Maine Diner facts for kids
The Maine Diner is a famous restaurant located in Wells, Maine. It's a special kind of restaurant called a diner, which often serves classic American comfort food. You can visit the Maine Diner for breakfast, lunch, or dinner.
This popular diner can seat 90 people. About 60 people work there all year long. On a busy summer day, between 1,200 and 1,500 guests might visit! The Maine Diner is well-known for its tasty seafood chowder and lobster pie. They also serve other delicious "Down East" style foods. You can even get breakfast all day long! Many of the fresh vegetables and herbs used in their dishes come from a garden right behind the diner.
The Maine Diner is very popular with visitors. It served its 2-millionth guest in 1999. By December 17, 2008, it had served its 5-millionth guest!
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History of the Maine Diner
Starting with Soky Toton
The original Maine Diner was bought in the early 1950s. An immigrant named Socrates "Soky" Toton purchased it. Soky did all the cooking himself. His wife, Margaret, worked as a waitress. They also had a few other waitresses helping out.
The Maine Diner quickly became famous. People loved their food because it was all made from scratch. Soky and Margaret even grew many of their own vegetables. These fresh ingredients came from a garden behind the diner.
New Building and Changes
In the mid-1950s, the old diner building was moved. A brand new building was built in its place. The Toton family lived right next to the diner. Their house is now the diner's gift shop.
The diner used to be open all year. But Margaret Toton passed away in 1966. After she died, Soky closed the restaurant for a whole year. When it reopened, Soky decided to change the hours. The diner was then open from Labor Day until Memorial Day. It closed for the summer months.
Soky Toton continued to run the diner for many years. He had a heart attack in January 1980. He passed away the next month.
New Owners Take Over
In 1983, two brothers, Myles and Dick Henry, bought the Maine Diner. They became the new owners. The very first customer they had was a man who crashed his car. He hit a pole near the parking lot. He had actually been looking for a different place!
Myles Henry passed away in 2010. Today, the Maine Diner is managed by Jim MacNeill.
