Or maybe we need to say:
Give everyone the Disneyland Paris Café des Cascadeurs (Stuntman’s) diner update. #disneylandparisdiner
As with all Mr. Local History retrospectives, we often update the post when we learn stories and are sAs is the case with all Mr. Local History retrospectives, we frequently update our posts as new stories and photos are shared within our internet community. We will keep expanding this article as more information becomes accessible. If you have any comments or photos to contribute, please feel free to post them at the bottom of this page or contact us directly.ent photos from our internet community. We will continue to grow this piece as information becomes available. If you have a comment or photo, feel free to post at the bottom of this page or drop us a note.
Mr. Local History Project
Here’s a story about the birth, death, and resurrection of something that is near and dear to Jersians, a diner. Not just any diner, but the EXCELLENT DINER, a Westfield, New Jersey institution that opened in July 1935 and closed in July 1995. almost 60 years to the day. What is now the Café des Cascadeurs opened a few months after Walt Disney Studios Park had opened on March 16, 2Here’s the story of the rise, fall, and resurrection of the beloved Westfield diner, the Excellent Diner. Established in July 1935, the diner served the community until its closure in July 1995, almost 60 years later. The Café des Cascadeurs now stands in its place, having opened a few months after the Walt Disney Studios Park launched on March 16, 2002. It continues to offer customers the same treat that Westfield residents enjoyed for 44 years. The Mr. Local History project takes a nostalgic look back at this iconic institution.002, where the former Excellent Diner sits today, giving customers a treat that Westfielders has known for 44 years. The Mr. Local History project takes a look back at an iconic Westfield institution.
The Excellent Diner
The Excellent Diner, the dining car eatery on North Avenue across from the train station, was a Westfield tradition that started in 1935. Mrs. Stella Lukas and her husband Louis moved to Westfield in 1935 and, after owning the diner for 40 years, sold it to Steve and Harriet Frasiolas in 1975.
Mr. and Mrs. Louis Lukas had owned the original mahogany and marble diner since its inception. In 1951, they contracted with Jerry O’Mahony, Inc. from Elizabeth, and a new shiny diner was plopped on the site. For 44 years, the iconic stainless structure served Westfield residents high-quality diner fare.
My grandfather is Jerry O’Mahony who manufactured diners (this diner)!
Barbara Mahoney Brown
I live in Westfield and the Excellent Diner was a favorite spot.
Jerry O’Mahony, Inc., a leading manufacturer of dining cars for decades, built the Excellent Diner in Elizabeth, New Jersey in 1951 and delivered it to its location where it stood for 44 years. This style of diner can be recognized by its “streamlined beauty,” rounded corners and stainless steel trim and classis “rail-car” design. The diner was 23 feet wide by 100 feet long, and their first phone number was Westfield 2 – 1582.
“Our motto: Service – Cleanliness – Quality is a pledge to the public for its good will.”
Louis’ Excellent Diner
Yes it was there in the 70s.
Lynne CotterPat Midkiff Millner
We used to call it “Screwy Louie’s”
The Frasiola Era
Steve and Harriet Frasiola purchased the diner (not the property) from the Lukas’ of Westfield in 1975. For 20 years, the Frasiola family became the local place across from the train station, providing comfort food to commuters and locals seven days a week.
Many stories mentioned the favorites as well as the daily specials. Pancakes, hamburgers, wet omelets, hash browns were all favorites served seven days a week.
“I hate getting up at 4am but once I get there I love it.”
Harriet Frasiola
Collectible
Get the Keepsake that says Jersey – The Jersey Diner
The diner was moved on August 25, 1995, and the foundation was demolished soon thereafter. It was stated that Mrs. Lukas and the Frasiolas could not come to terms on the sale of the property where the diner sat. I loved going there after a Holy Trinity High School basketball game. Finally, I got permission from my parents to go (I had always wanted to go). I remember ordering French fries.
Linda Macaluso Pellet, Westfield resident
I used to get a milkshake there every weekend if I behaved in church!!
Gwendolyn Walsh
Papa went to the Excellent Diner when he first came to America. It was on a Saturday morning and he ordered a “beer”. He saw the sign for “root beer” and thought they served beer! That was his first taste of root beer.
Wendy Schoenemann
In Germany, the men met in a pub after church for a beer.
It’s called “Fruehschoppen”.
The Mr. Local History Project is still looking for photos or menu images from the Excellent Diner.
Excellent Diner Clippings – Send Us Yours!
