Little Pete’s has been a Philadelphia institution since 1978 and it’s one of the few remaining diners in Philadelphia. It’s the type of place where the staff quickly remembers your name and the familiar “Hon” is often heard. With American society being overrun with chef driven restaurants and gastro pubs the good ole’ American diner is disappearing from the landscape.  There’s something comforting about a place that caters to all walks of life, where the poor and the wealthy, the young and the old, and the resident and tourist can sit down next to each other and engage in conversation.

  “I love diners and greasy spoons. Those "Greek" joints that serve hearty breakfasts and lunch. "Family style" restaurants where you could get a dinner for four with out maxing out the credit cards. The late or all night joints that serve food to "absorb" all the alcohol you drank or serve the denizens of the graveyard shift.” – Peter Bella, Chicago Now

  “Longtime staples of the city's restaurant scene, diners are slowly vanishing from sight. They're victims of dwindling revenue that can't keep pace with escalating rents or landlords ravenous for deep-pocketed drugstore chains and banks; changing neighborhood demographics; and aging owners' inability to attract buyers for 24/7 family businesses that the next generation doesn't want to take over.” Cara S Trager, Crains New York

The purpose of this project is to document my local diner that has meant so much to me over the last 20 years. Funding will provide me with a way to continue it and the printing and archiving of it. Eventually I hope to have a proper book published.

You can follow updates to this project here.
https://www.facebook.com/michael.penn.1291/medi...