TV & Films have Immortalized the Retro Booths— Why You Should Get One

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We are all suckers for fictional masterpieces that the H-town blesses us with. From the 90s when Quentin Tarantino rocked the world with his masterpieces, to the 00s where Christopher Nolan played with our heads and tumbled our brain into a knot. Even the present and future looks bright for world cinema, and Hollywood has done something no other industry thought it’d be able to do—it left a mark on peoples’ life.

We’re not just talking about people dressing up in suits after watching The Great Gatsby; we’re talking something fundamental. We are talking about someplace where people don’t need to be cast in the movies and TV shows to hang out—just a place where a group of friends and families would go to and chill out, get their dose of coffee, etcetera. We are talking about good old’ diners.

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The best part about an American Diner is that it can’t be larger than life. You can imagine yourself and your best buds hanging around and sipping coffee in the retro booths, watching people sitting on chrome counters doing the same—all of that while waitresses loiter around the place with a steaming pot of coffee in their hands and bubblegum in the mouth. A diner feels close to home and even closer to one’s heart.

Diners exemplify the American culture and tradition to people who have never even been to the States. This has been so much elucidated by the pop culture that any person can picture an American Diner—aromatic steaming coffee, fluffy pancakes, and maple syrup combo along with the classic key lime pie. It’s what makes diners so crucial to American Culture.

However, dinner isn’t like the Statue of Liberty—people don’t know about American diners from their imagination’s stretch and Cosmo, they know about it from the idiot box (or shall we call it the idiot ‘screen’). Countless American classics—from TV shows and remedies to mind-unshackling blockbusters, revolve around the settings of an American Diner.

What Holds a Diner together?

It’s not just the coffee and pancakes—there’s something much more crucial that binds a diner together. We are talking about the ergonomics of a restaurant that make it what it is—the retro booth seat. You might not find the retro booths in many cafes these days, but they’re still the most comfortable piece of seating equipment out there.

These retro boots are making their way into commercial workspaces, and they’re perfect for the longest of group meetings to the nastiest of gossip sessions in the break room. Bring a piece of American culture into your workplace and light it up a bit with best in class retro booth seats from Millennium Seating.

Get your workplace the upgrade it deserves and watches your workforce fight over who gets to sit at that piece of American history. Shop for retro booths at Millennium Seating today!

The History of American Diners

Before getting to the TV and movie references, let’s look at the history of this great establishment. American diners have been the hotspot of American culture for a hundred years now, but where did it all begin?

This classic food joint was traditionally defined as a restaurant shaped like a railroad car; so if you think about it, diners are pretty old—as old as the 1800s. Customers were referred to as ‘lunch cars’ back then, as a lad named Water Scott crafted his horse-pulled wagon into a food cart to serve coffee, sandwiches, pie, and eggs to the passerby population going back home. What began as a side hustle turned out to be a full-time job, and he quit his day job to sell food from his horse-wagon.

Then you know how it goes—one thing leads to another, and the dominos fell into place until America blessed itself with a diner in the 1900s, and these establishments became a part of the American culture—except that part where they were sold on a horse-wagon. 

How American Diners Rose to Fame

These diners were already very famous in the US of A., But in front of the world’s eyes, TV and Movie world played its part to make it memorable. Let’s look at some examples:

  •   Pulp Fiction (1994)

This Quentin Tarantino classic brought not one, but two diners to life. The Jack Rabbit Slim’s Diner in this ecstatic flick had slot race car tracks, car-shaped booths, and the waiting staff dressed like Hollywood icons. How can we forget the iconic dance presented on screen by John Travolta and Uma Thurman?

That wasn’t the only iconic venue in the movie—the opening and closing scenes were the ones that pretty much molded the plot of the whole story, were set in a textbook, American Diner. Rumor has it that many cast members thought of opening a chain of diners after Pulp Fiction’s success, but they decided against it. All in all, this has been a benchmark that Hollywood set in front of the world, especially from a movie that’s a global blockbuster.

  •   Seinfeld (1989-1998)

This celebrated sitcom gave birth to a new era of TV shows and Jerry Seinfeld very well laid the groundwork for it. Revolving around the lives of four friends, this bone-tickler takes the center-stage at two places: a) Jerry’s apartment and b) Tom’s Diner. When this one came into contention, people started hanging out at diners that resembled the fictional one in the Show.

After that, many other shows followed the lead. Concerts with the likes of Friends settled for a new-age café instead of a diner, but Central Perk could never match the countless number of plots revolving around the restaurant in Seinfeld. That’s when customers started to mean more than just eateries—they became hangout pods.

  •   That 70s Show (1998-2006) & How I Met Your Mother (2005-2014)

The winds of Wisconsin get the 70s flavor and “The Hub” diner was the go-to place for the 70s Show squad. Seinfeld very much inspired this, and How I Met Your Mother is a more recent diner booth example were in the modern-day and age of cafés and pubs, people still prefer hanging out at this new age diner. 

  •   Goodfellas (1990)

Martin Scorsese wanted a small, space-age style place to be an essential location for his film. He got one in Maspeth, Queens and it was called the Clinton Diner. Little did the owners of the spot knew that this dinner was going to become one of the hotspots in Queens, as fans are always there to click pictures and feel the Pierce Brosnan vibes. 

Goodfellas made the Clinton Diner one of the hottest properties in the movie industry, as two of the most memorable scenes were shot inside the diner. Also, the phone-bashing scene was shot outside the restaurant at a phone booth nearby.

Time to Bring the Booth to Your Break Room

Are you looking forward to spicing your workplace up with some peppy furniture? Make space for a retro booth seating and watch your office come to life. Don’t worry—it won’t go as wrong as the movies!