The Jerry O'Mahony Diner Company of Elizabeth, New Jersey, was a manufacturer of roadside diners from 1917 to 1952. The company produced some 2,000 of the long, narrow, primarily metal buildings, perhaps more than any other firm. [1] Prefabricated in a factory and trucked to their locations, the diners resemble and are often confused with railroad rolling stock. The company's motto was "In our line, we lead the world".
Jerry O'Mahony (1890–1969) of Bayonne, New Jersey, is credited by some[ by whom? ] to have made the first "diner". [2] In 1912, the first lunch wagon built by Jerry and Daniel O'Mahoney and John Hanf was bought for $800 by restaurant entrepreneur Michael Griffin and operated at Transfer Station in Hudson County, New Jersey. The wagon helped spark New Jersey's golden age of diner manufacturing. [3]
It is estimated that about 20 remain in the United States as of 2022. [4]
Overseas examples include:
At least 26 pre-war Streamline Moderne-style O'Mahony diners (built between 1932 and 1941) still existed as of 2015. [18] These include: