The Trolley Car Diner has a long, proud history. A long-time dream of owners Nancy and Bob Elfant, a local realtor, and Ken and Judy Weinstein, the diner opened its doors for business on July 31, 2000.

The Elfants and Weinsteins wanted to open a family diner with friendly service and fresh, inexpensive food. Within a five year period, two other family friendly restaurants nearby had closed their doors without a replacement. The demand for this type of restaurant in the area was huge.

Bob and Ken searched for a suitable sight near their homes in the Mt. Airy section of Philadelphia. More than 1 1/2 years of negotiations followed before they were able to take control of the former Roy Rogers site at 7619 Germantown Avenue. A third partner, Robert Mazaleski, with more than ten years of diner management experience under his belt, was invited to join the team.

Next step was to find a 1950s diner to place in the front of the deteriorating Roy Rogers building. After months of searching via phone and the Internet, Nancy and Ken took a two day diner tour through New Jersey, Connecticut, New York and Pennsylvania. Their choice was the former Palooka’s Diner in Wilkes Barre, PA.

A Wilkes Barre landmark since 1952, Palooka’s, located across the street from the old Stegmeyer’s brewery, was named for the comic strip character, Joe Palooka, created by Wilkes Barre native Hammon “Ham” Fisher in the 1930s. In its heyday, the cartoon appeared in close to 900 newspapers nationwide.

After another 12 months of planning and zoning approval, construction began at the Roy Rogers site. The existing building was gutted and turned into bathrooms, kitchen and dining room. An additional dining room was added to accommodate parties of up to 100 guests.

A local “name the diner” competition was held to determine a name for the new diner. The most requested name was Trolley Car Diner, named after the Route 23 trolley car, which ran along Germantown Avenue for many years. Nearly 1,000 potential names were submitted by more than 250 individuals. The first place winners received breakfast for a month after the diner opened.

On April 11, 2000, this Mountain View diner, which had been in storage in Lancaster for the previous six months, was brought with much fanfare to its Mt. Airy destination. Escorted by two state police cars and greeted by two TV station helicopters, “ground media” and more than 200 local residents, the diner was put
into place by a giant crane.

Architect Harris Steinberg and McCoubrey/Overholser contractors put the finishing touches on the 180 seat diner. The largest animated neon sign in the Philadelphia area was installed on the diner roof and an original 1952 jukebox was placed in the largest dining room.

Trolley Car Diner’s grand opening was held October 7, 2000 featuring 52 cent milkshakes, free PTC trolley car rides and a strolling 50s doo-wop group. As Gerald Etter wrote in the Philadelphia Inquirer, “Wilkes Barre’s loss is Mt. Airy’s gain.” Yet another landmark graces this historic area of Philadelphia.