It’s Diner Time!
Decatur Metro | May 18, 2010Scott sends in this pic of the Decatur Diner’s new retro mural facing Leon’s bocce (or boule) court…
It’s already got one fan on Twitter.
- rss
Scott sends in this pic of the Decatur Diner’s new retro mural facing Leon’s bocce (or boule) court…
It’s already got one fan on Twitter.
DrB
just cranky
Chris Billingsley
Chadwick Stogner
J_T
Kaliopy
Keith F
lumpintheroad
Cubalibre
Arriba
Nubbs
Cubalibre
YvetteinDecatur
Kat
JC
Here’s hoping the taggers don’t deface it!
me likey
Lovely.
I like the relative portions!
Oh, my god, that is so tacky. I can’t believe it. People driving into MY city are going to see those pictures of …food… on a restaurant. THINK OF THE CHILDREN!
Pshaw! Think of the elders AND the children!!! Plus, there are no cupcakes. The NERVE.
I hope they at least used locally-sourced paint.
Hm, that picture is of an unfinished version, I think. The current wall has a frame of blue square/swirls around the mural. But yes, I am a fan.
You’ve likely seen the thumbnail of the current version on the left side of this screen since I uploaded the photo last night. But in case you didn’t, here’s the link: http://www.flickr.com/photos/mentalize/4617067721/
Yeah, Scott’s pic is a few days old. I had forgotten he had sent it a few days back.
Thanks for the link Carl. Somehow it escaped my interNET.
Hmmmm….Don’t you guys recognize the traditional Greek Key symbol!
Has the Athena fountain arrived yet?
Can’t they spell?
Great. Now our Children will be exposed to this mis-spelling on a daily basis. Eventually they will have to answer a question about diner/dinner on the SAT and will answer incorrectly because of this ‘sign’. This will, of course, contribute to a decline in DHS test scores that ultimately leads to mass transfers to other schools and the collapse of our fair community.
Or maybe not. I think it ups our town’s kitsch factor (and I mean that in a good way).
At least with declining enrollment we won’t have to open Westchester!
Ooooh. I like the way you worked that in. I think this blog should require that the word “Westchester” be used at least once a day even if we have to stretch it to refer to the WESTCHESTER area of Los Angeles or WESTCHESTER County, New York or WEST CHESTER, Pennsylvania.
There may be a few other daily requirements:
- Zombie
- “Control your children”
- Walkability
- Festival
OK:
Walkability requires that a zombie control your children whilst going from Westchester to a festival.
I can’t remember the last time anyone said “control your children” honestly.
My chest is starting to face west. Does that count?
Sorry, the food may be good but I really don’t like the badly painted faux marble. Tacky in bad way.
I’m all for kitsch but it’s just really bad. Probably won’t eat there because of it. Too many other good restaurants in town that suit my visual taste.
BTW I like Greek food and spent a month in Greece on my honeymoon. The only places in Greece that would look like that are tourist traps.
Have some class folks, puleeeze.
Now it’s time for diner. I mean dinner. How clever…
Being so judgmental isn’t very classy, David. Take Lump’s lead and keep an open mind. It’s Decatur dude, open minds are valued here.
Yeah, what Chad said.
Ya know what’s kitsch? The Brick Store.
Ask all the owners, and they will agree. The bikes, the barrels. What set them apart was the fact that they could do a few things really, really, really well.
I think that people that want to go out and spend their money at an establishment in Decatur APPRECIATE the thought that goes into building out a business and a storefront. Let’s count the ways, shall we?:
Farmburger
MacMcGee (Building out into Birdies I hear)
Leons
Parkers
Cakes and Ale
Dancing Goats
Iberian Pig
Greens Candy oh my god what have you been doing to your teeth the dentist asks me?
On the other side?
Tastings
Voila (Farmburger)
Decatur Diner in blue block strip mall glory.
Am I missing any?
Can I please have the super processed chicken parmigiana for $14 please?
http://www.mariettadiner.net/pages.php?PID=dinnerSpecials
Please.
Bikes as props? Seriously?
Seriously, you’ve never seen them?
You can say you are “all for kitsch…but I won’t eat there” because of the kitsch? Wow.
And look what’s happened in Greece!
If you like Greek food you should try that place I went to with my friends http://www.andryannis.com
there food and prices are great and the Greek owners are very nice. Its right behind Parkers, kinda hard to find but worth it!!
Holy Geez, I can’t believe how many wadded panties are being caused by a little kitsch that offends the sensibilities of a newly gentrified Decatur. You go Decatur Diner! Maybe a windmill on the roof to really put it over the top would be a good idea. If the food is as good as Marietta Diner, I for one will eat there several times a week just to make sure they stay open and keep pissing you Debbie Downers off!
