Is The Dining Car Still Open? Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives Update

Part 1 — Season 2, Episode 10 Aired January 7, 2008

Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives featured The Dining Car, a diner in Northeast Philadelphia, spotlighting its wide-ranging comfort-food menu, half-pound burgers, and all-day breakfast. The diner, now operating as The Dining Car & Market at 8826 Frankford Avenue, has served the neighborhood since 1976 according to its own website. The Philadelphia Inquirer reported on 2017-08-08 that the diner ended 24-hour overnight service after 57 years of operating around the clock. The business's own website, thediningcar.com, carries a 2026 copyright, lists current hours of 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily, and offers ordering through DoorDash, Uber Eats, and Grubhub.

A Yelp listing for the business was also updated September 2026. Together, the current site and the September 2026 Yelp update indicate the diner remains open. The location on file for this record originally pointed to a Center City hotel unrelated to this diner; it has been corrected here to the diner's own Frankford Avenue address.

Part 2 — Season 23, Episode 7 Aired September 23, 2015

Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives visited this Northeast Philadelphia diner for its large-portion comfort food and in-house bakery in "East Coast Cruisin" (aired 2015-09-23). The Dining Car & Market has operated at 8826 Frankford Avenue since 1961, combining classic diner service with a bakery and small grocery market. A Yelp listing for the Frankford Avenue address, updated in September 2026, shows no closure designation and lists the diner among Philadelphia's active restaurants. The restaurant's own website, thediningcar.com, carries a 2026 copyright notice and lists current daily hours of 7 a.m. to 9 p.m., directing customers to the restaurant's Facebook page for daily blackboard specials. Grubhub separately lists the Dining Car & Market as available for delivery orders from the same address.