Manufacturer: Carr China Company
User: Market Diner
Date of plate: circa 1934-1952
Notes: There was a Market Diner in New York City that went on to become the Cheyenne Diner, but that seemed to have opened after Carr went out of business. We think it is more likely that this piece came from the Market Diner located at 703-705 Patrick Street in Charleston, W.V. It advertised itself as a "restaurant, grille and dairy bar."
Mentions about the diner in the Charleston Daily Mail appeared during approximately a 10-year span from the mid-1940s to the mid-1950s. These included news of a minor grease fire in 1944, help-wanted ads and a series of for-sale ads that spanned several years.
One of these ads described the diner as: "DOGWAGON – 13 stool; lean-to kitchen. Building and equipment, doing excellent business. Owner must leave climate. No reasonable offer refused. Apply Market Diner, 715 Patrick St." According to metaphordogs.org, a dog wagon was a diner on wheels, and the term seems to date to the early 20th century.
Glo-Tan body plate with a brown stripe at the edge of the verge. At the top of the plate is the logo for the diner which consists of a slightly arched rectangular box with protruding knobs or terminals like a battery. Inside is a smaller rectangular box in brown with the words "Market Diner" in block letters.
Source:
Metaphordogs.org – information about diners on wheels
Contributors:
Susan and Ed Phillips