Back in the 1990s when globalization was the hot topic of the day, many used different examples in order to relate the situations. Naturally, my favorite dealt with food establishments. Beyond the obvious McDonald’s, it was thought that in most any major city, and even many of the smaller ones, you could find a Chinese restaurant (if not a whole Chinatown), an Italian pizzeria, and an Irish pub. I believe there was also a fifth, but I honestly cannot remember what it was, but I think the point is clear.
I would not say that the 1950s diner quite makes it in the same class as they are certainly overtaken by the likes of McDonald’s, but it seems possible that they are only a step or two below. Perhaps they could be called a “niche semi-global establishment”, but that’s not really a very sexy term. At the same time, I have not been to enough major cities of the world to prove any of this, but lets just pretend for the moment that I have, and that I know what I’m talking about.
This then leads us to the why. First off, it should be clarified that the 1950s diner is not actually a diner at all. A proper diner serves a bit of everything, and does none of them exceedingly well. The focus will tend toward coffee, pastry, and breakfast; no fuss, no muss, and stay for as long as you like. The 1950s diner is actually a burger joint. They serve burgers, hotdogs, French fries, onion rings, and milkshakes. This is usually accompanied by a red and white décor, a service counter (this applies to your typical diners as well), 1950s rock music and memorabilia, and perky waitresses in pink and white uniforms.
Based off of pure speculation, I would guess the lasting power is due to the Hollywood music and movies of the time, or the movies made afterward depicting that era. It made such a lasting impact that the ideal of it, whether true or false, has stuck with us till this day. The same cannot be said for any decade after, you hardly ever run into a 70s coffee shop, a 1980s deli, or a 1990s buffet. Even if you did, I doubt it would have the same appeal.
For the most part, Joe’s Diner has the ambiance down. Fifties rock music plays in the background, memorabilia is laced all over the walls, the staff is garbed in appropriate gear, the color scheme is a loyal combination of black, white, and red, and it’s generally fun. True, the perky waitresses in skirts are replaced by Filipinos — but one has to adjust for cultural tastes. The biggest pitfall it suffers from is size and location. It is tucked away in the corner with a rather tiny entrance that many would simply miss, and the establishment itself is really not very big at all.
The menu displays the usual suspects of 1950s diner food with a “Joe” twist. They offer The Baby Joe, The Mish-Mash, The Rooster, and the Chicago Dog. All of this can be ordered with a side of French fries, onion rings, and milkshakes. The menu actually seems pretty bare bones, but they hit all the major spots.
I decided to try the Chicago Dog and the Baby Joe Burger to get a feel for the place. The meal, however, would not be complete without some French fries and onion rings. The Chicago Dog was nice, but it was less of a proper Chicago-style hot dog (with its unique combination of condiments) and more of a hot dog served with salad in it. The quality of the dog was good and the same could be said for the burger, but they both seemed to fall short of delicious. The buns in both cases were of the same sort you could buy at the market, and the cheese was of the prepackaged processed sort. The same could actually be said about the fries and onion rings, while both were decent I got they feeling they came out of a frozen bag from the market.
It seems Joe’s Diner has gone through great effort to obtain quality meats and to provide the customer with a genuine 1950s diner atmosphere. I do not think, however, that they put in the same effort toward the other ingredients, which really puts a damper on the whole meal. Still, I believe that people will want to give Joe’s Diner a try to catch that popular motif, but if they want customers to keep coming back, I do believe they will have to kick up their food items a notch or two.