Tuesday, September 19th – DINER HISTORY, AND THE HISTORY OF THE MISS BELLOWS FALLS DINER: In just over six months, reviving, restoring and rejuvenating the Miss Bellows Falls Diner, built 80 years ago and shuttered since the pandemic, has gone from a mere idea to a fast-moving project. Now the project organizers want to invite interested citizens to join the conversation.

In early 2023, community organization Rockingham For Progress (RFP) reached out to the Preservation Trust of Vermont, Windham Regional Commission and the Brattleboro Area Development Corp. These groups helped RFP develop a plan for a community supported enterprise, whereby a nonprofit purchases the building, oversees renovations, and then leases it to a qualified operator. The business stays on the tax rolls, the new operator is provided a viable operation unencumbered by debt, and Bellows Falls keeps its diner.

Presentation and slide show by America’s foremost diner expert, Richard JS Gutman, on the history of the lunch cart, how it evolved into the diner, and how the Miss Bellows Falls fits into that larger history.

The Rockingham Free Public Library, the Historic Preservation Office of the Town of Rockingham and RFP join together in a series of conversations about the diner’s past and its future with three free events at 7:00 pm at the Library, at 65 Westminster Street.