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Private company

Jerry O'Mahony Diner Company

American roadside diner manufacturer

The Jerry O'Mahony Diner Company of Elizabeth, New Jersey, was a manufacturer of roadside diners from 1917 to 1952. The company produced some 2,000 of the long, narrow, primarily metal buildings, perhaps more than any other firm. Prefabricated in a factory and trucked to their locations, the diners resemble and are often confused with railroad rolling stock.2 Wikipedia text CC BY-SA 4.0

Last updated Oct 21, 2026.

Overview

1917Founded1

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Photo: Jaboyce, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons3

The Jerry O'Mahony Diner Company of Elizabeth, New Jersey, was a manufacturer of roadside diners from 1917 to 1952. The company produced some 2,000 of the long, narrow, primarily metal buildings, perhaps more than any other firm. Prefabricated in a factory and trucked to their locations, the diners resemble and are often confused with railroad rolling stock. The company's motto was "In our line, we lead the world".2

How it started

History

Jerry O'Mahony (1890–1969) of Bayonne, New Jersey, is credited by some to have made the first "diner". In 1912, the first lunch wagon built by Jerry and Daniel O'Mahoney and John Hanf was bought for $800 by restaurant entrepreneur Michael Griffin and operated at Transfer Station in Hudson County, New Jersey. The wagon helped spark New Jersey's golden age of diner manufacturing.

It is estimated that about 20 remain in the United States as of 2022.

From Wikipedia’s article on Jerry O'Mahony Diner Company, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.2

Timeline

  1. 1917Founded Founded1

Sources

The numbers on this page point here. Each one links to the record it came from.

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