A longtime waitress at the popular Miss Washington Diner in downtown New Britain, Connecticut has bought the restaurant. She waitressed there 37 years.
http://www.newbritainherald.com/NBH-New+Britain+News/327477/judith-robinson-from-waitress-to-owner-of-historic-nb-diner
Wow, what a great story!
There was a place called the Hot Metal Diner across town where I used to live.
It had become very popular. Then the owner got ill and died suddenly at age 50.
It has re-opened under the name Ham and Eggers. Supposedly one of her
former employees was able to buy it and reopen it.
And it's all over. The diner closed for good at the end of August. Ms. Robinson took a vacation because of an issue with her leg at the end of August, promising to reopen on September 7th and it never reopened.
http://www.newbritainherald.com/NBH-Dining/337800/after-85-years-new-britains-miss-washington-diner-is-history
Another place like this around here is Hank's Too, a hot dog joint in the Brookline
section of Pittsburgh.
The original Hank's had stood for decades in a little bunker-style building on busy
West Liberty Avenue. It is best remembered for its odd and unusual signage. The
signature sign, "Hank's Hot Dogs", accompanied by a Coca-Cola sign, a picture of
a rather silly looking cartoon dog, and one bearing Hank's signature slogan "Eat 'em
Here, or Take 'em Home!"
As if Hank had personally thought of the revolutionary concept of being able to eat your food in the restaurant or grab take-out.
Hank's succumbed to the expansion of a neighboring car dealership around the turn of the 21st. Century. Hank himself died not long afterwards.
One of his employees however really embraced the concept, and as soon as she was able she reopened Hank's Too in a storefront location in Brookline. It's your basic stripped-down dogs, fries and burgers take-out joint with some limited counter space. They have a loyal following and appear to be doing quite well after about a decade in the new location.
(https://s3-media2.fl.yelpcdn.com/bphoto/lh3ibSTe056F3WZyFJY3mQ/o.jpg)