I agree with J_T!
Testify, brother!
Ditto… have only met one of the owners but he seems to be all about being part of our community.. that counts for a lot in my book.
Preach it brother. Some here would complain about getting a free cupcake.
Ummm…big pink cake…
I will admit that as we watched work progress on the Decatur Diner, Mrs. Lump and I were in the “Oh sweet lord is that tacky” camp. But this mural helped us turn the corner (no pun intended). It’s just too adorable to wish it ill will at this point. The interior still scares me a bit, but I’ve made my peace with the blue hand-painted “marble.” In the end, it’s all about the food, and if they can deliver on that, people will get over their aesthetic gripes.
I like their signage. You can tell what to expect there. Unlike that “Brick Store” which would not even sell me one paver for my yard. Now that’s a screwed up sign.
Handpainted accounts for alot!!
i like the kitschy mural…it’s cute. i don’t like the blue marble…to me, it just doesn’t “fit” in downtown decatur with that exterior. i really want it to do well b/c i love greek & diner food…however, the “450 menu items” is slightly concerning b/c that probably means the food isn’t very fresh. it would be pretty impossible to keep that many food items stocked fresh i would think. i’ve never been to marietta diner, so can’t speak from experience…just a thought!
“it just doesn’t “fit” in downtown decatur with that exterior”
a) What, in your judgment would “fit”?
b) IMHO, one of the charms of Decatur is that it is eclectic in many ways. That just adds to the eclecticity (Did I invent a new word? My spellcheck never heard of that)
If eclecticity isn’t a word, it should be!
eclecticity (noun) Intermittent and unreliably delivered electrical current. “The residents of Baghdad were frustrated by the eclecticity in the months following the U.S. invasion.”
OMG, Steve! You’ve GOT to send that in to the Urban Dictionary– it’s genius!
As I’ve said, the blue faux marble is not my favorite, either. But in many ways, I am thankful they erred on the side of distinctiveness rather than embrace the mind-numbing blandness and uniformity of storefronts elsewhere on Ponce (the condos and shops immediately to the east, for instance — who would guess you could make a cigar shop, a Subway, and a nail salon look EXACTLY THE SAME).
I’ll take kitsch over conformity any day of the week.
I love it! Decatur Diner reminds me of the diners in New York. Sure, I enjoy getting some meals at Evan’s up by Publix, but think Decatur Diner will be a fun alternative…and I can’t wait for a giant piece of cheesecake.
Many of us don’t meet the minimum age for Evans Fine Foods which is otherwise a fine diner-style eatery. I like the idea of an Evans without an age minimum!
I eat at Evan’s because it reminds me of eating in small town Minnesota with my grandma. It seems to be packed mid-morning on Saturdays with families post-soccer games as well as those who meet the age requirement. While I think my chocolate pie is better, it is still a fun place to eat breakfast when I need a change from Waffle House, which my husband would go to every Saturday and Sunday if I let him.
Considering I’d rather insert a sharpened stick in every orifice than set foot in a Waffle House, I don’t know if it’s an effective means of comparison for me.
“Sorry, the food may be good but I really don’t like the badly painted faux marble. Tacky in bad way.
I’m all for kitsch but it’s just really bad. Probably won’t eat there because of it. Too many other good restaurants in town that suit my visual taste.”
This wins today’s “Only In The Blogosphere” award, especially the last part.
I don’t particularly care about the exterior if I’m dining inside, but I never understand why “diner” is somehow synonymous with extremely bright lights and numerous neon signs (many indoors, like CASHIER). It’s not an environment in which I’d ever want to set foot after dark, which is kinda the appeal of a place that’s open all night. It would seem there’s a minimum age here as well, as folks would need to be nearly blind to enjoy that much artificial light. (That being said, it won’t surprise me if I DO go here sometime in the middle of the night solely because it’s the only place open…).
I can’t wait!
I’ve been to the one in marietta a few times and never had a bad experience!
as for the tacky paint. I’m all for it. this isn’t alpharetta!
Yea! I want to go even more now!
This is now officially my favorite Decatur restaurant.
Cakes and Ale sucks by the way.
But you’ll reassess if they put a quaint mural on the wall of their new location, right?
I’m glad the space has been filled, but should’t there be some kind of review board for building exteriors? Sorry folks, but I think the faux marble paint job is just plain tacky! The food had better be good, or it won’t last long. I know we’re an eclectic bunch (it’s why I moved in from the burbs), but eclectic has its limits.