![\"Built](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/RBR-L-diner-0822-05.jpeg\")
Built to last in Elizabeth, NJ, 1947, and standing the test of time. (Photo courtesy of John Katrina)<\/p>\nBy John Katrina and David Carlin, The Citizen Body<\/p>\n
To many Roxboroughites, a Roxborough without Bob\u2019s Diner is unfathomable.<\/p>\n
Because this humble, yet quintessential part of the neighborhood, is not only an awesome classic diner for old school comfort food, and legacy business, but it\u2019s a central part of our community.<\/p>\n
Maybe that\u2019s why The Philadelphia Inquirer, says it\u2019s also one of the 2025, \u201c76 most essential restaurants in Philly.\u201d<\/p>\n
And Philadelphia Magazine, this year, says Bob\u2019s Diner is the Best Diner in Philadelphia.<\/p>\n
These awards come on top of a decades long accumulation of \u201cbest of\u201d awards that adorn the walls and torsos of the Ridge Avenue staple like wallpaper and tattoos.<\/p>\n
We often take for granted the 79-year-old Streamline Moderene architecture throwback to a post-war America, but maybe it\u2019s time we take a look past the hangover curing eggs, bacon, and buttermilk pancakes, and of course, long-lived signature \u201ccreamed chipped beef\u201d dish.<\/p>\n
Built to last in Elizabeth, NJ, 1947, and standing the test of time. (Photo courtesy of John Katrina)<\/p>\n
Delving into the community gathering place that has survived the Cold War, the Civil Rights Riots, Vietnam, The Gas Crisis of the 70\u2019s, every stock market bubble and recession since the Great Depression, Covid 19, and whatever this craziness we\u2019re living in now is called, it\u2019s a long story, but here\u2019s the short, well, medium version.<\/p>\n
Bob\u2019s Diner is one of a couple dozen remaining special diners of its kind that survive on the east coast.<\/p>\n
But there\u2019s more to the silver and red neighborhood landmark than architecture and omelets.<\/p>\n
The now defunct Jerry O\u2019Mahony Diner Company, based out of Elizabeth, NJ made about 2,000 of these iconic shiny culinary bungalows, known as \u201croadside diners\u201d between 1917 and 1952, and shipped them intact to locations from New Hampshire to Wisconsin to Virginia, with one that ended up in Germany and another in France, and remain there presently.<\/p>\n
But back to this side of the Atlantic and the Philly stamp we so love to put on everything and anything we touch.<\/p>\n
The cozy Diner we now know as Bob\u2019s had its debut in Center City Philadelphia under an unknown name (please submit info if you have it), for six months, then a quick move and brief stay (another six months) at the site of the Sunoco Station at Ridge and Leverington, according to Jim Evans, the present and longest tenured owner of the establishment, before a final move and taking root as the \u201c20th Century Diner\u201d and eventually keystone of the small business community at Ridge and Lyceum.<\/p>\n
While Elvis was scandalizing rock \u2018n\u2019 roll with gyrating hips on the Ed Sullivan show, what we now know as Bob\u2019s was still the \u201c20th Century Diner,\u201d right up until we landed on the moon.<\/p>\n
It wasn\u2019t until 1969 that Jim Koller came along and bought the diner and renamed it \u201cKollers.\u201d<\/p>\n
He ran it for 10 years as the neighborhood gastric hub, and continued building the community roots that are evident today.<\/p>\n
1979 was the year that the tiny shiny icon of Roxboroughness got its modern moniker: \u201cBob\u2019s.\u201d<\/p>\n
It was Bob Harmer, a life-long Roxborough resident that purchased it from Jim Koller and kept the flavor, vibe, and mission alive in transition to what we enjoy today.<\/p>\n
So, for the decadent 80\u2019s with its big hair and big money, Bob\u2019s withstood the turbulence of ever-changing fashion, shifting Zeitgeist and tastes, and anchored our neighborhood to something that transcended the fickleness of pop culture.<\/p>\n
And even Hollywood saw the charm of the spot and used it in the 1988 film \u201cStealing Home\u201d with Mark Harmon, Jodie Foster and Harold Ramis.<\/p>\n
Other films and music videos also chose the monument to community, including local act, Kurt Vile of Mount Airy.<\/p>\n
