SAAC Presents:
Greg Mattesen's Unique & Wonderful 'Old Car-Flavored' Show of O'Rourke's Diner Support, September 2006
(This page created 9/15/2006; updated with the text of a New York Times article from the 11/26/2006 'Connecticut' section as of 12/2/2006)

Quick Navigational Links for this page: Overview & Greg's Words | Greg's Original Photo | Other Shoreliners Lend their support to O'Rourke's | Link to the Online Home of O'Rourke's Diner Support | A Very Nice New York Times Update from the 11/26/2006 'Connecticut' section

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A Tragic Loss...Followed by a Touching Show of Spirit and Support...

The shocking news of the early-morning August 31, 2006 fire at the O'Rourke's Diner at the North End of Middletown's Main Street spread far and wide very quickly. A beloved and historic institution that had served so many, for so long, was dealt a harsh blow by the blaze. Local news institutions like WTNH-TV Channel 8 sent reporters, getting the story onto the airwaves, and networks of friends circulated the news via phonecalls and e-mails.

Our long-time old-car friend Greg Mattesen who lives nearby O'Rourke's Diner, and has been frequenting it for years, often with his daughter Amelia, has been our "eyes and ears" as to the ongoing situation with O'Rourke's ever since the 31st of August, and has been lending his support in any way he can. A short time ago he was inspired to combine his love for antique automobiles with his love for diners (and specifically O'Rourke's Diner) into a unique and beautiful show of support...

Quoting from Greg's e-mail, to which the original image was attached (along with a couple of others), dated Tuesday, September 12, 2006:

"...On Sunday morning, I went over to the coffee and bake sale being held at O'Rourke's to help out a bit (we brought over some pumpkin bread, and I stayed for several hours to explain to passers-by what we were doing). A couple of the diner's employees that play in a band were performing live on the sidewalk as entertainment, and we all had a fun time. I got permission from Brian to display the "Support O'Rourke's Diner" sign that I had made for the '63 (VW Beetle).

I'll enclose some photos of it here...I wanted to be able to fold it down for when I'm driving and when I have to go into the garage. The sign's probably about 3 feet tall, so it never would have made it into the garage standing up on the car. So I designed it with hinges so that it can fold down and rest on the roof rack when it's being transported; it can easily be raised when I want to display it, and I simply attach bungie cords to keep it upright. I made some triangular corner braces for the bottom of the sign to keep it steady...Greg..."

"WATERCOLOR" IMAGE AT THE UPPER RIGHT: One of the photos Greg attached to his 9/12/2006 e-mail was a wonderful "posed" shot of his magnificent turqouise 1963 Volkswagen Beetle parked in front of O'Rourke's Diner. We've presented Greg's original photo below (reduced slightly to facilitate computer screen loading), but also wanted to present a slightly "stylized" version that we were able to come up with, thanks to a photo-editing program. I think Greg's shot has a very unique "feel," with the mix of colors (wonderful how the blue of Greg's sign picks up the blue of the original O'Rourke's sign in the background), and even the guitar case that's visible back by the diner, gives the shot added "ambiance" and further helps to tell the story. You can also read more about Greg's '63 VW Bug specifically (including some info about his having previously visited some historic local diners with it), on this page: http://members.aol.com/cgextras/GregMattesen63VWHistory.html .

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Greg Mattesen's 1963 VW "Shows Its Colors" at O'Rourke's Diner, September 10, 2006

BELOW: Here is Greg's original shot. Our hat is off to Greg for really going "above and beyond" in displaying his support for O'Rourke's Diner, with a truly beautiful and memorable production in every way.

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Other Voices From the Shoreline...

