Keenan's Diner Menu
After several delays including ADA and state fire code upgrades the 1951
Vintage Diner with the largest seating in the State of Rhode Island
has become a “Star” in it’s own right. Recent filming of two programs
HBO’s Brotherhood and a short film Manifest Breakfast are only
the beginning of a wonderful 2009 for The Star.
The China Star before restoration 2000
A History of the Star Diner from the American Diner Museum.
The new DeRaffele Diner was delivered in 1951 when the area was
mostly open fields along Route 1A. Just north of the new diner was
the famous Narragansett Horse Race Park in Pawtucket, Rhode Island.
The Park opened in 1934 and provided many a memory until it closed on
Labor Day in 1978. The New Haven Railroad operated special trains
from Boston to the Narragansett Race Track in Rhode Island during the
1950s and 1960s. These special trains were called ‘Gansett Specials’.
The late Bill McLin, a former leverman, said that you could always
identify an inbound ‘Gansett Special’ from the tower because all the
passengers were looking at race forms and that you could likewise
identify the returning train by the large number of sad faces (the
losers) in the windows!
Joseph Keenan and his wife purchased the new diner and catered to the
thousands of visitors traveling along Route 1A. Keenan’s Diner was a
favorite place to eat with the jockeys and horse trainers associated
with the race track. The menu cover sported a headshot of one of the
local heroes.
When it was time to expand the business the “Tarry Room” dining
addition was added around 1955. Around this time Joe Keenan and his
wife Muriel left the family business and purchased Dinty Moore’s
Diner in East Providence.
When Joe Keenan Sr passed away the diner was sold to Mr. and Mrs.
Chin who immigrated from China to work in his uncle’s downtown
Providence landmark, Mee Hong Chinese restaurant. The Chin’s renamed
the diner the China Star and served their menu of traditional Chinese
food until they closed the diner in 2000. When the proposed
development plan to build a dry cleaning business on the property
fell through, the diner was immediately purchased by the Quentin
Sanford family of Westport, Massachusetts. The diner was a favorite
stopping for the Sanfords during their trips from Cape Cod to Rhode
Island.
The China Star in 2000
The Sanfords, who operate the seasonal Handy Hill Creamery in
Westport have spent months cleaning and restoring the 1951 diner. The
kitchen has been remodeled and the “Tarry Room” given a bit of period
revitalization. According to Diner Historian Daniel Zilka the Star
Diner is one of the few well preserved original diners from the early
1950’s remaining.
Good luck to the Sanfords and we will keep you all posted about the
grand opening of the Star Diner.
The Star Diner is located at:
140 Newport Avenue
East Providence(Rumford), Rhode Island
Phone: 401.434.8899
Do you have any memories of Keenan’s Diner? We would love to have you send us a comment.
Persy’s Place 