And assorted feature ads were also shot here. Jim noted one political ad from Pittsburgh and said \u2014 \u201cI asked why shoot something in Philly when it\u2019s Pittsburgh related? and they said that the director lives in Roxborough.\u201d<\/p>\n
Maybe Roxborough is the geographic equivalent of \u201cSeven Degrees of Kevin Bacon.\u201d<\/p>\n
When Jim, a West Oak Lane native, took it over in 1994, he saw the value of something bigger than physical size, trendy cuisine, or even a quick buck.<\/p>\n
He worked to own it, and it shows.<\/p>\n
![\"Jim](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/RBR-L-diner-0822-03.jpg\")
Jim Evans works the Saturday morning crowd like a pro. (Photo courtesy of John Katrina)<\/p>\n
And it\u2019s this work ethic and magnanimity that cuts through the railroad dining car style ambience, the accolades about being the \u201cbest,\u201d and the local celebrity of being, well, \u201cBob.\u201d<\/p>\n
And speaking of celebrities, Jim offers memories of boxing champion \u201cSmokin\u2019\u201d Joe Frazier, and mayors (at the time) Ed Rendell and Michael Nutter joining the crowd.<\/p>\n
The latter choosing Bob\u2019s as an exemplary Philly eatery when we went smoke free in 1999.<\/p>\n
When Jim finished on the grill this busy Saturday, and we sat down in my favorite corner booth to chat, I accidentally called him \u201cBob,\u201d again, and he chuckled \u2014 \u201cI like it\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen there\u2019s a problem I can blame it on Bob, not Jim.\u201d<\/p>\n
So I started with the question I think everyone wondered at one time or another: \u201cWhy did you keep it \u201cBob\u2019s?\u201d<\/p>\n
Without hesitation he started, \u201cBecause it\u2019s not important to have my name attached to something that\u2019s for the community.\u201d<\/p>\n
And with that I understood more deeply why Roxborough has a strong sense of community and why Bob\u2019s is linchpin for that unwritten ethos \u2014 it\u2019s not transactional \u2014- it\u2019s not just business.<\/p>\n
As the famed ghost Jacob Marley famously admonished Ebenezer Scrooge \u2014 \u201cMankind was my business!\u201d<\/p>\n
Not sure if Jim is a Dickens fan like me, but we share the spirit, and it comes through in the locally famous \u201cEye Opener\u201d breakfast \u2014 $11.99 for two eggs any style, meat (go for the corned beef hash), home fries, toast, and coffee \u2014 is a nod to the grace of balancing profit with the needs of the community.<\/p>\n
And how can a diner that borders a cemetery and has a tagline of \u201cA Monumental Dining Experience\u201d not have a ghost story to tell?<\/p>\n
\u201cWell, there is,\u201d says Jim. \u201cMy first week, I was in the basement by myself at 11 p.m., and I heard three loud knocks on the floor upstairs. I went up to investigate and found nothing. Back in the basement, three more knocks \u2013 nothing. And a final three, louder knocks at 10 minutes to midnight. I thought it was friends pranking me, but after almost an hour, and a full moon illuminating the gravestones, the hair on the back of my neck stood up \u2026 and I said out loud \u2014 \u201cYou guys have been here longer than me\u201d \u2014 my \u201cneighbors,\u201d and I left. It never happened again.\u201d<\/p>\n
Maybe those neighbors instilled the sense of community into the new venture, maybe they were welcoming a kindred spirit in Jim, like Marley \u2013 either way, we all benefited.<\/p>\n
And Jim has been at this for 33 years since that spooky night \u2026 almost as impressive as his better half and restaurant manager, Trisha Harder, who also was present while I devoured that Eye Opener.<\/p>\n
49 years Trisha has been an employee, which means she started under the \u201cKoller\u201d years \u2014 amazing longevity and history.<\/p>\n
![\"Trisha](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/RBR-L-diner-0822-01.jpg\")
Trisha \u2018Gigi\u2019 Harder keeps the sunny side up for 49 years. (Photo courtesy of John Katrina)<\/p>\n
Trisha, aka \u201cGigi\u201d to those in the know at Bob\u2019s, makes the challenge of customer service look magically easy, and she keeps the happy-go-lucky vibe alive as Jim and I are huddling to a private corner booth with a view of Ridge and Lyceum looking as if the right ventricle of the heart of Roxborough.<\/p>\n
