This diner building on Lacrosse St. in Rapid City is apparently not '30s vintage, it was built as a retro Denny’s at an unknown time and location, and later moved to this site, where it operated for years as Arnold’s Classic Diner. According to Diner Hunter it was a sports memorabilia store in 2018, seems Covid done it in...
My wife and I have eaten in that diner many times, especially in its original location on the east side of Rapid City's Mount Rushmore Road, back in the late 1990s or early 2000s. It was originally a Denny's restaurant, one of two in Rapid City, then owned by a dreamy-eyed franchisee who assumed there would be lots more interest along that stretch (a.k.a. "8th Street") that used to be a traditional summer "cruiser" locale for young people and their well-wrenched hot-rods of all eras. In spite of its wonderful throw-back looks, the biggest problem with the place: it was a tad too small and its acoustics were terrible inside (much too loud with all the black & white floor tiles, Formica tables, walls covered in kitschy 1950s-look art, etc.) One practically had to shout to be heard across the table, owing to the noise of other patrons when every table and the bar up fron were full. They could really have used some soft curtains, potted plants, etc., but there was just very little room for such things inside. Plus, its grill team and wait staff, while serviceable, lacked the loyal, devoted work ethic expected in the 1950s & '60s required to keep its over-demanding clientele happy. The joint looked fantastic. It had a great period vibe. The staff was attired appropriately. But the service was clearly new-millennia, and lacked the personalized, wholesome character of an earlier era. When developers wanted the high-value ground the place sat on, it was sold off for high money to another ma & pa concern that tried to keep it going on that lot out in front of a major hotel chain. They sank some seriously heavy coin in moving it to its current location, where again we gave it quite a bit of our business. Alas, its crews could not keep up the standards of the time, and the new guests (mostly hurried, penny-pinching interstate travelers of later generations) didn't 'click' with the well-intended "Happy Days" vibe. Eventually its last iteration as a restaurant didn't last either. It was sitting dormant and unleased on and off through the later 2010s before the sports cards place moved into it, barely covering their own expenses, let alone the rent. All that came well before Covid. Anyway, myself being a 1960-vintage gray-beard who remembers the last of the real "Johnny & the Cruisers" era, it's sad to see so cool an idea being left to weed-over and corrode. It might go for a decent price these days, but future owners will need a solid business plan and a loyal and appropriately 'theme-trained' employee team; something I'm afraid later generations of today-- another manifestation of the false god of "progress"-- simply aren't cut out to handle. Hence, we witness a hybrid, 21st-century homage to the golden ages of "Analog" and "Route 66" America, slowly fading into inglorious decay... like far too much that once was good in this land.
ReplyDeleteThank you very much for the sad history, first hand experiences and of course the social comment. The current location seemed all wrong- with frontage (such as it is) only on the interstate… the sports card iteration also seemed a bad fit… I don’t expect it’s an easily-moved building, one day I expect it’ll just be gone.
ReplyDeleteI like the homey mom and pop places for breakfast- especially when travelling. The decor is secondary, but I have a hard time passing any one of those old diner cars (do I need a second breakfast?). The corporate chain restaurants just don't cut it, bland food, bland staff and no atmosphere.
We did have a pleasant experience at the Harriet and Oak coffee shop downtown- a completely different vibe/menu of course but with attentive and efficient staff of the (dare I say it) millennial persuasion.. People are still good...