40 Once-Popular American Diners That Are No Longer Around

It took 32 years for the Laughner family’s Boston Confectionary business to evolve into the Cafeteria-style restaurant that customers flocked to until the last store closed for good in 2000. Diners at Laughner’s Cafeteria didn’t have to stand around waiting for their food to be cooked. On the contrary, as per the style of the restaurant, meal items were pre-prepared and placed behind glass cabinets, where they would wait patiently to be selected.

Due to the decline of the cafeteria-style dining experience throughout the 1980s and 1990s, Laughner’s wasn’t producing enough revenue to make remaining open worthwhile.