This Diner Is Massachusetts History — And Where You Should Eat This Weekend

What makes a diner different from any other restaurant? Breakfast served all day, a cantankerous but lovable staff, and always-brewing coffee are defining traits, but one very specific characteristic sets diners apart: The structures that house them were usually manufactured in a factory, then shipped to the desired location. Although New Jersey is the diner capital of the world, Massachusetts had a vital role in diner development. The Bay State still has its share of pre-fab eateries, and to me, Watertown's Deluxe Town Diner is the best blend of historical charm and a straight-up good meal.

I didn't know any of this when I moved to Worcester, in central Massachusetts. I first visited the Worcester Flea Market on a cold, gray, windy day — we have a lot of those in Worcester — and it didn't strike me as unusual to see rows of vendor stalls inside a hollowed-out shell of a once-industrial building. I learned later that those concrete-and-cinderblock halls piled with secondhand clothes and sports memorabilia were once the home of the Worcester Lunch Car Company, which built more than 600 diners from 1901 to 1961. Deluxe Town Diner was partially manufactured there. In 1947, George Contos and his father converted their Worcester Lunch Car diner into a kitchen, and built the existing structure around it.

After that first flea market visit, I got to know Massachusetts' true diner heritage. I met Chris, Annie, Josh, Paul, and Jojo, the characters who own, run, and work at these diners. Of the many old-school eateries that populate the state, Deluxe Town Diner continues to be one of my favorites.

Deluxe Town Diner sits on a busy street corner about eight miles west of downtown Boston. You can tell it's old just by looking at it. A neon "Town Diner" sign is perched atop the rounded structure with chrome accents and glass-brick corners. But what you're seeing isn't entirely the work of the Worcester Lunch Car Company. The original diner here was smaller, built around 1930 in Worcester,  and expanded to the current setup in 1947.

The diner's interior has seen some updates since those early postwar years, but one of my favorite parts of Deluxe Town is how few changes have been made. Air conditioning was added somewhere along the line, but the tile floors, chrome and porcelain walls, and large windows surrounding the cramped dining room remain. Oh, and be prepared for neon everywhere.

The old-fashioned aesthetic of the diner is intentional. It's changed ownership several times over its tenure on this corner, most recently in 2000 when current owners Don and Daryl Levy took it over. The Levys wanted to bring the diner into the new century while retaining the best of its history. "It was sleeping," Daryl told Wicked Local in 2018. "It was very sleepy so we had to wake it up a little."

The diner has woken up indeed. It's common to see lines out the door on a weekend morning, but it's worth the wait. Once you get into one of the cozy booths (read: you better like the people you're eating with), you'll be presented with a classic multi-page diner menu. All three meals are represented, a rarity in a state where most diners are breakfast and lunch only. Deluxe Town is open for dinner seven days a week.

Deluxe Town's menu embraces the usual eggs-and-toast diner fare, then goes far beyond it. The kitchen can definitely cook up a mean omelet, but don't overlook the unusual pancake variations, like blue cornmeal or buckwheat flapjacks. Shakshuka with feta is a specialty of the house — so much so that it appears three times on the menu. Alongside standard burgers and chicken, you'll find the Greek burger (a lamb patty topped with feta, capers, and caramelized onions) and Watertown curry, which serves your choice of protein with chickpeas in curry sauce over rice or quinoa.

Even as the menu expanded, the restaurant didn't lose its charm. It's a spot where locals congregate, but outsiders are welcome. Your eyes might tell you that you've stepped back to 1947, but your taste buds will place you firmly in the 21st century. You'll leave satisfied, full, and with the slight suspicion that your server either hates you or wants to be your new best friend. And that is exactly what a diner should be.