosie's. Previously offered to the Smithsonian Institution, the restaurant was sold in the 1990s to a Michigan artist who had the building moved to its current location next to another diner. A third diner was later moved to the site from Fulton, New York. A series of replicas were built as part of a chain of restaurants in the Denver area.

Rosie's Diner
Rosie's c. 2009
Location in Michigan
Restaurant information
Owner(s)Aaron Koehn
Food typeDiner
Street address4500 14 Mile Road
Rockford, Michigan 49341
Coordinates43.176187°N 85.558954°W / 43.176187; -85.558954
Websitehttp://www.rosiesdiner.com/

History

Origins

The restaurant was originally the Silver Dollar Diner in Little Ferry, New Jersey; it was built in 1946 by the Paramount Dining Car Company.[1] The diner was located on U.S. Route 46 when it first opened in the 1940s. Rosie's was owned by Ralph Corrado Jr. and his father before him. Corrado renamed the restaurant after the waitress character from the commercials in 1970.[2]

Bounty commercials

Two other commercials were previously filmed in the building, one for Sanka and another for Pepsi in the earlier days of the restaurant. However, the series of TV commercials that made the diner famous were for Bounty paper towels.[2] They were filmed at the diner during the 1970s when it was known as the Farmland Diner (local Little Ferry residents affectionately referred to it as "The Greasy Spoon"). Clumsy patrons would knock over beverages, and Rosie the Waitress, played by Nancy Walker, would clean up the mess using Bounty paper towels, pronouncing the product the "quicker picker-upper".[3] Two decades after the first commercials were filmed, Walker was still cleaning up after her television customers, but in a studio instead of in the diner. Other companies like Ethan Allen Furniture and Sony used the New Jersey diner location for their advertisements. After 45 years and countless commercials in Little Ferry, Corrado placed the restaurant for sale.[2]

Move to Michigan

Corrado sold the land under the diner to the auto glass repair shop next door. The business did not want the diner, leaving it up to Corrado to sell the building. His offer to place "the most famous diner in America" in the Smithsonian Institution was rejected.

Jerry Berta is an artist that produces ceramic replicas of classic diners, with the original Rosie's as one of his inspirations.[2] He owned one diner, a 1947 Jerry O’Mahoney Dining Car,[4] located on the site in Michigan when he found out that the New Jersey diner was for sale.[2] Berta bought Rosie's and moved it to Michigan at its current location. The purchase price at the time was $10,000 for the 24-by-60-foot (7.3 by 18.3 m) building.[5] Work crews sawed the diner in half the week after it closed in 1990 in New Jersey to load it on flatbed trucks for the move to Michigan.[5] The restaurant opened in its new location on July 5, 1991.[6]

Expansion under Berta

The vintage two-diner collection expanded to three when Berta purchased the former Garden of Eatin' diner (a 1952 Silk City) and moved it from Fulton, New York to the Michigan site in 1994. A fourth (reproduction) diner was also built on site as an addition. Known collectively as Dinerland USA, the location featured the Diner Store art gallery (in the Mahoney car), Rosie's Diner (the primary restaurant), and a 3 ​1⁄2 acre food-themed mini-golf course designed by Berta, where guests could putt around a big burger and slice of pie. [7]

Development under the Roests

Jonelle and Randy Roest purchased the diner in January 2006.[8] They reopened the Silk City car as a sports bar.[4] The Mahoney car was opened seasonally as an ice cream shop. The mini-golf course was not reopened.

While under the Roests' ownership, the location received TV coverage on Food Network's Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives in 2006, and Travel Channel's Diner Paradise.

Closure

Rosie's Diner closed on October 2, 2011.[9] The property was sold through online auction to Aaron Koehn of nearby Koehn Chevrolet, with a winning bid of $125,000. In September 2014, he offered tours of the buildings as part of a car show that attracted an estimated 3,000 people.[10]

Revitalization efforts

An effort to revitalize interest in Rosie's Diner was led by a Michigan photographer, Dana Kenneth Johnson, through a well-publicized Facebook post on March 2, 2017. It was illustrated with images of the diner in its current abandoned state.[11] In a statement to Grand Rapids, Michigan-based ABC affiliate WZZM-13, owner Aaron Koehn said he was working with a nonprofit out of Kalamazoo with the hope they will restore the structures.[12] In October 2018, one mini-golf website documented the present derelict state of the once-vibrant golf course.[13]

Replicas

A series of replica diners were built by PMC Diners, the successor to Paramount Dining Car. A group of investors purchased the trademark to the Rosie's Diner name from Berta and Corrado in 2000, aiming to form a chain of restaurants in the Denver area.[14] Currently, there are locations in Monument[15] and Aurora.[16]

References
  1. "Rosie's Diner: Restaurant Famed for Commercials Sold". The Ledger. Lakeland, FL. January 22, 2006. p. D1. ISSN 0163-0288. Retrieved February 15, 2011.
  2. King, Wayne (January 12, 1990). "Our Towns: It's the Last Call At Rosie's Diner, and on the Road". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved February 15, 2011.
  3. "Proctor & Gamble Keeps Bounty Data a Secret". The Ledger. Lakeland, FL. March 11, 1975. p. 1C. ISSN 0163-0288. Retrieved February 15, 2011.
  4. Staff (2010). "Diner History". Rockford, MI: Rosie's Diner. Archived from the original on July 15, 2011. Retrieved February 15, 2011.
  5. "They Soak up Ambience as Rosie's Diner Closes". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Associated Press. January 15, 1990. p. A4. ISSN 1068-624X. Retrieved February 14, 2011.
  6. "TV-Star Diner Changes Hands". Toledo Blade. Associated Press. January 24, 2006. p. B8. OCLC 12962717. Retrieved February 15, 2011.
  7. Butko, Brian and Sarah. Roadside Attractions. Pages 92-94.
  8. Reens, Nate (January 20, 2006). "Rosie's Diner Changing Hands". The Grand Rapids Press. p. B4. OCLC 9975013.
  9. Dawson, Phil (October 12, 2011). "Employees Not Paid after Rosie's Diner Closes". Walker, MI: WZZM-TV. Archived from the original on February 10, 2013. Retrieved October 12, 2011.
  10. https://www.mlive.com/news/grand-rapids/index.ssf/2015/08/original_owner_of_iconic_rosie.html
  11. "Montcalm Man Tries to Save Rosie's Diner on Facebook," Morning Sun, March 9, 2017 https://www.themorningsun.com/news/nation-world-news/montcalm-man-tries-to-save-rosie-s-diner-on-facebook/article_8b65406b-3dfd-5d6c-9b55-58bdf446c1cc.html
  12. "Photographer Rallies to Restore Iconic Rosie's Diner," March 15, 2017, WZZM13 https://www.wzzm13.com/article/news/local/photographer-rallies-to-restore-iconic-rosies-diner/422853859
  13. "Defunct: Dinerland Mini Golf — Rockford, MI," October 18, 2018, acoupleofputts.com, https://acoupleofputts.com/2018/10/18/defunct-dinerland-mini-golf-rockland-mi/
  14. Berta, Dina (March 25, 2000). "Famous Diner Rolls into Denver, Owners Hope to Replicate At-Home Eatery Across U.S." Rocky Mountain News. Denver. p. B1. OCLC 3946163. (subscription required)
  15. "About Rosie's". Monument, CO: Rosie's Diner. 2010. Retrieved February 15, 2011.
  16. "About Rosie's". Aurora, CO: Rosie's Diner. 2010. Retrieved February 15, 2011.
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