Photo story: the people behind New Jersey's iconic diners

Lying southwest of New York City, New Jersey is the spiritual home of the American diner, with almost 600 — the most of any state. Since 1913, when the first stationary lunch car was set up here to feed roadtrippers quickly and cheaply, diners have become institutions, known for their retro settings and generous helpings of comfort food. Many are open around the clock and owned by families that pass their aprons — and calorific recipes — down through the generations.

These are the stories of the people behind the counters: how they came to own these US icons, and why they’ll never stop doing what they love.
Photograph by Mark Parren Taylor
Story and photographs byMark Parren Taylor
February 25, 2024
This article was produced by National Geographic Traveller (UK).

White Mana Diner, Jersey City  

man holding cigar
“I was the kid who swept the floor and made the fries,” Mario Costa says as he chews the end of his unlit cigar, deep in thought. He started at the White Mana Diner in 1972 when he was just a 16-year-old high school student, five years after arriving in the US from his homeland, Portugal. By the end of that decade, Mario owned the place, which he runs alongside a boxing gym and bar across the road. 
Photograph by Mark Parren Taylor
exterior of diner
Since 1946, UFO-shaped White Mana has stood on the edge of Jersey City beside Route 1, its central structure housing its trademark round counter. The diner as a whole was originally an exhibit at the 1939 New York World’s Fair, and back then it was dubbed the diner of the future as it allowed cooks to move efficiently between worktop, fryer and hotplate. Traditional diners typically had cramped galley kitchens made from converted train carriages. 
Photograph by Mark Parren Taylor
Burger on a plate
The old hotplate is still making White Mana’s signature burger: the patties are browned and topped with chopped onions, and then slid onto a cooler section to stand with half a bun on top to soak up the oniony juices. They’re then slid over to fry again when there’s an order, and finished with a slice of Swiss cheese and pickles. “That’s why they’re called sliders,” says Mario. “And this,” he says, gesturing broadly with his cigar, “is the landmark diner.”
Photograph by Mark Parren Taylor

Bendix Diner, Hasbrouck Heights

diner exterior
John Diakakis zips about Bendix Diner with such speed and precision that it’s easy to forget he was born blind. “I haven’t spilled hot coffee on a customer yet,” the 56-year-old says, “but there has been the occasional hungover Sunday morning when I probably came close.” John’s family bought Bendix Diner, a neon-lit, stainless steel fixture hemmed in by a busy highway junction in Hasbrouck Heights, 10 miles north of Jersey City, in the mid-1980s. 
Photograph by Mark Parren Taylor
two men in diner
He’s spent the intervening years running between the well-worn booths and bar stools for pitstoppers, truckers and even filmmakers (the diner has appeared in films such as Boys on the Side, starring Whoopi Goldberg). John’s three sons chip in when they can. On weekends, when the place is usually heaving, his eldest, Tony, who works as an economist in Boston, occasionally rolls up his sleeves.
Photograph by Mark Parren Taylor
sandwich
When John’s not topping up coffees or focused on the fryer, he carries out plates weighed down with ‘triple decker’ sandwiches 
— notably the chef’s special, filled with a dense wedge of thick-cut turkey and bacon, with a gherkin and crunchy coleslaw on the side. 
Photograph by Mark Parren Taylor

Colonial Diner, Lyndhurst

exterior of diner
Decked out in polished chrome and neon, Colonial Diner sparkles all day and night. “Dad always made me feel invested in this diner,” says Jimmy Gremanis. His family has owned the Colonial since the mid-1980s, and his father, Gus, chose to bring him on board from a young age. “As a teenager, the thing I wanted the most was to cook on the hotplate — and it’s still my happy place,” he says. 
Photograph by Mark Parren Taylor
waffles with berries
Colonial Diner is known for its fluffy pancakes and waffles — scattered with juicy strawberries and crowned with crispy bacon rashers — which appear on the menu alongside classics such as the Reuben sandwich: pastrami, tangy sauerkraut and melted cheese between slices of toasted rye.
Photograph by Mark Parren Taylor
man
“My four kids are showing an interest in the Colonial, but they’re interested in running it as a business; it’s nothing to do with cooking.” When Jimmy eventually hangs up his apron, the Colonial will be hiring a new hotplate chef.
Photograph by Mark Parren Taylor

Miss America Diner, Jersey City

sandwich
In 1969, Athens-born Tony Margetis arrived in the US as a 13-year-old aboard the SS Cristoforo Colombo, an ocean liner that brought immigrants to Canada and the US from the Mediterranean until 1973. “Oh,” he says with a deep sigh, “my first sight of America was the New York skyline. It was so dramatic. At that time, the twin towers of the World Trade Centre were only halfway built.” Almost half a century, and a couple of diners, later, Tony took over Miss America, on Jersey City’s West Side Avenue, with his two sons George and John.
Photograph by Mark Parren Taylor
woman with dog in diner
Dating from 1942, it was originally based in a streetcar that had been converted by its first owner into a diner, but that historic structure eventually fell apart at the seams, replaced with this lookalike in 1958. It was originally called the Joe Cherico Diner after its first owner, but its next one, a German immigrant, renamed it Miss America to celebrate the country that had welcomed him. These days, the diner welcomes all-comers, from a former city mayor to Linda Emmanouilidis, who comes every morning for breakfast with her assistance dog, Penny. 
Photograph by Mark Parren Taylor

Published in the Classic USA guide, distributed with the March 2024 issue of National Geographic Traveller (UK).

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