The American Diner

5 Pages 1134 Words

Andrew Hurley’s classic essay “From Hash House to Family Restaurant: The Transformation of the Diner and Post-World War II Consumer Culture” describes the rise of the American diner and its coinciding idea of American Society. Hurley attempts to show similarities between American culture at the time and the change of how people view public dining. With the end of World War II a new consumer based society emerged. This created a large middle class with emphasis on the nuclear family. Due to these changes in the household many people began to look at things differently. The American diner then and now is a perfect example of these changes.
The diner we know today contains qualities that are very attractive to people of all walks of life. Fast friendly service, decent food, cheap prices, and its clean cut appearance can interest anyone with an empty stomach. However this diner as we know it did not come easily. As with many things it has evolved over time adhering to what the public wants and what can sell. In the essay Hurley describes the beginning of diners to come from an evolution of lunch trucks outside dense commercial and industrial work sites. Visited daily by mostly male factory workers it was an informal place to get a quick bite to eat and converse with fellow workers. With the end of the war came many jobs and prosperity for many people. Our society was now one based on buying instead of saving. People became more efficient and less afraid of the outside world. The growing country and its workers needed places like these lunch trucks in order to go about there everyday lives. Here is when entrepreneurs saw an opportunity to make some money. By centralizing these trucks and extending their cooking facilities owners were now able to accommodate many more patrons.
As the years went by these lunch trucks expanded into buildings with the same idea. The crowds they attracted were made up of all blue collar men. Due to this...