Scott Shaw will soon be dishing up heaping helpings of nostalgia and side orders of convenience at Bowden.
The owner of Shaw International has set up a pair of metal-clad diners on the town’s east side, and hopes to be serving meals there by Christmas. One will be a sit-down restaurant, with features like chrome stools and checkered floors to duplicate the look of the original diners; the other will house the kitchen and offer drive-through service.
Shaw has now produced five of the portable eateries, including one that he’s operated as Queen’s Diner in Burnt Lake Business Park for nearly three years. Others are in Dawson Creek, B.C. and Wandering River in Northern Alberta.
“Each one’s a little different. I’m kind of going off the same design but have changed up some of the dynamics.”
The Bowden diner will be similar to Queen’s Diner, but bigger — with seating for 50. The attached drive-through is a first for Shaw.
As with Queen’s Diner, the menu will focus on “breakfasts and burgers,” he said.
Diners were popular during the first half of the 20th century, when the elongated, prefabricated restaurants operated throughout North America. Most fell victim to fast-food restaurants, but Shaw thinks a revival is possible.
“It’s a perfect fit for an old gas station site and stuff like that.”
Inquiries about his retro restaurants declined during the economic downturn, but are now on the rise.
“We’ve got lots of interest. We might be doing some in the States.”
The volume of traffic passing by his Bowden diners on Hwy 2 should generate business and hopefully interest from prospective buyers, he said.
“I’m sure we will be doing more.”
Shaw is involved in other commercial activities, but the diners are perhaps his favourite pursuit.
“It’s a business that I enjoy having.”
hrichards@www.reddeeradvocate.com