 |
Sally and Dick Henry, of the Maine Diner, pose with Clyde
Raymond Curry, their 6 millionth customer, as he pretends to take a call from
the White House. (Photo by Tim Gillis)
|
Staff Columnist
WELLS –
The Maine Diner on Route 1 in Wells served its six millionth
meal Wednesday to Clyde Raymond Curry, a retired ATF agent from Dover, New
Hampshire. Curry reveled in the attention, while he ate with four friends. “I
can really ham this up,” he said, as photographers vied to get a good shot in
the packed restaurant.
Dick Henry, owner for 29 years, offered Curry a smorgasbord
of prizes, including ham, steak, turkey, gift cards, and a golf bag. Curry also
drew the names of the $1,000 AAA travel voucher winners – Kati and John
Maiuccoro, regulars to the Maine Diner from Albany, New York, who summer at
their house in Kennebunkport.
Open since 1983, the classic blue-and-white diner is a local
landmark on Route 1. With their devoted staff of seventy-five employees serving
up equal parts of great food and warm hospitality, the diner has become famous
around the world. Dick’s brother, Myles, a co-owner who passed away in December
of 2010, always said, “We’re often imitated, but never duplicated.”
It took the Maine Diner twelve years to hit the one-million
customer mark, but it has averaged a million customers every three-and-a-half
years since then. Among its most recent accolades, the diner was named
“Favorite Diner in New England” by Yankee magazine in 2011. The diner also
earned the Phantom Gournet’s rating of a “90,” making it one of about seventy
restaurants our of 2,500 rated in New England to earn such a high score.
