Today I had the joy of exploring the Welcome Diner on 924 E. Roosevelt in the Garfield Neighborhood.

Garfield has been a rough neighborhood for a long time but since the announcement of the light rail and the ASU campus downtown, the transition in this neighborhood is increasingly becoming obvious. The Garfield Historic District is generally bounded by Roosevelt and Van Buren, Seventh and 16^th Street.

The most significant home in this neighborhood is most likely the “Sedler House” or also known as the “Alwun House”.

Living downtown for almost seven years, the Welcome Diner caught my eye a couple of times as I was driving by. This diner was vacant and neglected for a long time. Often I thought that it would be really cool to bring this Diner back to life.

Well, somebody else was thinking the same thing… Dafina and Peter Hearn, transplants from New York took over the Diner last February and have brought it back to life. They added a misted patio, to help with the small seating space inside. There are only 9 seats inside this art deco 1930’s trailer. On the patio you can enjoy your food while being cooled off with the mister system and listen to the music from times gone by provide a perfect background sound to a perfect casual meal, or frolic in the blow up pool, complete with rubber ducks, as you wait for your food.

All sorts of cool and interesting people hang out at the Welcome Diner and if you get to sit inside you cannot help but get involved in a conversation with everyone.

The food is awesome, and they use quality ingredients including olive oil, organic beef, organic produce and homemade hot dog’s from the local Schreiner’s Sausage.

If you are in the area you must stop by. The Welcome Diner is open Monday through Friday from 11:00 AM to 3:00 PM and on Saturday from 10:00 AM to 3:00 PM.

Hopefully they will stay in business and this little diner will become a landmark in the Garfield neighborhood.