The Star Diner on Newport Avenue in East Providence has opened after being painstakingly restored and upgraded. Bethany Smith and Quentin Sanford, brother and sister, bought the diner in 2000 from the family who ran the China Star Chinese restaurant at that location since 1964.

After several delays including ADA and state fire code upgrades the 1951 vintage diner with the largest seating in the State of Rhode Island has become a “Star” in it’s own right. Recent filming of two programs HBO’s Brotherhood and a short film Manifest Breakfast are only the beginning of a wonderful 2009 for The Star. According to diner historian Daniel Zilka, the Star Diner is one of the few well preserved original diners from the early 1950’s remaining.

Restored interior of the Star Diner, a 1951 diner built by DeRaffele Manufacturing of New Rochelle, NY The new DeRaffele Diner was delivered in 1951 when the area was mostly open fields along Route 1A. Just north of the new diner was the famous Narragansett Horse Race Park in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. The Park opened in 1934 and provided many a memory until it closed on Labor Day in 1978. The New Haven Railroad operated special trains from Boston to the Narragansett Race Track in Rhode Island during the 1950s and 1960s. These special trains were called ‘Gansett Specials’. The late Bill McLin, a former leverman, said that you could always identify an inbound ‘Gansett Special’ from the tower because all the passengers were looking at race forms and that you could likewise identify the returning train by the large number of sad faces (the losers) in the windows!

Joseph Keenan and his wife purchased the new diner and catered to the thousands of visitors traveling along Route 1A. Keenan’s Diner was a favorite place to eat with the jockeys and horse trainers associated with the race track. The menu cover sported a headshot of one of the local heroes. When it was time to expand the business the “Tarry Room” dining addition was added around 1955. Around this time Joe Keenan and his wife Muriel left the family business and purchased Dinty Moore’s Diner in East Providence.

When Joe Keenan Sr passed away the diner was sold to Mr. and Mrs. Chin who immigrated from China to work in his uncle’s downtown Providence landmark, Mee Hong Chinese restaurant. The Chin’s renamed the diner the China Star and served their menu of traditional Chinese food until they closed the diner in 2000. When the proposed development plan to build a dry cleaning business on the property fell through, the diner was immediately purchased by the Quentin Sanford family of Westport, Massachusetts. The diner was a favorite stopping for the Sanfords during their trips from Cape Cod to Rhode Island.

The Sanfords, who operate the seasonal Handy Hill Creamery in Westport have spent months cleaning and restoring the 1951 diner. The kitchen has been remodeled and the “Tarry Room” given a bit of period revitalization.

Good luck to the Sanfords and we will keep you all posted about the grand opening of the Star Diner.

The Star Diner is located at:
140 Newport Avenue
East Providence(Rumford), Rhode Island
Phone: 401.434.8899