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Jerry Berta, The DINER Story: THE ONLY PLACE IN THE WORLD WHERE ARE FOUR CLASSIC DINERS
Well, it all began in 1987 when Jerry Berta purchased Uncle Bob's Diner, built in 1947 by the Jerry O'Mahony Dining Car Company. Flint had been its only home until Berta moved it to Rockford. He found Michigan's last remaining diner practically abandoned and waiting to be demolished, bought it for $2000, and moved it to a vacant lot he owned located about a mile from his home. After restoring the diner to its original beauty, the kitchen of the diner was set up as a studio, and the dining area was turned into a gallery to display Berta's work, as well as the artwork of Madeline Kaczmarczyk, his wife. Uncle Bob's was then renamed "The Diner Store.
The initial interest and curiosity from the public was great. Despite the neon sign in the window that stated "NO FOOD, JUST ART," people seemed to flock to the Diner Store in hopes of ordering a burger and malt, in addition to buying art. Jerry had always loved diners: they were the inspiration for his work, but he, like the people that came to his store, also loved to eat in them. He was getting tired of having to drive out east to enjoy diner fare, so he thought about buying another diner, and when the opportunity came along to purchase one, Berta did just that.
The diner was in Little Ferry, New Jersey and then owner, Ralph Corrado, was looking for a buyer. He had already sold the lot that it was on and offered the diner to the Smithsonian but had been turned down. One evening at twilight as Corrado and his son, Arnie were cleaning up, he saw Jerry and his friends outside taking pictures of the diner. He invited them inside, and upon learning that Berta was already the owner of one diner, asked him if he wanted to buy another. Berta, who was out east on his way to an art show at the time, he thought Mr. Corrado was kidding, but less than one minute later he became the owner of his second vintage diner. He then hired Superior Transit to move it the 700 miles from Little Ferry, New Jersey to Rockford. It was transported in two sections, and Berta says that it took "four days, ten flat tires and one fire," but it survived the trip.
Although Jerry always wanted a diner he could eat in, he had no intention of actually running it himself. He wanted to lease it out and have someone else operate it. After the diner was delivered, he tried for a year to lease it, but nobody seemed to believe it could work as a successful restaurant business. It was at this point that he decided to take a chance and open it himself. People told him, "He was crazy to go into the Diner Business," but people had said the same about making a living as an artist, and he and his wife, Madeline, had been doing that successfully since 1975..
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