Interviews
The Blue Plate Diner is a part of the Atwood neighborhood. It's not just in the neighborhood, it's part of it. And I think that's an important distinction.
The Atwood neighborhood is one of the oldest in Madison. It was a lively place, mostly a blue-collar area, when the veterans returned to wives, sweethearts, friends, and family after World War II. For many years, this building was Severson's Gas Station, later owned by the Harvey brothers.
Atwood lost much of its vibrancy in later years, perhaps culminating in the 1970s when the Eastwood Theater was reduced to showing X-rated films. Many storefronts were vacant, buildings were running down, and neighborhood spirit was at a low ebb.
Now the Atwood neighborhood is in the midst of a vital renaissance. New shops and restaurants, new young families, spruced-up and renovated buildings, streetside plantings, the Barrymore Theatre, and more. I like to think that the Blue Plate Diner has played a part in this renaissance, and will continue to do so, as the neighborhood continues to reinvent itself in the new millennium.
When we went to remodel the old gas station into a restaurant, we went to architect Ed Linville, who immediately sensed the possibilities. With us, he wanted to recapture that postwar feeling by designing a "late 40s-style" diner—not one that looked like a stage set, but an honest diner that could serve good, wholesome, comforting food, a place where everybody would feel welcome—young and old, blue collars and business suits, students and retirees. I had fun offering my personal toaster and blender to be turned into neon art, and donating my Fiesta Ware collection. Everything customers see around them in the diner today, in blue and silver and neon, is the result of our efforts, as expressed in Ed's creative design.
What makes the diner really tick, however, is not the design, not even the food (although both have received their share of praise) but the people. I have been most fortunate to attract and keep together a terrific staff, which in turn has managed to attract an equally great group of regular customers. Even people who visit for the first time say they feel instantly at home in the diner. I like to think that their mood changes as soon as they walk through the door. Together, staff and customers have created what I dreamed of from the very beginning—a true neighborhood diner where everything and everyone feels comfortable.
Welcome to the Blue Plate Diner.
—Monty Schiro
