The Vale-Rio diner was built in 1948 by Paramount. We took these photos before it closed, the site now the location of a Walgreens. It’s now in storage in Pennsylvania. A drawing of it was featured on poster for an early 1990s Society for Commercial Archaeology conference.
Photo source: www.agilitynut.com
Signage- backlit plastic
Pink painted roof, pink pavement
For photos of the move, look at dcsaint’s photostream on Flickr.
Diner Hunter 
How did I miss this post! The Vale was one of the reasons we moved to Phoenixville (along with The Colonial Theatre) and I was so bummed when it was closed, especially since it was to be replaced by an evil Walgreens.
I now pass it every morning when I drive to work, or anywhere really, since it’s up on blocks and mostly wrapped in plastic just about a block from our house. Cruelest juxtaposition of its current location is that from there you can see a new storefront resto in a shopping strip across the way. The name of this popular place? The Phoenix Diner.
Glad to have found your blog this year, Dinerman, here’s to more interesting roadside postings in 2010!
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We lived in Phoenxiville in 1980-1986 and ate at the Diner often. The food was great and my favorite was the sweet potato croquettes with a sweet sauce over them. I worked nights and my husband was a student during the day. I could get breakfast and the rest of my family could order dinner. Does anyone have their recipe for those sweet potato croquettes?
Lin – I can’t promise a thing, but Retro Roadhusband and I still live in PXV – since 2005- and I’ll do a SMSO (Social Media Shout Out) to my fellow Phoenixvillians and see if anyone has the recipe.
For those of you keeping score, the diner building itself still is up on blocks at the corner of Starr and Nutt (Puleo Realty Office)
Came across this post and figured I would say a few words about the Vale Rio. Before it closed, this place was a mockery of what it once may have been. The people that were running it were up to some shady business, and the kitchen was horrid and dirty. Nothing was ever cleaned. The cooks would hit on my girlfriend constantly, knowing full well she had a boyfriend. The hostess would steal my tips and customers. Yes, my girlfriend and I worked there, about a year before it closed. What a shame…..
have a friend since childhood in the sixties, would get together every other weekend through thru seventies and early eighties grilling steaks and drinking beer…don’t forget the horror movies on vhs. every Saturday morning we would go to the Val Rio Diner and have the best breakfast ever. three eggs two pieces of bacon with sausage or scrapple toast and coffee and I believe all this was $2.99 in the mid seventies . Great food and great memories
Any updates on the new location in Nj?