Biddeford, Maine · Founded 1927 · Building: 1927 (Pollard purpose-built diner car, Lowell, Massachusetts)
A 1927 Pollard diner car in Biddeford, still serving breakfast and lunch from its rare 15-seat counter.
Palace Diner is a 1927 Pollard diner car on Franklin Street in Biddeford, Maine. Built in Lowell, Massachusetts, it has remained in Biddeford and kept the Palace Diner name through roughly six ownership eras. Since reopening under chef-owners Greg Mitchell and Chad Conley in March 2014, the compact restaurant has preserved its historic counter format while renewing its menu and infrastructure.
The Pollard Company of Lowell, Massachusetts, built Palace Diner. The diner has remained in Biddeford, Maine, throughout its life.
Source: Palace Diner, "History," accessed September 1, 2026; Down East, "The Palace Diner, Maine's Oldest Dining Car, Lives On," July 22, 2025
Louis Lachance, a Boston & Maine Railroad locomotive engineer, became the diner’s original owner and operated it until 1962, according to Down East.
Source: Down East, "The Palace Diner, Maine's Oldest Dining Car, Lives On," July 22, 2025
Louis Lachance's original ownership period ended. The diner later passed through multiple local ownership changes while retaining its Biddeford location and Palace Diner name.
Source: Down East, "The Palace Diner, Maine's Oldest Dining Car, Lives On," July 22, 2025; Palace Diner, "History," accessed September 1, 2026
Greg Mitchell and Chad Conley reopened Palace Diner as its sixth proprietors, preserving many original features while introducing a new breakfast-and-lunch menu.
Source: Palace Diner, "History," accessed September 1, 2026; Tasting Table, "This 1927 Maine Diner Operates Inside One Of The Only ...," March 4, 2026
Palace Diner completed its first renovations in more than a decade, according to the diner’s official history.
Source: Palace Diner, "History," accessed September 1, 2026
Palace Diner continues to serve breakfast and lunch at 18 Franklin Street in Biddeford, with 15 counter seats and a walk-in, first-come service model.
Source: Palace Diner, official website and FAQ, accessed September 1, 2026
Every claim gets rated. A business's own website can never earn "documented."
Palace's official history and multiple recent accounts describe it as one of two Pollard diner cars remaining in America. The claim is consistently repeated and credible, but this review did not locate an American Diner Museum inventory, manufacturer census, or historic-preservation survey identifying and accounting for every surviving Pollard car.
Palace is widely called Maine's oldest diner or oldest dining car and has a well-supported 1927 construction date, continuous Biddeford location, and retained name. However, no complete statewide comparison or day-to-day operating record has been reviewed, and its documented 2014 reopening does not by itself prove no temporary closure gaps during every ownership transition. The oldest-diner title remains unresolved.
The diner’s official history says it was built in 1927, has been in Biddeford for its entire life, and has retained its original Palace Diner name. Recent reporting independently describes the diner as a 1927 Pollard car in the same Franklin Street location.
Palace Diner’s official history says Mitchell and Conley reopened the diner in March 2014 as its sixth proprietors. Down East and other independent profiles identify them as the current owners/operators.
Palace is a purpose-built 1927 Pollard diner car, not a railroad dining car converted into a restaurant. Its barrel-roofed, stainless-steel form was designed to evoke rail dining cars, which is why the two are often confused.
Palace Diner is a converted railroad dining car.
Palace is a purpose-built 1927 Pollard diner car from Lowell, Massachusetts. Its design resembles a railroad dining car but it was built to serve as a roadside diner, not converted from a train.
Source: Palace Diner, "History," accessed September 1, 2026; The Takeout, January 6, 2025
Palace Diner has been proven to operate without interruption since 1927.
The diner has a documented 1927 Pollard-car origin, continuous Biddeford location, and retained Palace Diner name, but this review did not locate records establishing that it never had a temporary operating gap across all ownership changes. Its March 2014 reopening under Greg Mitchell and Chad Conley should not be used as proof of uninterrupted operation.
Source: Palace Diner, "History," accessed September 1, 2026; Down East, July 22, 2025
Palace Diner's 15-seat counter has never changed from its original 1927 configuration.
Palace Diner currently has 15 counter seats and retains many historic features. The reviewed record does not establish that the exact seating configuration remained unchanged throughout its entire history.
Source: Palace Diner, official FAQ, accessed September 1, 2026; Atlas Obscura, "Palace Diner"
Palace survived because a highly specific piece of roadside architecture remained useful enough to be cared for across generations. Its original owner, former railroad engineer Louis Lachance, served Biddeford in the diner’s early industrial years; later owners kept the car in place through changing tastes and ownership. Mitchell and Conley’s 2014 revival did not turn the building into a museum: it restored a working 15-seat diner whose historic scale is now its practical advantage.
Palace Diner was built by the Pollard Company in Lowell, Massachusetts, in 1927 and has remained in Biddeford, Maine, ever since. The diner has kept its Palace Diner name through several owners; Down East identifies Louis Lachance as its original owner from 1927 to 1962. Greg Mitchell and Chad Conley reopened it in March 2014 as the sixth proprietors and continue to run the 15-seat diner today.
Palace Diner is widely described as Maine's oldest diner or oldest dining car, and its 1927 Pollard-car date is well supported. But this review did not locate a statewide comparison of every Maine diner or records proving that Palace had no operating interruption through every ownership change. Its claim to the statewide oldest-diner title therefore remains unresolved rather than conclusively established.
No. Palace Diner is a purpose-built roadside diner car made by the Pollard Company in Lowell, Massachusetts, in 1927. Its narrow, barrel-roofed design resembles a railroad dining car, but it was constructed to operate as a diner rather than converted from a passenger or train dining car.
Greg Mitchell and Chad Conley own and operate Palace Diner. They reopened the restaurant in March 2014 and are identified by the diner as its sixth proprietors; recent reporting credits them with preserving its historic Pollard-car features while updating the food program.
No. Palace Diner says it is walk-in only and serves guests on a first-come, first-served basis, using a waitlist during busy periods. The diner’s current FAQ says it has 15 counter seats and no longer regularly answers phone messages, directing non-urgent contact to email.
18 Franklin St, Biddeford, ME 04005
(207) 284-0015
Palace currently serves breakfast and lunch daily from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. It is walk-in only with 15 counter seats; the diner says it no longer regularly answers phone messages, so use its current email contact for non-urgent questions.