Our History
The Palace first opened its doors in 1923. The Morning Herald reported: “The new lunch cart of Albert C. Main . . . will open for business this morning. The new car, called the Palace Diner, is of the latest type and has every modern convenience.”
It was built by the Jerry O’Mahony Dining Car Company of Bayonne, NJ. O’Mahony produced about 2,000 diners between 1917-1941 and was the largest manufacturer of the period. Lunch wagons were common and meant to be moved (think like a food truck). But Jerry O’Mahony built the first stationary dining car in America, and it’s not an accident that many diners resemble train cars: they were modeled after the same. O’Mahony helped spark New Jersey’s golden age of diner manufacturing, earning it the distinction of being the state diner capital of the world.
It was built by the Jerry O’Mahony Dining Car Company of Bayonne, NJ. O’Mahony produced about 2,000 diners between 1917-1941 and was the largest manufacturer of the period. Lunch wagons were common and meant to be moved (think like a food truck). But Jerry O’Mahony built the first stationary dining car in America, and it’s not an accident that many diners resemble train cars: they were modeled after the same. O’Mahony helped spark New Jersey’s golden age of diner manufacturing, earning it the distinction of being the state diner capital of the world.
TODAY, THERE ARE ONLY APPROXIMATELY 20 O’MAHONY CARS STILL IN EXISTENCE. ONE OF THEM IS IN GLOVERSVILLE.The Palace was shipped by railroad from New Jersey to Fonda, then transported by truck from Fonda to 62 South Main Street in Gloversville, where it has stood ever since. The original diner was about 40 x 10 feet and looked very much like a railroad car.
Albert Main owned the Palace from its opening in 1923 until 1937, when his nephew, Carlton G. Clute, took ownership. He was only 21 years old. The building itself underwent some changes throughout its life: an addition was added in 1932, and the interior was remodeled in 1951 with stainless steel appliances and new tile. Many of the original features and mid-century changes are still visible inside the Palace today. In 1972, Clute sold the Gloversville Palace Diner to Anthony Sena, an employee. Though Anthony passed away in 2014, the Sena family still owns and operates the Palace.
Albert Main owned the Palace from its opening in 1923 until 1937, when his nephew, Carlton G. Clute, took ownership. He was only 21 years old. The building itself underwent some changes throughout its life: an addition was added in 1932, and the interior was remodeled in 1951 with stainless steel appliances and new tile. Many of the original features and mid-century changes are still visible inside the Palace today. In 1972, Clute sold the Gloversville Palace Diner to Anthony Sena, an employee. Though Anthony passed away in 2014, the Sena family still owns and operates the Palace.
At one time, it was a 24-hour joint and was one of many open-all-night diners around the city that served thousands of employees in the leather and glove industry and other members of the community. In the 1940s, the Palace catered the noon luncheon at the Elks Club: “We used to cook the food at the diner and take it up to the Elks Club in carriers,” Clute explained in an interview in the Leader-Herald on October 24, 1974. “We catered many other affairs, also: weddings, banquets, and the monthly senior citizens dinners.” But as the leather industry declined and the population followed, the diner started closing at night. Closing time kept becoming earlier and earlier. Many other diners were forced to permanently shut their doors.