Click the image to watch……
Selling the Diner
On Sunday, July 30, 1995, Frasiolas had to close the Excellent Diner as their 20-year lease on the property beneath the diner had expired. Steve Frasiolas stated that it was something that had been forced on them and not by choice. Although the Excellent Diner was closing by the end of next month, it was not disappearing from the face of the earth. The diner is set to reopen for business before the end of the year in Germany.
“Oldies But Goodies,” a company specializing in exporting American nostalgia to Europe, has partnered with Ralph Palumbo III of Milburn and Bernd Richter of Heubauch, Germany. According to Palumbo and Richter, The Excellent Diner will be the first authentic U.S. diner to be brought to Germany. Richter stated that there are some copies of American diners in Germany, but none of them are authentic.
Steve Frasiolas said, “Everybody’s going to come to the funeral.” On Sunday afternoon, the Frasiolas will close their diner after 20 years. By this time next month, an empty space will have replaced the Excellent Diner.
German Export
In 1995, the Frasiolas sold their diner for $60,000 at the end of their 20-year lease. The buyer, Bernd Richter, had the entire building transported to Wasserlassen, Germany, and then delivered to Aalen, a city with a population of around 70,000 located about 200 miles north of Munich. Ralph Palumbo III, from Milburn, and Bernd Richter are business partners in a company called “Oldies But Goodies,” which specializes in exporting American nostalgia to Europe.
Palumbo and Richter said that American nostalgia from the 1940s and ’50s is all the rage in Germany. Television crews and reporters from some of Germany’s largest media outlets have expressed interest in covering the moving of the diner, Richter said. “In Germany,” Richter said, “many people are excited about this.”
In 1999, a German company located in Stuttgart ordered 30 diners from Kullman Industries Inc., the largest diner manufacturer in the United States, situated in the borough of Lebanon in Hunterdon County. If the diners are successful imports, the Germans plan to expand them throughout Europe.
Robert Kullman, the company’s third-generation president and chief executive, stated that Kullman Industries sent its first diner to Linthe, near Berlin, in January 1995. The company’s diner construction office complex is located off Route 78 in Clinton, NJ, where employees can hold business meetings or chow down at the strategically located diner.
Kullman Corp. has a long history, tracing its roots back to 1927 when Sam Kullman began constructing prefabricated diners in Newark. However, Kullman Corp. filed for bankruptcy back in 2011.
Where’s the Excellent Diner Today?
The diner was once very popular in Germany, but the cost of maintaining it eventually became too high. To make matters worse, a new highway was built, leading traffic away from the diner. Consequently, the owners decided to sell it.
The diner was later purchased by Walt Disney Studios and relocated to the grounds of Euro Disneyland. Robert Wendel, vice president of community relations for the Westfield Historical Society, revealed that the diner was moved because of the impact of mad cow disease on businesses in Germany.
On March 16, 2002, the diner opened once again, but this time in Walt Disney’s Studio with a new name, a refurbished exterior, and a brand-new interior. Despite the renovation, the diner still maintains its 50s-style decor.
Another former resident of Westfield noticed that the diner looked exactly like one she knew from Westfield.
While living in Paris, my mother-in-law told us that local news tabloids recorded the Excellent’s next move sometime in 2000. After presumably doing a mediocre business in Aalen, the Diner found a more fabulous home in Marne-la-Vallée, a 15 minute drive outside of Paris, and best known for being home to Euro Disney’s theme parks. The worldly Excellent had taken up residence in the studio theme park, and rejected its American roots, changing it’s name to the more fabulous “Café de Cascadeurs” (translation: Stuntman’s Café).
Christine Adams Beckett – a former Westfield resident living in Paris.
Online French reviews of the Cascadeurs are almost universally positive, but not one mentions the authenticity of the design of this American classic, a true antique and relic to the past. There was one that raved about the jukebox, though.
Excellent Update
On February 27, 2018, Disney announced a €2 billion investment in the Paris resort. This investment includes the refurbishment of the existing Backlot resort, as well as the expansion of Walt Disney Studios Park. The expansion will feature a new central lake and three new areas themed to Marvel. As part of the renovation, the Backlot attraction at Disneyland Paris is being transformed to include a new Avengers-themed attraction. The attraction is located across from the Cafe des Cascadeurs and is just off the Piazza Sergio Leone. You can view the location on Google Maps and check out Disney images below.
The diner is still there. It is currently wrapped up and being preserved. It might be re-themed, but it is being saved. It is the only piece of the Backlot still around, apart from the old Moteurs stadium, which is sitting around with nothing to do.
The story continues…….
Fun MLH Foodie Stories
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This is an amazing write up. I grew up in the town over, Cranford, and have always wondered what happened to that diner after it was shipped to Germany.
Thanks for such a wonderful post