About Us

The Birdseye Diner is a 1940’s Silk City Dining Car manufactured in Patterson, New Jersey. It was originally brought to Castleton in the early 1960s to replace the former Birdseye, a wooden diner that had burned. Over the last sixty years the diner has been called The Campus Diner, Jim’s and T.J.’s.

In 1995 John and Pam Rehlen purchased the diner and began renovations. The renovation project was guided by Daniel Zilka - a professional diner restorer - and included stripping the pitched wooden roof and barnboard façade. It also included removing much of the interior chrome to return the diner to the way it looked in the 40’s. The kitchen was also expanded. The winter of 1997 brought the addition of another forty seat dining room and the spring of 1998 marked the beginning of an outdoor patio arrangement for additional seating.

Now, in the 2020s, the Diner continues to be a thriving restaurant and local institution. Our breakfast cook Jean has been with us for twenty five years, and many of our waitstaff have been around for decades. We love the diner and eat here daily, and we hope you do too!

The renovation project included stripping the pitched wooden roof and barnboard façade. It also included removing much of the interior chrome to return the diner to the way it looked in the 40’s. To help guide the project was Daniel Zilka a professional Diner restorer.