8-13-2022 5:27pm

Hometown History #81: A Local Diner in Three Acts

Alan Earls Editor

Above: 1936 -- roughly the half-way mark in the history of this diner location

By Joe Landry

If you’ve lived in Franklin for many years, it is safe to assume that you remember the diner that was in the alley between the Metcalf Block and the Dana Block on Main Street. That diner was a very popular eating establishment that served fabulous meals at very reasonable prices. What you might not be aware of, though, is that there were three different lunch carts in that location over the years. The first one was installed in October of 1899 by Willis A. Fairfield and was managed by Charles Feeley. In 1904, it was purchased by Charles H. Lawrence, who replaced it with a newer one in May of 1908. In April of 1926, Mr. Lawrence replaced that lunch cart with one that was manufactured by the Worcester Lunch Cart Company. He named it the “Franklin Diner”.

Two years later, an article appeared in the October 11,1928 edition of the Franklin Sentinel. It stated that The Franklin Diner was the first place in town to have the “new” gas service that had just come to town.

In November of 1938, Charles H. Lawrence sold the Franklin Diner to Carlton “Buzzer” Mason and Elmer “Bozo” Flemming, who both worked at the diner at that time. They renamed it the “B & B Diner”, which stood for “Buzzer and Bozo”. Mr. Lawrence also sold the Franklin Diner Bakery Shop to Mr. Mason and Mr. Flemming too. That shop did business in a building to the rear of the diner. In December of 1939, Mr. Mason and Mr. Flemming decided to sell the bakery shop so that they could concentrate their efforts on the diner.

In the 1950’s, the diner was purchased by Joseph Lazzerini. He renamed it the Main Street Diner and he kept the diner open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. He did this for over twenty years without ever closing, not even for Christmas or Thanksgiving. He told me that he once worked seven days straight without sleeping.

1962

Joe was a very entertaining guy. He would perform various tricks that the patrons thoroughly enjoyed. For example, he would place an empty coffee cup on the bar and then he would bounce a spoon off the ceiling to see if he could get it in the cup. He wasn’t always successful, but it was fun just to watch him make the attempt. Or if someone ordered something that required a small plastic plate, like a side order of bread, he would take the plate in his right hand and he would throw it from behind his back and catch it with his extended left hand in front of him. And if someone ordered a bowl of soup, he would keep the plate in his left hand, and he’d take the ceramic bowl in his right hand and he’d throw it from behind his back and catch the bowl on top of the plate that was already in his left hand. But the thing that got the biggest response from everyone was when he would kick his feet off the ceiling of the diner. Yes, you read that correctly. HE WOULD KICK HIS FEET OFF THE CEILING OF THE DINER!!!!!! To accomplish this feat, he would prop himself up between the counter and the preparation table that was behind the counter, and then he would swing his body forward to kick his feet off the ceiling of the diner. Then, in one smooth motion, he would swing his body backwards and kick his feet off the ceiling going the other way. It goes without saying that Joe would always get a loud cheer from the patrons when he did this, especially from those who had never seen him do it.

One thing that was always a topic of discussion was the way Joe would throw loose change up on top of the long stainless-steel hood that was behind the counter. For many years, Joe would do this, and after a while, the hood began to sag from all the weight of the coins that were up there.

In the 1970’s, Joe sold the diner to a new owner, who re-named it the “B & B Diner”. At that time, Joe established a catering business out of a garage that was once part of Supple Motors on East Central Street. He named it “Mr. Joseph’s Catering”.

In the 1980’s, the diner was removed as part of a downtown redevelopment project that was taking place at that time. It is not known what the final disposition of the diner was, or if it is still in operation somewhere.

The 1936 picture was taken from a Stanley Chilson film. The man that is walking in front of the diner is his father, Austin B. Chilson.

The 1962 picture was taken from a Stanley Chilson film. It shows the diner after Joe Lazzerini had a new extension added to the front of the diner (as well as a kitchen in the rear of the diner). Charles DeWitt, the manager of J. J. Newberry at that time, is the man in the dark suit that is seen walking in front of the diner. The police officer is Lester Talamini.

The 1967 picture was taken from my own home movies. It shows Joe Lazzerini standing behind the counter and in front of the preparation table. It was from this spot that he used to kick his feet off the ceiling of the diner.