Twin Diner (Gone)
Buellton, CA
Photo courtesy Adriene Biondo

Here's a shot of a classic roadside diner, about 4 miles north of Buellton near Solvang. This diner called the Twin Diner with its heavily weathered sign is unfortunately no longer serving chicken dinners (or anything else, for that matter), and hopefully someday it will have a new life. Many thanks to Adriene Biondo for info.

About four miles north of Buellton, the Twin Diner was a good reason to wander off the freeway and follow the old road. Check out the heavily weathered sign advertising chicken dinners and breakfast. Sounds promising, until a closer look reveals that nobody's serving either one. Or anything else, for that matter.

The diner sat along Jonata Park Road, part of the old two-lane Highway 101 alignment. Just the sort of place to look for while exploring what the freeway left behind. A quiet roadside stop, an old sign, and a building with a little more going on than first meets the eye.

Twin Diner Close-up
Buellton, CA
Photo courtesy Adriene Biondo

Those “twins” were two former Los Angeles streetcars, built in 1911 and given another job after their passenger-carrying days ended. Put a couple of retired streetcars beside the highway and turn them into a restaurant. Now that's a way to get some extra mileage out of the equipment.

Ed Mullen opened the place in 1946 as Mullen's Dining Car Cafe. He had worked in railroad dining service, so feeding customers in a pair of old railcars seems like a fitting next stop. Chicken dinners became part of the draw, with the roadside sign doing its best to bring hungry motorists in.

Twin Diner Close-up
Buellton, CA
Photo courtesy Adriene Biondo

By the time of these photos, the diner had closed and the weather had been working on both the sign and the building. No lunch stop here, but plenty for the camera to check out. The hope was that somebody would find another use for the old dining cars before they disappeared altogether.

UPDATE: The streetcars were salvaged and hauled away in 2012, eventually reaching the Bitter Creek Western Railroad preservation property. The old diner site was cleared, while the chicken-dinner sign was also saved and reportedly relocated to Orange, California. The twins got another ride, though chicken dinners are still off the menu. 09-26