Winger's Diners
Winger's
is a chain of restaurants centered around Utah. They started out
with a diner theme, and what we know for sure is that they purchased at
least one diner from Starlite, of Florida and one diner from Frey Moss.
They had other buildings that may or may not have been modular
built buildings. This page is offered to chronicle the
progression of Winger's from a diner themed chain to a non diner themed
chain.
Bountiful, Utah
- This diner was built by Starlite. It was demolished around
2015. The diner definitely has the modular look. Probably
was an AB or ABC (meaning two sections with possibly foyer) I do
wonder if the small windows on each end of the front of the diner is a
clue, or not? The vertical stainless pieces have the look of
being bumped out from the windows, so this too is possibly another clue.
Vernal, Utah
- This location is no longer a Winger's. It can be found at 1797
W 1000 S. The diner was built by Frey Moss. Some of the clues
might be the checkered appearance below the windows, the fake curved
window look. Also, the horizontal stainless above the windows does look
kind of flimsy. I wonder if the foyer design will be a clue too.
Also notice, even though it was built by Frey-Moss, there are
small windows on the front end of this diner.
Provo, Utah - Located at 465 S University Avenue, this looks like another Frey-Moss diner. This may be a closed business.
Draper, Utah -
Located at 12458 South Minuteman Drive, this too looks to be a
Frey-Moss diner. What is more, with the slanted walkway, this may
just be the diner on the Frey-Moss web page.
Cedar City, Utah
- Located at 1555 Regency Road, here is where we begin to get murky.
Square foyer, no clues there. The vertical stainless pieces
between windows seems to be tighter against the diner. It does
have the small windows on the front ends of the diner. And the
diner is not too tall, so that is promising. To be honest, I
think this will take a building permit or word from either Winger's or
Starlite to clarify this one.
Ogden, Utah
- This diner is at 4649 Harrison Boulevard. It shares
similiarities with the diner above. The pilons in front that hold
the name above the entrance. On the front roof-line, there are
some end pieces to the left and right of the curved piece that is
facing forward. You will also see a similar piece on the diner
below in Tucson.
Tucson, Arizona
- Here is another similar looking diner to the one above.
No longer a Winger's, it was quite far from home in Tucson.
Similar window design, similar everything. Could not find a
photo of it while it was a Winger's. Find this building at 5523 E Grant Road.
Spanish Fork, Utah
- This diner has been demolished and replaced by a stick built Denny's.
This diner could very easily have had the small windows at the
front ends of the diner, but the tree is in the view and Google street
maps had poor resolution in 2008 when the photo on the right was taken.
The left photo doesn't show anything that could put the diner
into either category, stick or modular.
Clearfield, Utah
- This next diner can be found at 743 North Main Street.
Unfortunately google streetview had poorer quality images way
back when. The first image is taken in 2008 and seems to show a
stainless steel diner with the small windows on the front end. In 2009
the diner was painted with a flesh color and a slightly slanted roof
line was added, similar to what you will see on other diners later on
this page. Finally,the picture on the right shows what the
building looks like today. Still has the vertical stainless.
I wonder if the square foyer is any clue?
Orem, Utah
- Things get murkier, but there are still things similar to the
building above. The photo on the left is pre 2011, yet another
bad image. But it does show a small window on the front end and
has a similar look to the above buildings. The photo on the right is
2011, after a drastic remodel. This really starts to show
Winger's move from the diner look. No vertical stainless. Really,
no diner look at all. You can find this building at 610 South
State Street.
West Jordan, Utah
- If it was not for the slight differences in landscaping, one might
wonder if this and the Orem building was one in the same. Started with
the mix of stainless and flesh coloring, then remodeled. From the
side, it looks like it could be a two piece diner, but who really
knows. Both of these buildings still have the small window on the
front end.
West Valley, Utah
- Located at 3252 West 3500 South, this is a strange one. The
outside almost looks like aluminum foil or something different than
stainless looking materials. The diner does have those two pilons
though and that pice on the front roofine, to the right of the curved
piece is there too. not sure what to make of this one.
Midvale, Utah
- Located at 7269 South Union Park Avenue, this diner seems to be a mix
of designs. It has the pilons in front, it has the small windows
on the end, but it looks like it has those "winged" front pieces
off-set away fron the front of the building by a little. Maybe an inch
or three? The roof-line is different too. Not the curved piece,
but a rectangular piece with some flair attached on the ends.
North Logan, Utah
- There goes the small window. this one still does have
rectangular windows though. This building not as lengthy as the
other diners. Also, the region above the windows seems to be higher
than other buildings in the Winger's chain, so far. Maybe it is a
visual trick of the eye? I am not sure. The side view of the
building today is interesting in the placement of the windows. Also,
the depth of the building is much bigger than the previous buildings.
Tooele,
Utah - This diner is located at 1211 North Main Street - This diner
shares some similiarities to the diner in North Logan. On the end, part
of the diner looks modularish, but then the back end doesn't and the
space between the windows and the roof seems larger than modular. These two diners are twins.
St. George, Utah
- Curved rectangular windows grace this building, but still gone
are the small windows at the front ends of the building. So the
windows are not really curved glass, it's a trick done on the inside of
the building to make it look that way. Of interest is the glass block
front foyer. The curved pieces of horizontal stainless to the sides of
the foyer are back. Are they a clue? Not sure.
Ontario, Oregon
- I'm not sure what to make the of the back side of this diner.
To the naked eye, it looks like the top curvy part is not an add
on, like it is on all Starlite diners (usually a very cheap piece of
material, maybe even plastic) The depth of this building is right for a
two piece diner, but the roof looks different. Could just be a
visual trick? Who knows. The front photo shows an obvious add on
building on the right side.
Post Falls, Idaho
- Located at 1780 East Schneidmiller Avenue. Smaller width to the
building. It does have the fake curved windows. this building is
similar to the North Logan, Utah building. The building does sit
a few buildings to the east of what I believe to be an on-site Starlite
looking Denny's Restaurant. Both are within view of the
Interstate which is on the other side of the road.
Meridian, Idaho
- This is where we really start to move away from the modular look.
Smaller windows. Back are the flash pieces to the side of the
foyer, but they look to be away from the building and not tight up
against it like on the other buildings.
Poctatello, Idaho
- The dimensions are all wrong for this one. Well, unless this was the
end of the diner. Could not find a good enough side photo. The
left side seems to look like it has an addition, although you can't
tell from this photo. Just looks very stick built to me.
Other Winger's
1815
E Elliot Rd, Tempe, AZ This comes up in Google as being a
location of a former Winger's. Looks similar to the Meridian
building. Going back to 2008, the earliest streetview I can find,
it does not seem to be a Winger's at that time frame.
360 East 2600 North in North Ogden ahs been severely remodeled, and I can not find a google image from the past.
784 East State Road in American Fork, Utah has also been remodeled.
2770 South 25th East in Idaho Falls, Idaho
1484 South Blaine, Moscow, Idaho
