Porky's Diner in Des Moines leveled 9-21-09

Des Moines lost one of it's coolest buildings back on Sept 21st. Porky's Diner on Douglas Ave. was torn down to make way for a new grocery store.
The building was built in 1959 & I think it was originally known as "Boots Wesetern Drive-In". In '79 or '80 I think it was a bar for a while, then it was turned into "Pistol Petes Video Arcade" for a few months, maybe a year.
In 1982 it opened as Porky's Tenderloin and quickly became THE place to go with your cool car. They had car cruise nights every Wed & Saturday night & if the weather was nice, you either got there early or you had to park way in the back (if you could even get in). After a while they added motorcycle nights on Tuesdays & Thursdays.
In 1999 The business was sold & re-named Porkys Diner. Ownership changed hands a few times over the last several years & the place was starting to look a little run-down, but the food was still pretty good & the old cars would still pack the place on Saturday nights. Long story short, the family that owned the land had wanted to sell for quite a while & when someone came up with the big new grocery store plan, well, that was that. This last summer they stopped having the cruise nights but kept the restaurant open as they put it, "Untill the bulldozers show up"
The business closed abruptly several months ago & sat empty until it was demo'd on Sept 21st.
I stopped on my way into work that morning & snapped a few pics as they started tearing the old girl apart. When I drove by on my lunch break all that was left was a pile of rubble. Guess that's what we call progress.
Porkys old website is still up & running at porkysdiner.com with a bunch good of photos from last years car & bike nights.
Porky's 1959-2009 R.I.P.

 

More history loses to "new social needs and desires"!!! Its a shame, we have lost so much already!!

 

A few more pics of it in better days.

 

That's a shame we really need another store instead of a cool cruise spot.

 

yea they tore down the old chero cola bottling plant here to build a new giant unemployment office where they won't even speak to you. that's with about 20 properties with falling down stores were open for the property. just a small building with the original hand painted billboard on the side over a hundred years old. They also tore down a vintage service station to build a defacs building bigger then the courthouse.

 

Too bad , we had many great nites there during the good guys .

 

Yes, George is still there. But it has such a small lot that it couldn't host near as big a cruise as Porkys.


Porky's used to be the place to go. But I hadn't gone for probably 4 or so years. It started to get overrun by Corvettes and Mustangs. Still, it's a shame that it's no longer there.

 

Sad news, I'm glad I got to visit Porkys years ago, those strings of old lite bulbs hangin on wires were so cool...RIP

 

The joys of leasing (renting) the land/building your buisness is on. There was a local place in a prime spot, unofficial local hangout, good food, plenty of parking, that got bulldozed becuase the landowner refused to renew the lease with the same result.

Alex.

 

So sad.

 

damn shame it was truly a land mark ! i live 60 miles away but would run down there on wed and sat nights for the cruise ins and have a few drinks and shoot the shit ! met alot of nice car guys there ! as cornfed stated though the last few years it became a hangout for the look at me i just bought a new corvette guys who would show up early and take up a third of the parking and were too good to talk to anybody else ! one of my fond memories was one of the last cruise nights when security was turning away corvetes at the entrance telling them parking was reserved for hot rods and muscle cars !

 

Wow, I remember going there back in the early 90's and dancing the Y.M.C.A. on the wing of my Superbird. I also remember some old guy showed up in a Camaro that he built for high speed highway running with a IMCA style glass nose on it welded up doors etc, he looked like an old farmer, and I never would have guessed he had a car like that. That was a kewl place for sure..

 

that fucking sucks, i can believe it!

Ive eaten there, usually when i was down for good guys des moines, wed make a trip out there.

wow

JEFF

 

Wow, even the sky is crying. Sad.

 

Being from Des Moines originally, this hurts a little... been going there since I was a little Kid.

I went by George's Chili King when I was in DSM the week after the HAMB drags, and that place is a total dump, not to mention it's not very big. George's son runs it now, he's had some trouble with the law, and has generally let the place go to hell.

Side note: That's my grandpa's 41 Cadillac Coupe in the long shot pics from across the street.

 

i wish cities/individuals would work more on giving away or selling parts of the cool architecture on places like that. Keep some of it around.

In our downtown, we had a auditorium built, and then the next year added something. I can't remember what, but there was a bulldozer running over all these 1 year old trees on the sidewalk...right in front of the sign that said "Omaha: home of arbor day" ...the one time I forgot my camera.

anyway, not to hijack, but I'm sure the stupid boring box that goes in that spot will serve a purpose.

 

Just another example of a disregard for automobilia history.
I am always amazed that we care so much about recycling cans and bottles and throw buildings away... we went threw alot of that in our area in the late 80's and all of the '90s, not much left to tear down now and a bunch of empty "new" strip malls...

Makes me really happy about the saving of the "broiler" in Downey, Ca.
Also interesting, Downey folks saved the old McDonalds. #3 built, when the McCorparation wanted to knock it down, some towns do "get it"...

wouldn't it be cool if somewhere they would tear down a strip mall or convience store and build a diner or drive in in it's place?...

 

Well if that town is anything like Fresno there will be a Taco Bell and a Walgreens there next week. Enjoy.

 

Taco Bell, yum!

 

we at the hamb should buy the grocery store, tear it down, and rebuild that place- it was cool!


that looks like a great cruise place!

 

Man, what a shame. When I lived out there in the midwest, we'd always go to the Goodguys 4th of July thing and we ate at Georges or Porkys every night. One night, I sat on a bench at Porkys with Jimmy Vaughn for an hour or so, talkin' cars and music - one of my "Golden Moments"...
Thanks for the report - I think.

 

Drive-ins and cruise nights are so damn fun and so American.
Progress. BAH!!! What a world!

 

Not stupid at all they decided to tear down Rosenblatt TOO, all in the name of PROGRESS!Fucking pricks!
I've been to porky's all the way from Lake City, IA.
It was a fun place lot's of nice people.

 

Nooooooooooooooooo! Porkys was always THE cruisin spot in DesMoines....shit, Georges Chilli King usta be fun too but it really is sub-par now.
Somebody build a great place like Porkys in Des Moines so we can cruise during Goodguys..
At least I still have my "Porkys" sticker. Given to me in the back room at Porkys about 15- 20 years ago by one of the girls.

 

Isn't it all about GREED!!!

 

Me thinks there's a story to go along with a girl giving you a sticker in the 'back room'

 

My parents live in Urbandale. When I would go up and visit I always made a point to go by there if it was a Sat. night. My dad told me they had closed it. What a shame. Once the old structures are gone there usually gone for good. Do any of you remember Stella's?

 

Yeah, I think... had famous milkshakes I think? Was it out on 86th?

 

I think that where it was at. The waitress would stand on a chair or the table and have you lie on the floor and put the glass on you head. Then pour the shake from up high. It was great and some times the view was quite interesting!