Jerry and Bert’s Restaurant was located at 676 Mentor Avenue, Painesville, Ohio. It’s still somewhat there today, having been heavily remodeled some time in the 1970s.  In recent years, it’s served as a Goodwill thrift shop and is currently Truth Christian Academy Child Care.

I spotted the black and white photo for sale, no caption, no provenance, but immediately recognized that vestibule, with its unusual glass brick and tracked down a postcard view so that I could show you all the entirety of this moderne beauty of a building.

Another Valentine Diners shot from my collection. This photo was originally in the sales portfolio of Valentine salesman O. Glenn Griffin. (1899-1993)

This Flex-Line Individualized Section Counter was made by Lunch Craft Inc., a short lived, and previously unknown version of Valentine.  I can’t for the life of me figure out what the point of individualized counter sections like this would be.

A 1929-1931 Chevy popcorn truck. To me, this looks more like it was converted from something like a bus than purpose built as a popcorn wagon.

The caption on this negative reads “Connecticut Company — Birney car in Norwich, Conn being used as Duke’s Diner along side RR Tracks — 7/7/1940”.

City Landing as it appears today. Image googlemaps 2017

Hamburger Hut No. 2, shot taken October 1959. Great sign with a wiener dog (shouldn’t that be hot dog hut?) and a bobber parked under the sign.  Titled on the back, “Dope Peddler’s Heaven”. Must’ve been quite the place. Location unknown for now.

Another Valentine Diners shot from my collection. This photo was originally in the sales portfolio of Valentine salesman O. Glenn Griffin. (1899-1993)

This one looks like a pretty standard Valentine interior, but is rendered set up inside of a building rather than inside of one of their diners, showing that you could order the fixtures separately.

Another Valentine Diners shot from my collection. This photo was originally in the sales portfolio of Valentine salesman O. Glenn Griffin. (1899-1993)

The back of this one is stamped with the name Marquart Photos, 1507 Spy Run Ave., Fort Wayne, Indiana, which leads me to believe this was probably somewhere in the Fort Wayne area.  I can’t find a “Brownie’s” in the Fort Wayne city directory, but there was a restaurant owned by an Alfred H. Brown at 1427 Broadway (later 1510 Wabash) and a restaurant owned by Frank W. Brown at 216 W. Wayne, so these are at least possibilities. It looks like industrial buildings in the window reflections, and two Mobil signs.

Another Valentine Diners shot from my collection. This photo was originally in the sales portfolio of Valentine salesman O. Glenn Griffin. (1899-1993)

Chicken In The Rough began as a fried chicken chain in Oklahoma City, OK, eventually franchising and expanding to over 300 locations, with branches not just through the continental US, but throughout the globe. Even Silver Spring MD’s Tastee Diner was once a franchisee with one of their neon signs on its roof. While Chicken In The Rough had their own branded china and postcards and signage, they did not have a distinctive franchise architecture, and many of their franchisees were independent restaurants which featured the Chicken In The Rough half fried chicken meal on the menu, but in addition to their own. So, to see a specific Chicken In The Rough location like this is somewhat unusual, and it’s a Valentine no less!

This shot looks like it was taken on a Valentine back lot, with the diner appearing to rest on steel pipes awaiting transport. This unusual downward view really shows how the sign is constructed, as well as what the roof on one of these would have appeared like when brand new.  This model has an outwardly canted pylon and keystone window in the front door.

Another Valentine Diners shot from my collection. This photo was originally in the sales portfolio of Valentine salesman O. Glenn Griffin. (1899-1993)

This diner was built by the shortest lived incarnation of Valentine Diners, Valentine Industries, Inc., (1945-1947), fitting between Hayes and Valenting Mfg. Inc.. They were located at 800 North Main Street, Wichita, Kansas. This shot was probably taken at the plant, note that the diner has not yet been set up. Check out the Valentine wall safe, large manufacturer tag and wood grain counter base.

While I’m on this Valentine Diner kick, let me share with you this diner, which I stumbled across while driving from Missoula, MT to Hamilton, MT.  It’s located on the west side of Rt. 93 at roughly 1199 US-93, Victor, Montana. It appears to have arrived at this site sometime around 2009-2011. So far I haven’t been able to find any information on where it was originally.