A short history of the Diesel Diner/Trail Café/Betty's Diner/Sugar Shack

Alert "Journal" readers may recall a February, 2015 story about Chinook's original Diesel Diner. The 'rail car diner' was a style of small eateries that blossomed in the northeast in the 1920's and finally made its way to the upper Midwest by mid-century. Rail car diners allowed an aspiring business owner to start a business with minimal capital.

The Diesel Diner started in Chinook in 1950, located on a lot adjacent to Highway 2 in what is now a CHS fencing/panels display area. A few years later, no one is certain exactly when, the diner was moved to the parking lot of Biff's Truck Stop, next to what became locally known as the 'Schlumberger building' at the corner of Cleveland Road and Highway 2.

With 10 stools to seat customers, the 10 feet by 25 feet diner cost about $3,000 new and was designed to be easily transported by flatbed truck or on a rail car. Locals recalled the diner was a favorite for a late meal after a night out, an early breakfast or a quick cup of coffee. The aisle was so narrow that arriving guests had to wait for someone to leave the diner in order to reach an empty stool.

One former employee described Jack Nichols, the original owner, as a quiet guy. But if he saw someone was done eating he would say, "Why don't you pay up and leave? I only have 10 stools and I'm trying to make a living here." The diner was patronized by locals, long-haul truckers and travelers passing through.

In 1959 the diner was moved to Conrad where it remained for nearly 40 years. There it first operated as Trail Café and later became Betty's Diner. Betty Nierstheimer, who died in 2013, operated the diner for many years. In her obituary she was described as "an icon of Conrad" based her years operating the diner. The diner was eventually purchased by a group home and operated by its special needs clients. In the 1980's the diner closed and it sat vacant for a number of years.

The diner returned to the Hi-line in the mid-1990's when Pete and Maxine Woods bought the diner and moved it by flatbed to Chester. Maxine Woods, who grew up in Conrad, said part of the motivation to acquire the vintage diner was her fond memories of a similar diner her folks operated for years in Conrad. The Woods set the diner in Chester next to the Hi-line Vintage Motors Museum, across Highway 2 from the visitors' center. They renamed the diner the Sugar Shack and sold hand dipped, hard ice cream. They closed the business in the early 2000's because of time constraints from other businesses they owned.

In Rudyard the Sugar Shack will return to its original purpose and menu

Kimberly and Rory Seiditz, of Rudyard, bought the old Sugar Shack and moved it in October of this year to a site just off Highway 2 and south of Rudyard. Kimberly said, "For the fifteen years Rory and I have been married I've had my eye on the Sugar Shack. I always thought the little diner sitting by the roadside in Chester was cute."

Last summer Rory had a chance encounter with Pete Woods, co-owner of the Sugar Shack in Chester. Kimberly explained, "It was definitely a God-thing. Everything just worked out so we could purchase the diner, move it to Rudyard and restore it to its original purpose as a diner." Reciting the future menu she mentioned "burgers, hot dogs, fries, onion rings, ice cream and milkshakes." Kimberly added, "The new menu will be much like the menus offered by many of the original rail car diners."

Rory, who farms and also does construction work, is readying the foundation with help from Kimberly and daughter, 13 year old Ryan. Though the original diners were designed to rest on a slab, Kimberly said a raised foundation will allow for easier access to the various hookups required to make the diner operational. Former owner Maxine Woods said, "When we shut down the diner all the equipment was working. It was originally designed to be a self-contained unit and ready to operate as a diner as soon as it was on the ground."

Kimberly said there are plans for an outdoor seating area at the Rudyard location and there will be car hop service for customers who want deliveries to their vehicles. Daughters 18 year old Chelsea and Ryan are excited to begin working summers at the diner.

Although the diner had an existing inside bathroom (Kimberly described the original bathroom as, "About the size of a toilet in a camper.") regulations now require a handicapped accessible bathroom which will be added to the structure. Painting, cleaning and fix-up should all be completed for a planned spring, 2019 opening. The new Sugar Shack will operate seasonally, spring through fall.

A tradition of small business startups continues

In the 1930's Arthur Valentine began manufacturing rail car diners. To help new businesses get started with minimal capital outlay, Valentine created a unique "buy on credit plan." Each diner he sold on credit had a small brass lock box, much like a mailbox, near the front door. At the end of each day of business the owner would deposit an agreed upon percentage of the day's sales into the lock box. A representative from Valentine Manufacturing would collect the money each month from the box. When the loan was paid off, the new owner of the diner got the key to the box.

Kimberly said, "We know this diner was purchased on the Valentine credit plan because the brass box is still attached to the wall and we have the key to the box." She added, "There was still some change rattling around in the box." Maxine Woods said a few years ago, "We left the box mounted and our customers would often drop tips in to the box." Kimberly Seiditz added, "We'll shine up the box and leave a few coins in it just for authenticity."

I spoke with Joe LaPlante, Director of the Small Business Development Center housed at Bear Paw Development in Havre. LaPlante helped the Seiditz family with some of the details of acquiring the Sugar Shack. Asked how a new startup business benefits a community, LaPlante said, "I only see good things happening from this new business in Rudyard." He explained that often a new business attracts other startup businesses.

Arthur Valentine, who began manufacturing diners that could be shipped via flatbed trailer or railcar, introduced an innovative way for buyers of his diners to finance them. At the end of each day the diner operator would deposit, in cash, a portion of the day's revenues in to this lock box by the diner's front door. A Valentine Manufacturing rep would collect the payments monthly. Once the payments paid off the loan, the diner owner was given the key.

Kimberly Seiditz is very excited to get the Sugar Shack going again. She said, "It looks better than I ever imagined it could sitting out on the entrance road to Rudyard." Current details and regulations to restart the Sugar Shack have significantly changed since its original startup as the Diesel Diner in Chinook. But in the larger scheme of things, a new business is all about new possibilities. The Seiditz family is poised to enjoy those new possibilities. Kimberly summed it well when she said, "It's very exciting that we're restarting a business that originated nearly seventy years ago in my hometown of Chinook. That's very cool."