Andy's Diner (also known as Andy's Railroad) was a roadside diner, constructed from several decommissioned railcars, in

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

, Washington, established in 1949 and closed in 2008. It was constructed on the former location of a more traditional diner that had been built in 1930.

Concept and menu

Once described as a "longstanding slice of Route 66 Americana", Andy's Diner was housed in a series of adjoining railway cars located in the industrial SoDo neighborhood. The menu featured a selection of typical

diner A diner is a small, inexpensive restaurant found across the United States, as well as in Canada and parts of Western Europe. Diners offer a wide range of foods, mostly American cuisine, a casual atmosphere, and, characteristically, a com ...

fare.

History

Andy's Diner was opened by Andy "Big Andy" Nagy in 1949, with Nagy subsequently joined in the business by his nephew Andy "Little Andy" Yurkanin. The restaurant's railway theme was reportedly inspired by a similar venue in Spokane. Andy's Diner was sited on the former location of a more traditional

that had been built in 1930. Originally consisting of a single

railcar A railcar (not to be confused with a railway car) is a self-propelled railway vehicle designed to transport passengers. The term "railcar" is usually used in reference to a train consisting of a single coach (carriage, car), with a drive ...

, over time it grew to include a total of seven, including one used by

Franklin Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...

during the United States presidential election of 1944. During the restaurant's heyday it frequently served up to 1,200 people for lunch and was known as a "workingman's paradise". Boeing chief Thornton Wilson was among the diner's regular customers. In the 1960s, Nagy and Yurkanin attempted to open a chain of

Li'l Abner ''Li'l Abner'' is a satirical American comic strip that appeared in many newspapers in the United States, Canada and Europe. It featured a fictional clan of hillbillies in the impoverished mountain village of Dogpatch, USA. Written and drawn ...

-themed restaurants. Though that venture did not succeed, the duo later started several other railcar-housed restaurants in the

Pacific Northwest The Pacific Northwest (sometimes Cascadia, or simply abbreviated as PNW) is a geographic region in western North America bounded by its coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains to the east. Though ...

including Andy's Tukwila Station (in

Tukwila, Washington Tukwila ( ) is a suburban city in King County, Washington, United States, located immediately to the south of Seattle. The population was 21,798 at the 2020 census. Tukwila is a community of communities, with residents of many diverse origin ...

), the Eugene Station (in

Eugene, Oregon Eugene ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Oregon. It is located at the southern end of the Willamette Valley, near the confluence of the McKenzie and Willamette rivers, about east of the Oregon Coast. As of the 2020 United States Census, Eu ...

), and Andy's Auburn Station (in

Auburn, Washington Auburn is a city in King County, Washington, United States (with a small portion crossing into neighboring Pierce County). The population was 87,256 at the 2020 Census. Auburn is a suburb in the Seattle metropolitan area, and is currently rank ...

). In 1980 founder Nagy died. Yurkanin continued to operate the restaurant until 1996, when he retired, his son thereafter taking over the venture. The Yurkanins ultimately sold the business to a trio of local restauranters, though the facility's property owner – Seattle real estate developer

Henry Liebman Henry Goodman Liebman (born September 5, 1951) is an American attorney and businessman from Seattle, Washington. Through his company, American Life, Liebman controls a large section of Seattle's industrial SoDo area and has been described as th ...

– maintained ownership of the site.

New ownership and closure

Andy's Diner was briefly closed in 2000 for remodeling before opening under its first new management since 1949. Eight years later, however, the restaurant permanently closed with co-owner Bill Howard explaining that the business had ceased to be profitable and that "times have changed since the heyday of Andy's Diner". Seattle - Orient Express 03

Reopening as Orient Express

After Andy's Diner closed in January 2008, developer Henry Liebman, owner of the restaurant property, began offering it for rent, hoping that if the new lessee "just got back to serving a decent steak and a potato," it would be more successful thanks to the location's parking spaces and closeness to

Safeco Field T-Mobile Park is a retractable roof stadium in Seattle, Washington, United States. It is the home ballpark of Major League Baseball's Seattle Mariners and has a seating capacity of 47,929. It is in Seattle's SoDo neighborhood, near the western t ...

and Qwest Field. Eventually, in October of that year, a Chinese restaurant, the Orient Express, opened on the site, occupying the same railcars that once housed Andy's Diner. ''

The Seattle Times ''The Seattle Times'' is a daily newspaper serving Seattle, Washington, United States. It was founded in 1891 and has been owned by the Blethen family since 1896. ''The Seattle Times'' has the largest circulation of any newspaper in Washington (s ...

'' reported that the Orient Express, owned by Gun "Ed" Ting, had managed to attract former regulars of Andy's Diner, despite the significant change in menu from steak, potatoes, and other traditional diner fare to

American Chinese cuisine American Chinese cuisine is a cuisine derived from Chinese cuisine that was developed by Chinese Americans. The dishes served in many North American Chinese restaurants are adapted to American tastes and often differ significantly from those ...

. The '' Seattle Weekly'' would later applaud the Orient Express for the fact that there were "no tacky portraits of rickshaws and geisha girls" adorning the walls and that, indeed, the decor was essentially unchanged from the restaurant's time as a roadside diner. According to the newspaper, its "most mysterious dish" was a menu item called Henry Liebman's Noodle Soup.

Legacy

The closure of Andy's Diner followed the earlier closure of another train-themed Seattle restaurant – the Iron Horse – and prompted the '' Seattle Weeklys Mike Seely to eulogize that in "the sweet hereafter ... the Big Engineer in the sky makes a choice between Andy's and the Iron Horse". Menus from Andy's Diner are archived in the special collections unit of the

Seattle Public Library The Seattle Public Library (SPL) is the public library system serving the city of Seattle, Washington. Efforts to start a Seattle library had commenced as early as 1868, with the system eventually being established by the city in 1890. The syste ...

References

External links

undated menu from Andy's Diner at the Seattle Public Library Special Collections website
{{Restaurants in Seattle 1949 establishments in Washington (state) Defunct diners in the United States Defunct restaurants in Seattle Roadside attractions in Washington (state) Diners in Washington (state) 2008 disestablishments in Washington (state) Restaurants established in 1949 Restaurants disestablished in 2008 Railway-themed restaurants