Elyssa Ellis & Courtland Hanley
Intro to Multimedia Storytelling
Dan Williams
Due 10/23/13
Audio Slideshow - Anthony’s Diner
After our original plan to do an audio slideshow on Paddy Cakes & Candy fell through, we set our sights on Saint Johnsbury Academy’s Hilltopper Restaurant. The Hilltopper soon fell through as well, as they are only open three days a week, for less than two hours.
After driving around Saint Johnsbury, we decided to set our sights on Anthony’s Diner. We came back to campus, and looked at some reviews to see what people had to say about the place. People seemed to love the atmosphere, the service, and most of all, the food.
At the age of 24, Anthony Proia opened his own restaurant, Anthony's Diner, in Saint Johnsbury, Vermont. A year later he would marry his wife, and in 1979 the couple relocated to Railroad Street in Saint Johnsbury.
34 years, and hundreds of thousands of customers later, Anthony's Diner is one of the most popular diners in Vermont. Known best for their Woodsman Burger, Anthony's Diner stresses the use of fresh, local produce, including grass-fed beef from New England in all of their burgers.
Anthony's interest in the food industry dates back to his teenage years. Anthony worked in hotels, dairy barns and diners throughout Connecticut, before moving to Saint Johnsbury to work at his grandmothers' grocery store.
Anthony would then go out on his own, opening Anthony's Diner on June 6th, 1975. They started with fewer than a dozen employees, open from 8am-11pm daily, before expanding to a 2am close-time on weekends.
While the menu has changed a half-dozen times since the opening, the Woodsman Burger has been a staple on the menu all along. The Woodsman burger is a six ounce pattie, with American cheese, mayonaisse, two slices of Applewood smoked bacon, lettuce, tomato, and onion. The burger was originally $3.75, but the price has climbed to $9.95.
The Woodsman Burger is so famous, fans from as far as Australia have come to try the burger. Anthony recalls a specific time two months ago, when six people from Australia who had heard about the burger through facebook came to visit Anthony's, and before they sat down, they already had their orders placed.
Anthony's Diner serves between 250-1000 people daily, with their busiest time of the week being weekday lunches, and Friday nights. As far as the busiest time of year, Anthony says that from June until mid-October, the restaurant is almost always full.
If Anthony wasn't the owner of a restaurant, he would still be in the food industry, likely as food service salesman for Sysco.
Photos: Elyssa Ellis
Photo Editing: Elyssa Ellis
Audio: Courtland Hanley
Soundslides Editing: Elyssa Ellis
Text: Courtland Hanley
