Do You Want to Buy a Diner?
Monday, March 29, 2021
One of Providence’s most storied diners is now up for sale.
The Elmwood Diner can be yours.
According to the listing, “Great opportunity to start a business, and own a piece of history! This one-of-a-kind property is ready for its new owner. It is fully equipped, including a POS system. There is a billboard on the property you could rent for income, or advertise your own business for free!! Schedule your appointment today.”
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Asking price: $350,000
In 2011, GoLocal dubbed the diner one of the best “neighborhood joints” in Rhode Island.
Elmwood, Providence
As GoLocal wrote: "Liberty Elm Diner chef/owner Twillia Glover is a bit of a rock star to other local chefs and her regulars – and there are dozens in each category – when it comes to her beloved diner. While the tiny barrel-roofed building has been around since the early part of the last century, Glover’s take on diner cuisine is as modern and forward-thinking as it comes. She sources her ingredients with expertise and an eye for quality from farms and creameries and purveyors near and far, and transforms them into magic in a space not much larger than your computer screen.
What’s more, she won high praise from the Food Network’s Guy Fieri when he featured The Liberty Elm on “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives” last year, and she donates part of the profits to purchase Dutch Elm Liberty Elms to help green-up Elmwood Avenue. And speaking of rock stars, well, we see the ghost of Elvis on Elmwood Avenue when we indulge in the Liberty’s grilled Fluffernutter with bananas. No, it’s not the most upscale thing on the menu, but you try to resist it. 777 Elmwood Ave, Providence."
And Quahog.org has an extensive history on the diner's history, "The Elmwood, constructed in 1947 by the Worcester Lunch Car Company (#806), was a rare specimen that, in order to comply with downtown building codes, was specially designed to be fireproof. It was built for Ralph "Truck" Narducci, who had it installed at 27 West Exchange Street in Providence (site of the present-day Westin Hotel), replacing an earlier eatery known as the Central Diner that had been on that spot since 1932. The new diner took the name of the old, operating as the Central Diner until around 1972.
When the owner of the property decided to build a parking lot around 1953, the diner was moved to its present location on Elmwood Avenue. At the same time Narducci added a cinderblock kitchen addition. Narducci ran the Central Diner until 1968, when he turned the operating reins over to Christopher Artegian, although he retained ownership. The business disappeared from city directories from 1973 to 1976, but there is a record of Narducci applying for a permit to fit a mansard roof and wood siding to the building in 1975, probably in preparation for selling it. The roof was never added, but the siding was, and in 1977 Edward Degrandere was listed as the operator of the newly rechristened Elmwood Diner. Some time between 1956 and the 1970s the stainless steel vestibule at the front of the diner was added." READ MORE HERE.
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