Miss Flo's

Miss Flo's: The social center of Florence, Mass.

Step into Florence’s diner and you’re back to a time when cherry cokes were a mixed drink, Dean Martin was a heartthrob, and you could pay for a bottomless cup of coffee with a single coin.

Miss Flo’s has been the heart of Florence, Mass., since Maurice Alexander opened it in 1941. Alexander, who came from a family of Polish meat cutters, borrowed $5,000 from his father and bought the diner while on military leave. His brother Stanley manned the grill, and wife Pauline (middle name, Florence) managed the diner until Alexander finished his tour.

Manufactured by Worcester Lunch Cart Co. (WLC) in the 1940s, Flo’s is one of 16 surviving WLC diners. In 1999 it was put on the National Register of Historic Places—and it’s still in the Alexander family.

“I remember hearing the grill sizzle and smelling burgers frying from our house behind the diner,” says Tom Alexander, Maurice’s son, who began working there at 14. He and his brother, Mitch, now own and operate Miss Flo’s with business wisdom dished out by 76-year-old Uncle Eddie, who’s at the diner by 11 each morning.

The village of Florence, part of Northampton (pop. 29,400), works hard to support Miss Flo’s and the standards of her time. “There are no parking meters in Florence and only a handful of chain stores,” notes Tom Alexander.

“You go to Florence to get a hammer at the hardware store or a yard of fabric,” says Wayne Feiden, Northampton’s director of planning and development.

Florence thrives on its strong commercial center, and Miss Flo’s is at the core of a community where people know their neighbors and support local businesses, Feiden says.

“It’s the social center of Florence,” says Kurt Brazean, goldsmith and owner of Murdoff’s Jewelry, two doors down from Miss Flo’s—and just six years younger. Brazean eats two meals there daily and loves both the home-style food and never knowing who’ll come in while he’s there. “Tom Brokaw might come through the front door. People all over know about Miss Flo’s.”

“Florence wouldn’t be Florence without Miss Flo’s,” says Joan Trecartin, owner of Calico Fabrics a block south. She grew up in Northampton and can’t remember a time without the diner, which she frequents to enjoy the bustle as much as the food.

Miss Flo’s has stayed true to her past. Her exterior colors are right out of a 1952 color palate. Inside, the arched ceiling cozies up to weathered oak trim and booth dividers stenciled with art deco patterns. Twenty chrome stools spin as customers pass through for everything from ham and eggs to peanut butter and bacon sandwiches—an old-time favorite. The booths have Seaburg Stereo wall boxes. For a quarter, your three plays might include Dean Martin and the Silencers, Brenda Lee, or Bob Dylan.

Though much remains the same, the menu has made concessions to the times, offering egg substitute and herbal teas along with bacon cheeseburgers and banana cream pie. Still, all types come to Miss Flo’s: state senators, Hollywood actresses, the guy and his wife who live around the corner. “Once you step through that door, though, everyone is on an even keel here,” Alexander says.

Miss Flo’s history is linked like a sturdy chain. Ask Tom Alexander and he’ll lean back, smile, and say, “Well, there’s a story in that.” Like waitress Rita Pruzynski who was surprised on her 40th anniversary at Miss Flo’s when regulars raised more than $1,000 for their favorite waitress.

Or Kelly Papineau, who came to Flo’s with her father as a child. “I loved to watch Brownie cook and tell jokes,” she says. Four years ago, Papineau became a full-time waitress. “There’s a lot of support here—I’m treated just like family,” she says.

It must be true, because so many have marked 20 or 30 years there. Arnold “Brownie” Brown, in his 70s, has been short order cook for more than 20 years. Ina Kapitan, 79, Miss Flo’s night manager, has been a waitress for almost 30.

At Miss Flo’s, the coffee still flows like water, the grill is always smokin’, and servers treat you well, but never any better than the next guy. Its slogan, dreamed up years ago, still rings true: “Ain’t No Finer Diner.”

Freelancce writer Anna Viadero drives for a meal at Flo’s from nearby Montague, Mass.

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