The original Shepherd-side location of 59 Diner is now up for lease, with teal-and-bubblegum exterior still intact. The whole 59 chain shut down suddenly at the end of February, amid a tangle of formal and informal disputes regarding employee pay. The listing indicates that the 6,000-sq.-ft. building (officially located at 3801 Farnham St.) can be divided, as long as the future tenant wants at least 2,000 ft.
The ex-diner property is next door to the smaller building now housing The Halal Guys, whose red-and-yellow striped canopy is visible on the right in the east-facing photo above. The former carwash reopened as the New-York-food-cart-gone-international-chain’s first Texas location a few weeks before the 59 closures; hundreds of customers lined up outside the tiny venue during the opening weekend rush, some allegedly filling 59’s parking lot while waiting for hours for gyros and chicken.
- 3801 Farnham St. [LoopNet]
- 59 Diner Owner Showed Up to Pay Employees — and It Got Tense [Houston Press]
- Longtime Houston diner shutters remaining locations [HBJ]
- Previously on Swamplot:Â 59 Shake: You Want Fries with That?
Photo: LoopNet
I spent a lot of time in this building in the 1990s. It was under different management then (Coy Ramsey) and not yet a 24-hour establishment. Dot, Loretta, and Lois worked there way back then, coming from Phils. The 59 Diner put me through college at UH!! Sorry to see them go! I don’t think the food has been the same for at least 10 years. The malts used to be made of Blue Bell and in the 2000s they switched to Blue Bunny (this was shocking). My photo was in the old photo booth for years because I was working there the day they set it up.
Haven’t been to this place in more than 7 years since moving from Rice U area to west Houston. Didn’t miss it all. Food and service had been poor for many years. Back in the day I’d go back every year or a so with a hope that it returned to better breakfast days. Alas, wasn’t the case.
The important thing here is that the Whataburger, from whose parking lot the photo was taken, is still up and running.
Never mind Whataburger. The important thing is that award-winning and award-deserving Star Pizza is still up and running. The over-hyped Halal Guys offer pretty good value (and now speed, after the grand opening crowds have dispersed), but not much variety. And even though Le Peep hasn’t found a successor across the treacherous multi-lane curve at Shepherd Plaza, world-class burritos are still to be had next door, and may be devoured at leisure on the patio section of the parking lot that offers much more ample space than the Guys on the other side; — the latter having gone car-friendly only after the 59 Diner closed, allowing its frontage to be turned (informally, to be sure) into halal drive-in and parking. Good for public safety. Crossing over from the Shepherd Plaza on foot is not recommended.
God bless Whataburger.