>>They have amazing hash browns,
and I love the
color of the place.
And I like it, it's good.
Good vibes. (laughs)
>>Well, I see the Blue Moon
Diner as a one of a kind.
It's a place where you can just
relax and try something new,
and meet some interesting
people, artists,
engineers,
songwriters, sculptors,
businessmen, lawyers, doctors,
everybody comes to the diner.
>>Today we're going
to feature a favorite
local eatery that has
been serving our community
since the late 1940s.
This popular spot not only
provides patrons with tasty
breakfast, lunch, brunch,
and dinner dishes,
it is also widely
known as a place
to feel at home and
catch up with friends.
Join us as we visit Laura
Galgano, at the Blue Moon Diner.
Come on.
(folk country music)
♪ They would look elsewhere
♪ Cause when a girl's
in a small town ♪
♪ And got too many suitors
♪ Too many suitors
♪ And she ends up all alone
>>It actually first opened
as a place called the
Waffle Shop in 1949.
And in the late 70s,
it was re-opened,
as Blue Moon Diner, by
Buzzy and Allison White.
>>Oh, that's so great.
>>And it was a family event.
They lived in the
apartment upstairs.
And they served brunch
for the first few years.
And then they sold
it to Jerry Danner,
who has started a lot of
restaurants in the area.
>>Yeah, a lot of restaurants
in the community.
>>And then he sold
it to Paul Grady,
who was the big
Elvis fan, so most
of the Elvis memorabilia that
you see around the diner--
>>(laughs) That's great.
>>Came from Paul Grady.
He was a huge fan.
And Paul Westenberger
owned it for a short time.
And he was famous for doing
his hospital happy hours,
in the morning, when
all of the nurses
would get off of their shifts.
>>Oh my gosh.
>>They'd come here and
have their happy hours,
before they went to bed.
And then, after
Westenberger had it,
Mark Hahn and Rob
Gusterson bought it.
And they had both worked here,
under Paul Grady, in college.
And had very fond memories,
wanted to start a restaurant,
took over the diner and really,
really made it into something.
>>So what inspired you and Rice,
to take over a restaurant,
re-open the restaurant?
>>We met working in
restaurants, so we have always
had a love of food and
the restaurant lifestyle.
And this excitement
of getting to meet
new people everyday,
even though you're doing
very similar actions.
So there's always
something exciting.
There's always something new.
And always something to learn.
And it's just a lovely way
to be able to experience
other people's lives.
>>So you run the
front, and you have
your little office
right at the counter.
>>I do, I have a real office,
and I spend so
little time in it.
(Terri laughs)
Because I want to be
downstairs in the action.
I don't wanna miss anything.
>>And Rice has always
run the kitchen right?
>>Yeah he--
>>And he designs the menus.
>>He designs the menu,
and has such a creative
mind, of pairing different
foods and ingredients.
That sometimes make
me look at him funny,
and then I taste
it, and I say, wow.
This is incredible.
>>Order up.
>>I come here for the food,
I'm pretty predictable.
Dinner, it's always
a Skipjack burger.
I don't stray too much, except
for the occasional special.
>>When I first came
here, I was surprised
to find out that they
had all day breakfast.
And that's when I decided
I was gonna come back
every time I had a craving
for eggs or pancakes.
>>I'm from Santa
Cruz, California,
and I'm currently
traveling the country.
So I came to Charlottesville
because I heard
it had a lot of history,
and I wanted to see
Thomas Jefferson's house.
And just check out what
the locals do around here.
>>You have items that have
always been on this menu.
>>Yes, I mean, we
still use the same
pancake recipe that Buzzy
White used in the 70s.
>>And that's fantastic.
>>I've never
encountered pancakes
that are quite as
delicious as ours are.
I don't know what magic
happens in that mix.
But they are fantastic.
>>You can get
burgers, you can get
a basic breakfast or you--
>>You can also get a
local organic salad.
You can get, if you're
looking for a vegan dish
you can have something.
If your grandmother needs
to have a very plain,
bland diet, we have
something on the menu.
The goal is to have
it be somewhere
that no one in the
family is upset to go to.
There's always that sort
of play of negotiation.
Where are we going to
dinner, when you have
so many different generations
involved in one group.
Diners are for everyone.
>>Yes, we've done that
many times with our family.
And I have a brother
who, basically
this is his favorite restaurant.
>>And we love him.
>>Well he's a creature of habit,
and he orders the
same thing every time.
So when he walks
through the door,
he gets his coffee
before asking,
and his order is
placed immediately.
>>He is actually part
of our training process.
(laughing)
>>We have a whole
group of regulars here.
They really are part of
the training process.
They all, as soon as a
new employee is here,
they are instantly
introducing themselves.
This is who I am, and
this is what I do.
And they will give me
the feedback as well.
Oh this one's gonna
work out great.
Or, yeah, you're gonna
have to watch this one.
She can't remember my order.
(laughing)
>>Oh that's so great,
and that ties into,
I mean, what is Blue Moon
Diner, most known for.
Is it the food, is it
atmosphere, what is it?
>>It's different things
to different people.
And that's part of it,
is that we have people
who only ever come
here for brunch.
So in their mind, the
diner is a very busy,
very chaotic restaurant that--
>>People wait for brunch.
>>Yeah, I mean.
>>It's so popular.
>>And thank you for it.
(laughing)
>>And rattle off some
of the brunch items,
because it's not
diner food per se.
>>No, we try to have a
little fun with the brunch.
We do a poached egg special.
We'll make Hollandaise.
