Eagle Times Staff
BELLOWS FALLS, VT — Former owner of Miss Bellows Falls Diner and host of “Travels with Charlie” on Fact-TV, Charlie Jarras will bring the community an evening of stories and anecdotes from employees and customers alike on Thursday, Nov. 9, at 7 p.m. at the Rockingham Library.
In just over five months, reviving, restoring and rejuvenating the Miss Bellows Falls Diner, built 80 years ago and shuttered since the pandemic, has gone from a mere idea to a fast-moving project. Now the project organizers want to invite interested citizens to continue the conversation.
In early 2023, community organization Rockingham For Progress (RFP) reached out to the Preservation Trust of Vermont, Windham Regional Commission and the Brattleboro Area Development Corp. These groups helped RFP develop a plan for a community supported enterprise, whereby a nonprofit purchases the building, oversees renovations and then leases it to a qualified operator. The business stays on the tax rolls, the new operator is provided a viable operation unencumbered by debt and Bellows Falls keeps its diner.
Over the last few years, moisture has penetrated the diner’s steel and porcelain exterior; foundations have cracked, wood has buckled and rotted, and the limited seating and cramped quarters have daunted prospective operators. It is no secret that a 32-seat lunch car faces a challenging future in today’s competitive food-service world.
By the beginning of 2024, restoration work should be underway, and by May of 2025 (the diner’s 81st anniversary of arriving in Bellows Falls) the hope is that the diner will reopen. The Rockingham Free Public Library, the Historic Preservation Office of the Town of Rockingham and RFP join together in a series of conversations about the diner’s past and its future with free events at the library, which is located at 65 Westminster Street.
Rockingham For Progress invites interested individuals to follow their story at RockinghamForProgress.org or on their Facebook page.
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