It is also worth noting, since this news is being presented via the Shoreline Antique Auto Connection, that other Shoreliners are also aware of and affected by the O'Rourke's Diner fire, and are expressing their love of the diner and it's owner Brian O'Rourke. The September 14, 2006 issue of the Branford, Connecticut-oriented newspaper "The Sound" (www.thesoundnewspaper.com), on page C-7, has a column by Lee White (as part of her regular "A La Carte" series) entitled "Rebuilding an Institution: One Soup at a Time." I've transcribed the article, complete with the accompanying recipe, below:

Rebuilding an Institution: One Soup at a Time
A La Carte with Lee White

I grew up eating in diners in Troy, New York and I remember vividly that junior high school friends would walk into the Fifth Avenue Diner in North Troy where we would sip vanilla, cherry, or chocolate fountain-made Cokes and share shoestring potatoes with gravy. We would go to Thornie after dates and, especially, after proms. My high school girlfriends, when we were seniors, would meet at the Hoosick Street Diner in late spring. When my father had to go to New York, we'd wait until we say my mother's Chrysler wind its way downtown (my mother would open and tend our store when my father had to go to the City), then we'd skip school (since we'd already received our college letters) and go to my house to sunbathe in our yard.

Over the years my husband and I have found new diners wherever we've lived: New Jersey diners, always owned by Greek families with diner menus bigger and taller than any other restaurant; Ralph in Worcester, Massachusetts (where diners began); and Bob Yankee diner in Charlton, Massachusetts.

But even before we moved to Connecticut, we'd heard about O'Rourke's diner in Middletown. When we were traveling, we'd always seem to find a reason to detour to Middletown and stop at O'Rourke's. This was not a prototypical diner-although you could get scrambled eggs and bacon for breakfast and a BLT for lunch, that wasn't the reason thousands flocked to O'Rourke's. On weekend mornings there were five or six typewritten sheets of fascinating omelettes and egg dishes, breakfast always began with slices of quick breads made in the open kitchen, and the muffins were fluffy and splendid. Monday to Friday the lunch menu included different soups every day, every week, every year. And there was, of course, Connecticut's own steamed hamburger, topped with a slice of melted cheddar. A few years ago Brian O'Rourke began doing dinner at the diner and we loved that too.

Around 3 a.m. Thursday, Aug. 31, all that was left was the fire-streaked stainless shell of this institution that is cited in the National Register of Historic Places and had been in Brian's family since 1941.

Without insurance, it's clear that rebuilding will be difficult, but this bright phoenix might rise from the ashes. Local builders, engineers, architects, and lawyers have come together in an effort to recreate O'Rourke's, and the owner of a dinner-only restaurant is allowing Brian to do breakfast and lunch out of his restaurant without charging him. There is a website, www.orourkesdiner.com , if you want to help.

For years, Brian and I have talked about doing a cookbook on his soups. Some were written down and are probably gone, but most were not recorded-so many, in fact, that doing a cookbook will mean me sitting with him for hours at a time, for months, maybe even a year. That was time Brian didn't have, but before the new diner opens, perhaps we can write that book now...

Lee White of Old Lyme has been a food editor and restaurant reviewer for more than 25 years. You can email her at Leeawhite@aol.com

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Brian O'Rourke's Turnip and Oatmeal Soup - from Connecticut Chefs 2000
(Norwich Bulletin, Norwich, CT, 2000)

4 turnips (softball-sized), peeled and quartered
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
cup uncooked oatmeal (not instant)
2 quarts vegetable or chicken stock

Cook turnips in a pot with enough water to cover for about 1 to 1 hours or until soft. In a stockpot, heat oil and sauté onion and oatmeal until onions are translucent, about 5 to 6 minutes. Add 2 quarts of vegetable stock and simmer.

For a rustic, low-fat soup: Mash or puree turnips with some vegetable or chicken stock and add to onion/oatmeal mixture in stockpot. Add 1 quart of heavy cream, 1 cup Irish whiskey (optional) and 3 cups of hard cider (or regular cider). Simmer. Thicken with a roux (5 tablespoons of flour and 5 tablespoons of butter cooked until mixture turns a blonde color) if necessary. (You can also thicken with a little bit of 1 tablespoon of cornstarch mixed with one-quarter cup of water, whiskey, or wine, remembering that the soup will not thicken until it boils for a few minutes.)

