Recently, I've been scouting New York looking for Detroit (don't
ask), a search that ultimately led to me to northern Jersey. As I was
driving down down Tonnele Ave in Jersey City, I had to pull over and
shoot what has to be one of the coolest diners I've ever come across,
The White Mana Diner. Seriously, do diners get any better than this?
Originallyminus the ugly brick addition on the left, the diner was createdspecifically for the 1939 World's Fair in Flushing, where it wasexhibited as the "Diner of Tomorrow!" Apparently, it was designed sothat a waiter never had to walk more than 10 feet to get to the grille,cash register or counter.
According to this Jersey City: Past & Present article,after the World's Fair ended, the diner was purchased by a restaurateurnamed Louis Bridges, who transported it to Jersey City where he openedit up as the White Manna Diner.
Why is itnow the "White Mana Diner," and not Manna? Apparently, in the 1980s,their sign came back from being serviced missing an "n," and ratherthan go through the trouble of getting a new sign, the owners decidedto just rename it. The diner originally sold ten-cent hamburgers andoffered curb service after 5 a.m. (sadly, a thing of the past).
In 1979, thediner was purchased by a former employee, Mario Costa, who kept itrunning through the mid-1990s. In 1996, Costa sold the diner for$500,000, only to find that the new owners were planning to tear downthe place to put in a fast food chain. He unsuccessfully sued the newowners to prevent this, and ultimately re-purchased it at a higherprice than he sold it in order to save it.
In recentyears, the property was deemed a "local landmark" by the Jersey CityCouncil, which offers some protection against future demolition threats.
I didn't have time to take interior pics, but here's the circular dining counter area, pieced together by flickr user iamdavid (check out his awesome diner/fast food restaurant pics here):
Here's a kitchen pic as shared by Flickr user A Continuous Lean (check out his great Mana pics here):
There arefour other White Manna restaurants in Jersey, but only one Mana thathails back to the World's Fair. Next time, I'm stopping in for somesliders.
More articles: www.scoutingny.com
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