SOMERVILLE — Through the windows of Buddy’s Diner, the old-school 1920s lunch car with the big, friendly red-and-blue sign, you can still catch a glimpse of better days for this local landmark.
Since a plumbing issue forced it to close three years ago, its 19 black vinyl stools have been empty. The flat-top grill, ice cold. The lunch specials, handwritten on paper plates and hung up with clothespins, are fading in the sunlight with no one here to order them.
As one of the region’s last authentic vintage lunch cars, Buddy’s was a time capsule, keeping the neighborhood well fed with hot platters of hand-cracked eggs and made-to-order bacon on the cheap…