By Michael Perna Jr.
Contributing Writer
NATICK – Local landmark Casey’s Diner started off as a horse-drawn lunch cart type affair owned by the Brooks family, and was purchased in 1906 by Fred Casey. These small precursors to more modern diners looked similar to old-fashioned train cars.
Origins in Worcester
Due to their small size, they had limited menus, offering such staples as meatloaf, baked beans and sandwiches. In 1927, Casey purchased a diner that had been built by the Worcester Lunch Car Company a few years earlier, in 1922. The Worcester Lunch Car Company, which was located in a brick building that still stands on Southbridge Street in Worcester (across the street from the Miss Worcester Diner), produced 601 diners during the period of 1906 to 1961.
Many of these diners are still in operation, with several being located around Boston and the MetroWest area of Massachusetts. Casey’s Diner was moved around some before finally ending up in Natick, where it has remained since 1927. Tucked away on a side street at 36 South Avenue, this tiny, unassuming building might be easy to miss if you didn’t know it was there. There isn’t even a sign advertising the name of the diner!
Photo/Michael Perna Jr.
Apparently, a sign isn’t even necessary―generations of local families have frequented Casey’s for years and years, and business is booming. One lifelong area resident, Michael “Mike” Moran has been eating at Casey’s since he was a child. He said his favorite breakfast meal is the Belgian waffles topped with strawberries and whipped cream. “This place has the best food around,” he confided.
One of the oldest diners in the state
The diner is open seven days a week, offering breakfast, lunch and dinner at various times during the day. The building itself is one of, if not the oldest, operating diners in Massachusetts (and possibly the entire United States), according to the diner’s website.
The menu is eclectic, featuring choices like a “Good Morning Burger”―described as a four-ounce burger with fried egg and bacon with a choice of toppings and bread; the Breakfast Club Sandwich―a “double decker with fried eggs, lettuce, tomato, mayonnaise, and a choice of bacon, sausage or burger patty”; a cup of baked beans; and a ham and pickle sandwich. A large selection of pies are also offered, anything from apple to Boston cream, squash, rhubarb, pecan and several others. A good selection of drinks can be had too, ranging from the usual coffee and tea to black and white, chocolate or vanilla, or orange creamsicle floats.
National acclaim
Recently, the diner was named as one of the best classic diners in the entire country by the blog Love Food. It also was featured on the “Phantom Gourmet” television program. Casey’s has been owned by the same family for four generations now, passed down from father to son. The diner, although very small, advertises outdoor seating in the warmer months. The building itself is on the National Register of Historic Places.
For anyone interested in the diners produced by the Worcester Lunch Car Company itself, a good reference would be the book “The Worcester Lunch Car Company” by Richard Gutman.
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