The initial picture doesn’t look like a factory job, but the design’s definitely taking some cues from the real deal.
Looks like it’s still there under layers of remodeling, in Steelton, PA, operating as TJ’s East End Pub.

Bridgeville, Delaware. Taken by my friend Rita Cacas in 1980.

This postcard sold on eBay back in 2007. After a bit of research at that point, it looked like the diner was still there. But this was pre-blog, pre-facebook, so I made a note of it, burned the ebay image to a disc and pretty well forgot about it. I was going through today looking for barrel roof pics on my external hard drive and found the photo again. Not the best copy of it, unfortunately, but it’s the only one I’ve seen of this PC. The diner is still there, as is the gas station building, located at 3403 Conowingo Road. It looks like the cabins are gone.

Unfortunately it’s not a “real” diner, but you can definitely see the influence.

Nick’s Diner may not be a “true” diner to purists. It’s an on site job, but it has real soul.
I’ve had some trouble finding the origins of Nick’s. It’s been a diner for decades, but whether it was converted from another use is hard to track down. The materials and construction remind me of a ’50s gas station, but the proportions seem way off for that. Across the street from a former HoJo’s, a block down from an A-Frame IHOP and two blocks down from the former Short Stop Diner.

It’s family owned an operated, and the grill is still behind the counter. There’s a bit of a back kitchen, but it looks like most of the cooking is done out front.

Nick’s is set up like an early factory model. Very narrow- mostly stools and a couple tables at the far end. The emphasis is truly on the counter, as it should be. The nearly floor to ceiling glass makes for a nice bright place.

Corned beef hash, scrambled eggs, homefries, toast, coffee. The potatoes and corned beef hash have a perfect crust on them from the griddle.

Stools.

A pic from about a decade back that gives a better view of the entire diner. The parking lot was too jammed today to get a good frontal shot.

Another cool old roadside restaurant that’s been lost to the hands of bad renovation. The building is still recognizable, with its stepped roofline, but nearly everything which made it interesting has disappeared.