If there is one thing in the food world that New Jersey is most known for, it’s diners. Jersey diners are iconic. Traditionally speaking, but not always, an authentic NJ diner is open late and serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner at all hours. It’s adorned with stainless steel, neon, and glitter-backed booths. Above all, real diners serve consistent, quality food, with plenty of variety.
A few months back, I heard about a couple from Hillsdale who are on a mission to eat at every single diner in the state. Their names are Jon and Karri Ricklin and they’ve been married for 41 years. They’re documenting the adventure on Instagram under the username @njdinerjourney.
I needed to interview them.
So, I sent Jon a message on Facebook. To my delight, he answered immediately. Fast forward a few weeks, we met at Pikeview Diner in South Kearny—a rare North Jersey diner they have yet to visit—and sat down for a meal together.
I discovered that the love they hold for diners is very real. The journey, which began in 2015, has included nearly 300 diner visits to date, along with about the same amount of Diet Cokes. They balance diner visits with Karri’s schedule as a full-time nurse—mapping out pockets of the state that they’ve yet to hit. Most of North Jersey is exhausted at this point, but they still have a lot of diners to go—and they’re loving every second.
Jon tells me diners in Jersey are “religion’ and I can’t say I disagree. Jon and Karri are New Jersey legends if you ask me, and this journey they’re on is important. As more and more diners shutter in the state, we must continue to recognize what diners mean to the fabric of New Jersey.
Jon and Karri Ricklin, more than anyone, understand that.
Interview: Jon and Karri Ricklin Are on a Mission To Visit Every Diner in New Jersey
Who are you? What are you doing?
Karri: I’m Karri Ricklin
Jon: I’m Jon Ricklin. We are in the process of visiting every diner in the state of New Jersey.
How did it start?
Karri: So, we went to the Livingston Diner.
Jon: I was reading the menu…
Karri: And I said, “Jon, hold it up!” I don’t know what possessed me. So, he says, “yeah, sure,” so you know he [holds it up] like he’s doing me a favor.
Jon: 2015. That was the first one. I thought, “You know what would be fun? If we could take this exact same picture in every diner in the state—having absolutely no idea how many there were. I’d say maybe over the next six months or so, we went to one or two different diners. Just for kicks, we took the same picture. After about two years, we had maybe about a dozen pictures. I guess we were away, somewhere in South Jersey, we were driving through some of the back roads and we saw some really cool little diners. So, I go: “You know what? We should do it.” And at that point, we decided. Then, it became a mission. 2018 and 2019, we started to pick up momentum. Then, in 2020, obviously—
Karri: Covid came.
Jon: It slowed down. Once things kind of got back to normal, we’ve been doing about three a month.
Where did you grow up, and what was your childhood diner?
Jon: I grew up in Westchester County, New York. So, I’m a foreigner. My childhood diner was the Seven Stars Diner in Yonkers. My sister was Karri’s roommate in college. So, that’s how we met. At Fairleigh Dickinson.
Karri: If you didn’t marry me, you probably wouldn’t even be living in Jersey.
Jon: That is 100% correct.
How many diners have you hit and how many are left?
Jon: This is number 295. Right now, there’s about 400 to 450 active, so we still probably have about 150 left to go. There’s been as many as 600 to 650 in the state.
Are there diners that have stood out?
Karri: I used to like the Bendix Diner, and they’ve been closed for a little while.
Jon: I really like Colonial in Lyndhurst. That’s one that made an impression on me. A couple down South. The Pandora. They’ve since opened about three or four different ones, but there’s one in Springfield Township, down in Burlington County, which is really good. Lamp Post down in Clementon. A fun one, which is really nice, and year-to-year, in Barnegat Light out on Long Beach Island, Mustache Bill’s. Every year, if the owner doesn’t sell it, he comes back for another year. Another one back in Linden, Johnny Prince’s Bayway Diner. It’s right off the Turnpike—right outside an oil refinery. Six stools. That’s the whole thing. They’re known for their hot dogs… their burgers. Really good. Broad Street in Keyport is top-rated. Down in Freehold, Roberto’s Freehold Grill… Bruce pops in there periodically. We were hoping to hit him one day when we went on a random Saturday morning.
Do you order the same thing each time?
Karri: We don’t order the same thing every time.
Jon: Karri’s usually the salad person, and I’m usually, you know, the burger, sandwich… I’m big on the wraps. But, yeah, we mix it up. I generally stick to the basics, whether it’s a burger—I’m a big gyro and souvlaki guy… the platters. That’s probably my go-to.
What are some key aspects of a classic Jersey diner?
Karri: The barstools.
Jon: And the counter.
Karri: Booths.
Jon: The ones that are originally factory-made diners like this one. They were, you know, built and then shipped here. Just… the vibe. You walk in… yes, you know it’s a diner.
Karri: You don’t need a tablecloth, or whatever in the center—a centerpiece. No!
Jon: We’re at a diner.
Karri: Yeah!
How have you seen diners change over the years?
Jon: Unfortunately, the 24 hours… there’s only about 20 or so left. Less than two dozen.
Karri: Some of them we’ve even missed because they close at 2 p.m. now. We went to one, and they were closing up… he didn’t even want to go in.
Jon: Yeah, there’s a lot of those places that are [just] breakfast and lunch now. The menus tend to be smaller now. You used to have diners with menus that were six or seven pages, and there are still some, and I love those. Nowadays, you see a lot of… just a front and a back. When you went to the diner [back then], you were, you know, flipping through pages.
How many Diet Cokes have you had on this journey? A rough estimate?
Jon: Oh, God…
Karri: I can tell you. When we arrive at a diner, this is the usual routine. We walk in, he heads to the restroom and says, “Order me a Diet Coke.”
Jon: So, we’ve been to 295 diners… I’ve probably had 250 Diet Cokes and about 40 cups of coffee.
Where do you fall on the Taylor Ham vs. Pork Roll question?
Karri: North New Jersey…
Jon: Taylor Ham. Mets and Yankees fans will usually call it Taylor Ham; Phillies fans call it Pork Roll. That’s a good way of putting it.
Someone from out of state wants to try a diner. Where do you take them?
Karri: Depends who’s driving…
Jon: In Dumont, The Dumont Crystal Diner. In Bergen County, I would say Colonial… It’s traditional. I think it gives you a good taste of what a real Jersey diner is like. Those are two that come to mind.
What is it about this journey that you love?
Jon: One of the things that we really like about this project is that it gives us the opportunity to support small businesses throughout the state. Diners are pretty much all family businesses. Small businesses. We’re doing our small part to, you know, to help everybody out in an industry that really could use everybody’s help. Support your local diner. That’s all I can say.
Peter Candia is the Food + Drink Editor at New Jersey Digest. A graduate of The Culinary Institute of America, Peter found a passion for writing midway through school and never looked back. He is a former line cook, server and bartender at top-rated restaurants in the tri-state area. In addition to food, Peter enjoys politics, music, sports and anything New Jersey.
