03/09/2009
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Staff photo by David Leamingfrom the Kennebec Journal
BUDGET CUTS ORDERED
Many happy returns in Richmond
Tax woes land on Whitefield
Rapist denied new trial
AUGUSTA MINDING A MINE
SPORT OF KINGS Falconry a blend of dedication and commitment
COLLEGE HOCKEY: Maine rallies but falls short against Boston College
COLLEGE ROUNDUP: Colby women win season opener at home tournament
All of today's:
News | Sports
from the Kennebec Journal
from the Morning Sentinel
WEDDING BURGLAR JAILED
Youths talk Turkey Day
Plenty of free Thanksgiving meals available
Turkey prices make for happier holiday
Kennebec County Superior Court
POLICE
COLLEGE HOCKEY: Maine rallies but falls short against Boston College
COLLEGE ROUNDUP: Colby women win season opener at home tournament
All of today's:
News | Sports
from the Morning Sentinel
WEST NEW PORTLAND -- From 1932 until it became one of the victims of Waterville's urban renewal in 1965, the former Parks' Diner was a popular eatery in the Elm City.
Six years later and 42 miles away, the old Worcester Lunch Car Co. classic took on the name of New Portland's famous landmark, and became the Wirebridge Diner.
Today, as if bent on survival, the old diner on Route 27 has morphed into Robinson's General Store. Owner Philip Robinson, who is there seven days a week, says he appreciates the building's history.
"I've had older folks stop in who worked there when it was in Waterville," Robinson said, while ringing up a customer. "They even took pictures."
Spiro "Spike" Yotides, of Waterville, wasn't one of those visitors to Robinson's General Store last year.
But Yotides, who worked there when he was in high school in the mid-1940s, was happy to hear that the place has survived. He was especially pleased that the old stools and the counter, where he worked serving coffee, soda and short-order food, are still there.
"Some day I might take a ride out there," Yotides said.
Yotides and his older brother, the late George Yotides, both worked for Parks' Diner owner George Petrikas. Spike Yotides was there in 1943 and 1944, reporting for work after school, and on weekends.
"I can visualize where it was right now," Yotides said. "Lunch was always busy, and after church on Sundays."
Yotides said police officers often stopped in. So did college students, and Navy pilots who were training at the old Colby College campus on College Avenue, before it was torn down.
"We were busy all the time in there," he said.
Julia Fortin, of Waterville, was a waitress at Parks' in 1963 and '64. Local businessmen and Colby students were the norm, she said.
"It was a busy place," said Fortin, 78. "It's funny that it's still around, after being gone for all these years."
When Robinson and his wife, Mary, purchased the old diner in a bankruptcy auction on Feb. 14, 2008, the Wirebridge Diner had sat vacant for about two years, after former owner Rick Chretien closed it. New Portland had been without a store in any of its three villages -- West, East and North -- when Morton's Country Store closed, around the same time as the diner's closing, Robinson said. The new store is seven miles from the west village, where Morton's operated for many years.
Robinson, who had worked as a logger, said he had always wanted to run a store. Mary Robinson works as an accountant with Plum Creek in Bingham.
The Robinsons found themselves with a building that needed lots of love, he said. There was no heating system. He also had to wire the building, put in floors and paint it.
"We had to do quite a lot," Robinson said. "It was pretty run down."
While the booths near the windows were gone, Robinson's General Store does retain the counter and the stools, where Waterville diners once ordered English muffins, eggs and coffee. The original stained-glass windows remain, as well.
Robinson has installed four tables, which can seat 19 for pizza and sandwiches. He also sells basic groceries.
Business began slowly in the remote location, but has grown, Robinson said.
"Everything's turned out the way I thought it would," he said.
Robinson gets help from daughters Britany, 17 and Kristina, 13, as well as his mother-in-law, Muriel Handrahan. The store is open seven days a week, approximately 12 hours a day.
"I'm putting in just about all the hours," Robinson said. "Other than a few hours on Saturday and Sunday, I'm here. This is my job."
Will Anderson chronicles the history of Parks' Diner in his book "Good Old Maine."
The urban renewal authority purchased it from Petrikas in 1965, then the once-shiny diner sat neglected until 1971, when Reno and Lorraine Chretien bought the structure and moved it to New Portland.
Larry Grard -- 861-9239
lgrard@centralmaine.com
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