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O'Rourke's Support Online Headquarters

There is a place to visit to learn more about the ongoing efforts in support of O'Rourke's Diner, and also to be able to check in with your own messages of support. Please be sure to visit the Friends of O'Rourke's Diner, Middletown, Connecticut web site, located at: http://www.orourkesdiner.com/

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A Very Nice New York Times Update from the 11/26/2006 'Connecticut' section
(this section added here as of 12/2/2006)

(the following is from the New York Times 'Connecticut' section, 11/26/2006, page 6, under the heading "Community"--the IMAGE SHOWN HERE was part of the original, as-printed article, and had the accompanying caption: "'A Melting Pot' - Brian O'Rourke, whose diner was damaged in a fire on Aug. 31, said the outpouring of donations to rebuild was humbling." The photo credit for this shot was listed as "George Ruhe for the New York Times")

Effort to Repair Diner Reaches Far and Wide
By Jane Gordon
Middletown, Conn

The Aug. 31 fire that damaged O'Rourke's Diner, a small, beloved restaurant at the edge of Main Street as it turns off toward Route 9 here, almost immediately drew widespread offers to help the owner rebuild.

Messages from Egypt, Cyprus, and Germany, along with those from Los Angeles and Albuquerque, have landed on a Web site, www.orourkesdiner.com , set up to help raise money to rebuild the diner, which is owned by Brian O'Rourke. Fund-raisers (the next one is Tuesday at Angelico's Restaurant in East Hampton, Conn.) have collected almost $100,000, which includes $10,000 from an anonymous donor.

"I would not say that Brian O'Rourke is a good businessman, but I would say that he's built up tremendous capital," said Jane McMillan, a Middletown lawyer who belongs to a group raising money to help rebuild the diner. "All these people want to help him because he's been so good to them over the years."

The donations are important because Mr. O'Rourke did not have fire insurance. So contractors have offered their services free to help rebuild the diner, work that is expected to cost about $350,000. Mike Stacy, a disc jockey at WRCH-FM, volunteered to be the host of an event to raise money, and Bill Griffith of East Haddam, author of the "Zippy the Pinhead" cartoons, donated a drawing of the diner to benefit the effort.

Among the information on the Web site, which includes where to send donation and updates on how much has been collected, customers' messages are perhaps the most compelling. One note tells of Mr. O'Rourke giving free food to the poor and opening his diner before 4 a.m. to give coffee to snowplow drivers.

"I always thin of O'Rourke's as a melting pot," wrote Brenda Partello, a former waitress. "The mayor sat next to a homeless person and ate. People were welcome no matter what their status in life was."

The group raising money included Janine Janicki, a waitress at O'Rourke's. She said $150,000 was needed to begin construction.

"It's been mentioned that St. Patrick's Day would be a great opening day," she said.

The group began raising money a day after the fire, selling $7,000 worth of pastries and coffee outside the building. Fire officials said they believed the fire was caused by a steamer used to cook hamburgers that was left on overnight.

"We have a ways to go," Ms. Janicki said. "We're all volunteers, and we're doing the best we can."

The diner, which is on the National Register of Historic Places, has been in Mr. O'Rourke's family since the 1940s. He is known not only for his welcoming attitude but also for his cooking and has been lauded in numerous publications for his creativity. To reopen, he will need new equipment, china and cutlery. Contractors and architects have offered heating and air-conditioning equipment, cooking equipment, credit card machines, architectural and engineering advice, and a new front door to replace the original, which is hanging but charred.

The donations have been humbling, Mr. O'Rourke said.

"I've spent almost my entire life there and I've built a castle," he said. "I miss the people tremendously; I miss the family I've created there. The diner is my home and I want to do what I do best there."

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