Our History

The history of the Yankee Clipper Diner dates back to 1946 named after the famous airplane.  Depicted here is the original diner established in 1946.

After a well-publicized dedication ceremony, attended by First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt, on March 26, 1939, the Pan American B-314 Yankee Clipper made its first trial flight across the mid-Atlantic, from Baltimore, Maryland, all the way to Foynes in Ireland. The airline began regular mail services with the B-314 in May 1939; scheduled flight time was about 29 hours. With increased confidence in its new plane, Pan American finally inaugurated the world's first transatlantic passenger service on June 28, 1939, between New York and Marseilles, France, and on July 8 between New York and Southampton. Passengers paid $375 for a one-way trip across the ocean. By the beginning of World War II, Pan American, with its considerable experience in Pacific and South American operations with the famous Clipper service, dominated the transatlantic routes. The airline offered regular flights with its seaplanes from La Guardia airport in New York City to Lisbon in Portugal, which was the most common entry point into Europe at the time.

Commercial services during World War II were intermittent at best. Pan American also conceded some of its monopoly to the British Overseas Aircraft Corporation (BOAC), which had purchased three B-314s for its own transatlantic service, just before the beginning of the war. The major turning point in transatlantic air service occurred in June 1945 when the U.S. Civil Aeronautics Board granted permission to three airlines to operate service across the North Atlantic. They were American Export Airlines, Pan American, and Transcontinental & Western Airlines (TWA). This agreement finally broke Pan American's monopoly over international air travel and contributed to the flourishing of air travel in the postwar era. (American Export would merge with American Airlines on November 10, 1945, to become American Overseas Airlines (AOA).

Today, the Yankee Clipper Dinner is the pride of Beacon.  Featured in Newsweek, June 21, 2004 "You do a lot of walking at Dia, and by the end you'll be hungry.  Head into town for a taste of the old Beacon - bacon and eggs at the wonderfully. . . Yankee Clipper". 

Their low prices, along with the delightful dining atmosphere make the Yankee Clipper Diner the perfect place for family fun and relaxation.