Diners, Diners, Everywhere

The first module for my MCOM 407 examined the types of people in local diners during the late evening hours. I looked specifically looked at Towson Diner, Bel Loc Diner, and Valentino's and discussed the wait time at Paper Moon.

But like any city, Baltimore has more than four diners in and around its city limits, and unfortunately I was unable to discuss classic restaraunts like Little Tavern (open 24 hours in its Highlandtown/Patterson Park location) and Sip N' Bite in Fells Point.

Metromix has a great, although brief, article detailing the atmosphere and history of Sip N' Bite (affectionately called Slurp N Burp).

Unfortunately there is little available on the web about Little Tavern. The chain, which sells "Burgers By the Bag" has two locations remaining in Baltimore (the aforementioned Highlandtown location and a large free-standing restaurant outside of the city near Dundalk) and one remaining in Laurel on Route 1.
The chain was founded in Kentucky in 1927; founders/owners Harry and Doris Duncan moved to Washington, DC one year later and opened the "clapshacks" across the city. As many as 50 were open before the slow decline in the late 80s. The shacks remain in both Baltimore and DC; at least to 'shacks remain on Lower York Road. One is painted blue and red and serves Soul Food. Another is a vibrant yellow and offers Chinese. The most devastating Little Tavern-turned-Something Else is Golden Gate Chinese in Silver Spring; the awning is a sparkling gold and fools even the most die-hard Little Tavern fans to this day (such as myself).

My begrudging memoriam aside, Dan Rodricks briefly discussed the chain two days ago. Or, Baltimore Sun.com readers discuss the chain and Rodricks posts some e-mails.

But there's also the diner chains Double T Diner and Nautilus Diner; Double T has locations throughout Maryland, including Frederick and Ellicott City. Nautilus has locations in Crofton, St. Mary's County, and York Road. The one on York is one of the few in the area that still has a smoking section, to the delight of Towson University's smoking students.

The Baltimore Sun reported on August 9, 2007 that fitness centers and gyms were extending its hours throughout the city to allow late night, early morning, and in some cases 24-hour, workouts. Businesses saw an increase in late night activity as commuters did cardio at 3 a.m. after the late shift, or 5 a.m. before their workday started. Companies such as 24-Hour Fitness and Anytime Fitness are opening centers throughout the United States to offer Americans the opportunity to workout at any time of the day or night. (Anytime has locations in Clinton and Catonsville with three new centers opening soon in Frederick County in addition to its center in Brunswick. Bel Air, Hagerstown, La Plata, and Sykesville will also open centers this fall.)

But the 24-hour fitness trend is not limited to Baltimore. North Dakota, Wisconsin, and even Bulgaria are jumping into the late night/early morning cardio routines as patrons begin to see the myriad of benefits.

Anytime Fitness currently hosts one center in Halifax, Nova Scotia with intentions to open more gyms in Canada in the future. 24-Hour Fitness has centers in Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore, and Taiwan.