We do quiche that is
in a spring form pan,
so it's the tallest, fluffiest
quiche you'll ever have.
I mean, we really try to
play around with different
local ingredients with
fun different styles
On occasion we'll
have Vichyssoise,
which is not something
you would expect to see at a
diner, and people will love it.
Cold potato soup, who doesn't
want cold potato soup?
>>But you can still
have a grilled
cheese sandwich and
fries if you want.
>>Exactly.
>>Name some of the top favorite,
I mean there are favorites.
>>The Juevos Blue Moonos,
is another one of those
items that put on
in the early days.
And it is our take on
a Juevos Rancheros.
It is simple and delicious.
And then, you know,
for the healthy minded.
We got a vegan garbage
plate that is tempeh,
and a vegan chili, doesn't
have any meat in it.
Any meat touching it.
>>I love it, you have
items that have been
on the menu forever,
and you have new items.
And it reminds me
of Main street.
Talk about how you
do and don't change.
Talk about that.
>>The biggest thing with
some place like this,
is that we really kinda
feel that we're more
stewards of the diner,
then actual owners
of the diner, because
it is so important
to so many people.
And when the first day we
reopened, we had people
walking in the
door, thanking us.
That's not something you
get, as a restaurant.
Like usually, you're fighting
for those loyal customers.
But we already had them.
We just have to make sure that
they are along the ride with us.
That we're all on this
fun journey together.
That there are still
things that are familiar,
and welcoming and that
we retain that notion
that anybody can come in here.
And then anybody can
find something in here,
and be welcomed in here.
>>Well, I was walking
in the street,
towards my hotel,
and I ask where
I could have a good breakfast.
And breakfast is very important.
And they told me to
go Blue Moon Diner.
Well here I am, and I
thought that was a very
funky looking era building.
Kind of a young place
for an old lady.
I mean, it's kind of a.
Make you happy sort of.
Reminds you of a few
years back. (laughs)
>>It's one of those places
you can walk in the door
and the person behind the bar,
says hey, how're you doing?
Like they met you before.
And you really just
get this sense of,
I can just feel
comfortable here.
(folk country music)
♪ Sweet dream
♪ Baby come on home
♪ Sweet dream
♪ Baby come into my arms
♪ Sweet dream
♪ Baby set me free
♪ Sweet dream
♪ Baby come to me
>>Hey we have to talk
of the music scene too.
Because there's a
music scene here.
>>We are a stepping stone
and a comfort builder.
We have so much fun
listening to the bands
who wanna come play here.
Local bands, people coming
through on the road.
It is amazing how
quickly I get booked up,
and for such a small
space, it's special here.
>>You have music
every night, but
there are Jim Waive Wednesdays.
>>Jim Waive Wednesdays.
>>He is it.
>>He really is it.
If you've not seen
Jim Waive play music,
he plays with a
full band, called
Jim Waive and The
Young Divorcees.
He is just the house band.
Every single Wednesday,
he's here without fail.
I remember once, there
was a traveling group
called The Sweater Set.
Beautiful music,
lovely harmonies,
absolutely adored them.
They were only available
on a Wednesday night.
So I'd asked Jim, would
you mind switching.
I'll have you play
the Thursday night,
they'll play on the
Wednesday night.
Everyone was upset by this.
>>Oh. (laughs)
Jim said fine, was very
gracious, very sweet.
We switched the night.
People who came on
Wednesday night,
still sat and enjoyed
the Sweater Set,
but I got some letters.
And people were
very confused over,
wait a minute, it's
Wednesday right?
Where's, the habit of he's
always here on Wednesday.
After that, we said, we're
not messing with it anymore.
Jim Waive Wednesdays,
that's the one.
♪ I'm gonna take all your
pictures from my walls ♪
♪ Wash them clean
♪ Wash them down in gasoline
♪ Strike a match and
watch that baby burn ♪
>>You and the Blue Moon
Diner were very instrumental
in helping to get
CLAW, Charlottesville
Lady Arm Wrestlers--
>>Oh yes, that goes back to
our problem with saying no.
(laughing)
>>But you helped this small,
what became a small non-profit,
turn into a national
organization that
donates to charity.
>>Exactly, CLAW is just,
it boggles my mind.
I think it boggles all of
our minds, how that happened
and how that took off.
I mean we'll sometimes
sit around and kinda look
at each other and go
through that timeline,
and say do you remember
that first year
we did them every month?
How could we have done that?
And now you're going from
in the back room here,
of scrappy, thrown
together, and this we're now
exploring bigger venues to
hold it in Charlottesville.
>>Right, it's just gotten
so big, and started here.
>>Be able to explore it.
We have national tournaments.
There are national
tournaments every two years.
And there are 23 other
leagues in the country.
And two international
leagues now.
So it just, and
it's become this.
It's a voice for each
community, to express,
whatever need is there.
And it's just been
a crazy wonderful
circus at the same time.
>>So you clearly love this gig.
Because you told me in
a conversation earlier,
how much you love this job.
Why, tell me why?
>>There's something
about it that,
there's always something
interesting happening.
There's always something new.
There's something beautiful,
and really important
about being able to sit
in a room and encounter
someone who has
totally different life
experiences from you.
And share a meal.
And talk about what's
going on in your world.
Every town definitely
needs a diner.
>>It's just a good place to be,
this really is a
good place to be.
Absolutely.
>>Get in here and start
to meet people here,
it feels like a second home.
And then it all branches
out into segments
of the community, with
the Lady Arm Wrestlers
and all these great
things around town
that you wouldn't know, started
in a small little
diner like this.
(jazzy music)