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The Oakley Diner - Local Dining Experience in Oakley, Summit County, Utah

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Dining Through the Decades at the Oakley Diner
By Alaina King

The Oakley Diner is a culinary time machine that whisks you back in history. This is not your typical diner—the restaurant is housed in a diner car originally built by the Jerry O’Mahony Diner Company in 1939 in New Jersey. It has since traveled and settled in many places, serving traditional American fare. Its first home was in Massachusetts where it was called “McDermott’s Diner”. It then made its way to Rhode Island where it was re-named as “Tommy’s Deluxe Diner '' and operated from 1953 to 2006.

A report by the National Register of Historic Places details this one of a kind dining car as one with, “a remarkable level of historic integrity and is an excellent example of the Modern Movement in architecture. . .” From 2006 to 2007, a man named Keith Walker spent over a million dollars to purchase, transport cross-country, and remodel the diner. It took three months for Walker to move the diner and settle it in Oakley, Utah at the intersection of SR-32 and Weber Canyon Road where it still stands today. He re-opened the restaurant and named it the “Road Island Diner,” after where it was relocated from.

Walker contributed significantly to the process for listing the diner on the National Register of Historic Places. “The National Register is a list of properties significant in America's past. Whether for their association with an important historical event or pattern of events, an important person, or for their architectural importance,” said Cory Jensen, National Register Coordinator of the Utah State Historic Preservation Office.

The diner had a great run for around 13 years, employing a number of Summit County residents and filling locals and tourists' bellies with great milkshakes. Kristy Johnson was a local teenager when she worked at the Road Island Diner only a few weeks after it first opened.
“We would dress up like the 40s or 50s, wearing old-style uniforms and dresses,” said Johnson. “We would do our hair in massive curlers, tighten them and pin them up. It was so pretty, and tons of people would ask to take our picture.”

Road Island Diner with old carsJohnson worked at the diner for around two years as a “soda jerk” scooping ice cream, and making shakes and sundaes.

“Me and my brother, Spencer, were soda jerks together,” Johnson said. “We dressed up in our 40s outfits, and people would order shakes and drinks just to have us come to them.” A favorite order of hers to make was called a “Pig Trough” that included 16 scoops of ice cream with fruits, toppings, and desserts mixed in.

Unfortunately in 2021, staffing issues forced the Road Island Diner to close its doors, then, Steve and Jana Smith bought the diner and decided to re-model and re-open it under a new name: The Oakley Diner. They opened their doors in September of 2023.

When The Oakley Diner began its latest chapter, it took with it the flavors of the past. With every visit, whether you are a local looking for nostalgia, or a tourist seeking an authentic experience, The Oakley Diner offers both a delicious meal and a trip back in time.

“Small businesses are really good for small towns, they help the economy. It keeps them local instead of large food chains,” Johnson said.

For more information on the Oakley Diner, visit: oakleydiner.com

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