Diner Moving To Wyoming, Literally

If you want to stop into the Moondance Diner for a late-night burger and shake, you’re going to have to travel awful far: Wyoming. [Instead of being demolished], as was originally reported, the [Soho diner](http://www.nysun.com/article/59553) with the iconic, revolving crescent-shaped sign is being transported—chrome walls, barrel-roof ceiling, stools and all—to the small town of La Barge—where it will become the only restaurant in town. The diner’s new owners, Vincent and Cheryl Pierce, plan to drive a semi-tractor-trailer to New York City, where the structure will be mounted and then physically relocated to the small town with an estimated population of about 600, two hours south of Jackson Hole and three hours northeast of Salt Lake City.

And while residents of La Barge seem [thrilled to add a novel offering] to their one-police-man, two-gas-station-town, many Soho residents are less pleased. The executive director of the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation told the Sun that the move was part of a “disconcerting trend”: “It’s an indication that the real estate market in New York, and particularly in Manhattan, is so superheated that anything that doesn’t dedicate itself to the super luxury market does not seem to be able to survive.” The diner served its last meal on July 1, and its former site on Sixth Avenue will now be developed into luxury residences by everyone’s favorite development company, Extell.

And in case you’re wondering why the diner’s name sounds so familiar, here’s a little [Moondance trivia]: Monica Gellar on "Friends" worked at a 50s-themed restaurant of its namesake, and in the first Spider-Man movie, Mary Jane (a.k.a. Kirsten Dunst) is also a waitress at the former icon.

Photo courtesy of [threemiraclesshy on Flickr]