Selectmen re-advertise sale of Edgemere Diner
By Ken Powers Contributing Writer

Shrewsbury - In an eff ort to locate a buyer for the Edgemere Diner and a tenant for the 20,000-square-foot lot it's located on at 51 Hartford Turnpike (Route 20), the Board of Selectmen recently reduced by half, to $1,000, the amount of the monthly lease payment it would be seeking from a prospective renter.

As a result, the purchase price of the diner, which was $1, was raised to $5,000.

The town is selling the diner, but is only leasing the land because of the pump station that's located on the site.

When the sale of the diner was originally advertised in the spring, just one person responded, and that person changed her mind.

In the original advertisement, the new tenant, had one been found, would have had to keep the dining car on the property for six months, unless the tenant had paid the six months of rent - $12,000 - ahead of time. Under the new lease, the diner must stay on the property for the entire 20- year period.

In addition, anyone interested in purchasing the diner and renting the land must provide, up front, a $5,000 bid bond. This requirement is a way for the town to determine which bidders are serious about possibly purchasing the diner. The bid bond provided will be returned to all unsuccessful bidders.

Neighbors of the diner have expressed to the town an interest to have the diner open for business again.

The diner was built in the 1940s by the Fodero Dining Car Co., of Bloomfield, N.J. It originally opened in Boston, but was moved to Shrewsbury in 1954.

The town seized control of the diner in 1995 from its former owner, Constantinos Ganias, a Worcester resident who owed back real estate taxes to the town of Shrewsbury. It had been leased to various individuals and businesses until about two years ago when the last known lease expired.

Town documents show previous leases ran about $1,400 a month.

When the last lease expired, the Board of Selectmen decided not to seek another tenant on a threeyear lease.

This year the town received approval at Town Meeting to lease the site for a 20-year period, a decision that was also approved by the State Legislature.