TV Restaurants

Is A1 Diner Still Open? Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives Update (Gardiner, ME)

Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives, Season 1 Gardiner, Maine

Current status

Open

As of October 2026, A1 Diner is listed open on Yelp, reviewed by our team on September 7, 2026; not yet independently confirmed through direct contact.

What the source shows: A Yelp listing for A1 Diner, updated in September 2026 and carrying 217 reviews, showed the diner operating with posted breakfast-and-lunch hours and recent customer photos. How we decide a status →

What happened after Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives?

Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives visited A1 Diner in the 'Local Legends' episode (S1E6), aired 2007-06-04, spotlighting the diner's home-style comfort food served from inside a vintage diner car. A1 Diner occupies a 1946 Worcester Diner Car, originally car No. 790, at 3 Bridge Street in Gardiner, Maine, set roughly 20 feet up on stilts along the flood-prone Kennebec River, according to a 2021 history posted by Buildings of New England. The diner first opened as Heald's Diner under owner Elmer "Eddie" Heald, then passed to Al "Gibey" Gibberson, who renamed it Al's Diner and ran it until selling in 1988; the new owners who followed renamed it the A1 Diner, the name it carries today.

A Yelp listing for the business, updated in September 2026 and carrying 217 reviews, showed the diner operating with posted breakfast-and-lunch hours and recent customer photos. Gardiner Main Street's community business directory also continues to list A1 Diner among the town's active Main Street businesses, and the diner's Tripadvisor listing remains active as well.

The episode Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives, Season 1

Episode 6
Aired
Title: Local Legends · What was featured: the diner's home-style comfort food served from inside a vintage diner car
How Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives restaurants have fared: 27% closed →

Also in Season 1 Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives

Season 1: 21 of 37 still open · 5 renamed, moved or under new owners

All 12 Season 1 episodes →

Nearest restaurants By distance from 3 Bridge Street

All 36 TV restaurants in Maine →

Before you go: Businesses change fast. Always confirm directly with the restaurant — call ahead, or check its own current website or social media — before making plans around anything on this page.

Sources we checked 2 references

  1. Yelp https://www.yelp.com/biz/a1-diner-gardiner
  2. buildingsofnewengland.com https://buildingsofnewengland.com/2021/07/22/a1-diner-1946/
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Record ddd-0016 · checked by Cal Marchetti.