So often, it seems, historic structures are relegated to the scrap heap, an afterthought in the drive for progress, in society’s drive for newer, bigger and better. But score a victory for preservation in Cranston, where a local diner has been saved from extinction, at least for now.
The saga of Johnny B’s Diner started when the city struck a deal with Cranston Print Works on a land swap. The city would get land held by the print works on Cranston Street to build a new library, while the textile printing and finishing company would get a parcel on Dyer Avenue. The plan was to demolish Johnny B’s to make room for parking for the new library.
The plans neglected the diner, and what its supporters say is its enduring value to the city and to history. Daniel Zilka, acting director of the American Diner Museum in Providence, says Johnny B’s, which has been in operation since 1926, is the oldest continuously run diner in Rhode Island, where the diner concept was conceived. “No one thought that the diner was important,” Zilka says.
David Baccari and John Esposito have run the diner, which is named after Baccari’s father, for the last 16 years. They serve what Baccari, 53, describes as “basic diner fare,” but with touches gleaned from the pair’s experience in the gourmet food business. The Food Channel is doing a show on the diner and its food this month, Baccari says.
Baccari says he didn’t know anything was afoot until he received a notice on April 7 that the land had been traded, and the diner had 15 days to move. “We were like, ‘What, are you crazy?’ ” he says. “We decided to fight back.”
Word quickly got around about Johnny B’s predicament, and supporters rallied around it, petitioning the City Council and other bodies to preserve the popular diner. “It was one of those stories where I got more phone calls than I did on the city budget,” says Aram Garabedian, the Council’s president.
With dozens and activists and patrons in attendance, the City Council voted unanimously last week to preserve the diner as the library project moves forward. Good news, it would seem, but there’s a major hang-up: The city doesn’t want it there.
That’s because having a diner on city land would invite a host of liability issues, such as traffic and fire, and interfere with the library’s activities, says Robin Muksian-Schutt, spokeswoman for Cranston Mayor Stephen Laffey. “It’s really a very awkward situation to have someone running a private business on city property,” Muksian-Schutt says. The mayor supports the diner, and has offered help with finding another location and tapping into a revolving loan fund, she adds.
Baccari says it’s small consolation. “It sounds like they’re offering us a good deal,” he says, “but it’s not. It’s hard to make money in this business, it really is.”
