"Dinor" vs. "Diner" -- Lawrence Park Dinor
Before I met with Rick, the owner of Lawrence Park Dinor in Erie, I noticed that their spelling of "diner" was different. Upon looking up the word "dinor" on Google it was made clear that it is mainly used in northwestern Pennsylvania, and originally it may have been a typo that was never fixed. To Rick it means something else, and that meaning is whether or not the restaurant is an actual train car dinor that was manufactured in a factory or if it was built on site. The train car at Lawrence Park was made in the 1940's by the Paterson Vehicle Company which produced their line of around 1,500 Silk City dinors. The dinor was “first bought by the Curtis family for $20,000 in 1948,” Rick told me “and they lived in a one bedroom home behind the dinor.” Rick and his wife Becky restored the dinor back to its original interior and exterior with some minor hardware updates, thus they the won one of three Greater Erie Awards for restoring and preserving a historical place in 2017, and are on the National Register for Historical Places. Inside the dinor the atmosphere brings you back to the 1940’s where people were much smaller and did not have a hard time getting into the small booths or bathrooms. Even though the booths are tiny, the dinor is always packed with people wanting to try out the number one restaurant in Erie on TripAdvisor.
The success was probably not thought of when both Rick and Becky lost their jobs in manufacturing. When Rick saw that the former owner of the dinor was going to be selling it, he said “Why not?,” and their adventure began. In February 2010 they opened the dinor and in the following eight years, they have more than doubled their sales, restored the dinor, put new equipment and internet in, allowed credit cards, and set up on social media. Having crazy days at the dinor, especially on Saturdays, makes him grateful for “having really good team that works together” and helps maintain their number one spot. Rick says, “On Saturday mornings you see a well-oiled machine that is creating raving fans.” His secret to creating raving fans is through having a clean environment, a great experience, and good food, which is all possible by taking care of his team. He wants his employees to be like family and does this by taking them to a hockey game or having a Christmas gift exchange and dinner. Besides having a strong team, they also have a strong following because of TripAdvisor. They get a lot of people traveling through who stop by for a meal or history buffs that come to see the unique dinor. The dinor also has some devout fans from the area and gets some attention from local college students.
Their menu varies from breakfast to American to Greek, and they even have a secret recipe for their Greek sauce. Rick makes the famous Greek sauce which can be put on a variety of food, and is such a fan favorite that they now are selling little packages of the sauce for you to make at home. It will not be the exact same, but it will still taste very good. If you are looking to have the Greek sauce on a Sunday, you could get it on your omelet, because they serve only breakfast food all day Sunday.
One of Rick’s best experiences while working at Lawrence Park is having their dinner be used as a background in National Geographic’s television show America Inside Out with Katie Couric and Nicole Wallace. They filmed in the dinor four different times for the show that talked about the 2016 election.
As for the future, Rick and Becky hope to retire in two years, sell, continue to increase sales, and stay at number one. They want the customers know that they want your visit to be so great, the food so great, and the experience so great.
Lawrence Park Dinor’s address is: 4019 Main Street Erie, PA 16511
Their hours are:
Tuesday-Saturday 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. (Breakfast: 7 a.m. to 11 a.m. and Lunch 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.)
Sunday 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. (Breakfast menu only)
To call for takeout their phone number is 814-899-4390
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