San Francisco resident Brian Giblon grew up immersed in the East Coast diner scene. Now, he’s building community while celebrating diner culture with his group, SF Diner Club.
Created by Giblon and Eileen Xie in December, the SF Diner Club hosts meetups at various diners throughout the city at least once a week. Meetup information is posted to the club’s Instagram and no registration is required, although a quick DM is appreciated. The aim is to foster connections while uplifting and supporting what Giblon described as a “contracting” diner scene.
In the 20 years he’s lived in San Francisco, “a lot of diners closed,” he said. “Most notably, It’s Tops … and then there were lots of other smaller mom-and-pop diners that had just been there for years, and I can think of a half dozen of those that have closed.”
When living on the East Coast, Giblon frequently ended his nights at diners, recalling fond memories of having a bite and conversation after concerts.
The best deals on Ninja’s frozen treat and drink makers
“Sometimes we’d go to a diner, and then the people that went to a completely different concert would be there, so it has that old school, pre-cell phone, you-can-run-into-your-friends feel to it,” he said.
After moving to San Francisco, he noticed that the diner scene wasn’t quite as large, with taquerias often being the go-to spot for late-night, affordable bites. At the same time, he wanted to do something to build community, inspired by books such as “Bowling Alone,” which discusses the collapse of community in America.
“Sixty years ago, the average American was in multiple different institutional community groups, be them like Knights of Columbus, labor unions, their religious organization, stuff like that,” he said. “And now people are like, ‘What’s that Knights of Columbus hall at the corner that no one goes to?’”
Giblon determined that diners were an ideal meeting place for a dining club, noting that they usually have plenty of available tables, are more affordable, and offer a wide variety of food. While the first two months after the club’s founding didn’t gain much traction, now about a dozen people are coming to dinners, and three to four people for breakfasts.
Splitting the bill among large groups has never been a problem, Giblon noted, explaining that, “You go into a diner, everything’s whatever decades old, but they’re keeping up to date with the payment system.”
When Giblon eats at diners, he often orders breakfast, a burger with fries and a milkshake, or a fried sampler. If there’s meatloaf, he’s definitely trying it, he said, noting that many diners in San Francisco do not offer meatloaf.
The SF Diner Club defines a diner by asking the following three questions: Does it have booths? Does it have counter service? Does it have stools at the counter? If yes to all three, it’s generally a diner, Giblon said.
Viking’s ‘fan favorites’ are coveted kitchen musts
What Giblon particularly likes about diners is “the attitude, the ambiance (and) the classic Americana of it,” he said. “Some diners haven’t changed in 100 years. … There’s the no-frills attitude of ‘Anybody can come.’”
Some of Giblon’s favorite diners in the city are St. Francis Fountain (which has been around since 1918), The Original Mels, Mel’s Drive-In, Tennessee Grill and Orphan Andy’s (which is open 24 hours). Newer diners he’s particularly fond of include Goldenette, Chicken Fried Palace and 16th Street Diner.
The SF Diner Club encourages anyone who is looking to make new friends to join for their breakfast or dinner meetups, and Giblon is hoping to start hosting some Peninsula meetups as well.
“I like just building community,” he said. “A lot of the world is getting too online, and I like that we’re already having people be friends and just getting more community in general.”