Community starts with family and extends through friends and neighbors.<\/p>\n
Bob\u2019s is evidently no exception as Trisha and Jim\u2019s grandson, Jake, is busy on the grill covering for his family, including grandad that sits in front of me. Having worked up the ranks washing dishes, bussing tables and refilling coffees, he\u2019s clad in a matching black and white \u201cBob\u2019s\u201d t-shirt.<\/p>\n
![\"Trisha](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/RBR-L-diner-0822-06.jpg\")
Trisha Harder, grandson Jake and Jim Evans with energy to spare after a busy Saturday morning rush. (Photo courtesy of John Katrina)<\/p>\n
He\u2019s trading it in temporarily for blue and white when he shuffles off to Penn State in the fall, but we might be able to catch him helping out again over summers and holidays as he\u2019s done in the past.<\/p>\n
We all have to work, but when we do it in a place like this, we feel something more than simply transacting to survive, we feel a sliver of agape, and unity that we could never get from a screen, a drive through, or a bag of food sitting on our doorstep with no humans in sight.<\/p>\n
Jim is noticeably excited to tell me \u201cI\u2019m seeing a lot more new people \u2026 we\u2019re getting five star reviews from first timers.\u201d<\/p>\n
His appreciation of the new members of the community is palpable.<\/p>\n
Lifers, transplants, and new arrivals all gather as equals. \u201cWe\u2019re a melting pot\u201d Jim proclaims, adding \u201cwe probably had 50 kids here today!\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/RBR-L-diner-0822-07.jpeg\")
The Inky knows what Philly is all about. (Photo courtesy of John Katrina)<\/p>\n
All ages, all ethnicities, all skin tones and all faiths, gathered organically and unpretentiously \u2014 and that idea of an America we all dreamed about is as buoyant as the especially fluffy omelets coming out of the old-fashioned milk shake machine \u2014 a Bob\u2019s tradition.<\/p>\n
As one might imagine, owning a diner is a people business, and Jim intimates that he\u2019s made a lot of friends in over three decades of running Bob\u2019s, citing candidly that friends are a blessing and a responsibility that require a significant amount of time and emotional investment.<\/p>\n
Somehow this statement wouldn\u2019t seem likely to get Jim on the cover of Fortune \u2026 but maybe we need a magazine called \u201cWisdom,\u201d and we\u2019d have a front cover forthat.<\/p>\n
Then we talk about the future \u2026 it\u2019s no secret, Bob\u2019s has been for sale for almost a decade.<\/p>\n
Because now in his early 70\u2019s Jim Evans is ready to pass the baton and specifically pass the Bob\u2019s baton \u2014 not just cash out to the highest bidder for the real estate (more condos) and for the sake of maximizing profit.<\/p>\n
![\"Bob's](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/RBR-L-diner-0822-02.jpg\")
Bob\u2019s wins Best Diner Philadelphia Magazine 2026. (Photo courtesy of John Katrina)<\/p>\n
Maybe those ghosts left a message or memento mori that it\u2019s about something more than money?<\/p>\n
But those ghosts never needed to admonish the crown holder of Bob\u2019s Diner to be more generous.<\/p>\n
He had already helped many sustain households, build resumes, and get out of the occasional financial challenge, including an immigrant family from Afghanistan that need some help getting established in America after fleeing the Taliban in 2020.<\/p>\n
So, after almost 80 years, the place whose menu reads \u201cWhere Good People Meet to Eat\u201d is publicly still looking for a new steward.<\/p>\n
And Jim is willing to train, advise, and support.<\/p>\n
Bob\u2019s ain\u2019t broke, quite the opposite, so there\u2019s nothing to fix, but Evans welcomes some thoughtful evolution, because he is cognizant of the elusive balance between the inevitable march of change and the vulnerable magic of the precious past.<\/p>\n
Remember those late-night conversations about taking over the world at our home town diners?<\/p>\n
Human imagination, maybe not at its finest, or soberest, but perhaps at its freest.<\/p>\n
There are no kings, dukes, or earls in Bob\u2019s, just, well, more Bob\u2019s.<\/p>\n
Maybe the slogan for whoever takes it over will be \u2014 \u201cWe\u2019re all Bobs at Bob\u2019s!\u201d<\/p>\n