An existential question: Can a landmark truly be considered a landmark if its location is not permanently fixed?
Eiffel Tower in Paris, The Gateway Arch in St. Louis, and Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco have remained stationary fixtures. But Cindy’s Diner deserves the superlative designation of “landmark” rather than mere “fixture,” despite its being relocated three times and renamed another three times in its 74-year history.
Community vibe
Before the tiny house that sits at 230 W. Berry St. became a thing, Cindy’s might have pioneered the “tiny diner” concept. Although, instead of tiny, let’s use the word “cozy,” or even “intimate”: 15 seats, in the form of round, red vinyl-covered fixed but swiveling stools with back supports, lined up along an L-shaped red countertop in a galley-style narrow expanse. Think dining car on an Amtrak train, but with the cook in the middle of the action, serving up the sass as well as the food.
Cindy’s Diner
6 a.m.-2 p.m. Monday-Friday
230 W. Berry St., Fort Wayne…