Business & Tech

Salem Licensing Board OKs 'The Ugly Mug Diner'

The Ugly Mug Diner will soon open on Washington Street in downtown Salem.


The Salem Licensing Board unanimously approved a motion at their meeting Monday night to award a common victualler's license to the new owners of The Ugly Mug Diner on Washington Street.

The local couple looking to open The Ugly Mug Diner on Washington Street in Salem was awarded an annual wine and malt license at a board meeting last month.

Salem residents and The Lobster Shanty owners Diane and Lee Wolf announced last month that they were looking to the community for help toward opening a new diner at the former Taste of Thyme Cafe at 118 Washington St.

The couple has owned and operated the Lobster Shanty since 2007. 

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The eatery "is to create a fun, funky combination of old and new. The diner will offer handmade, fresh foods that are locally sourced when possible while maintaining a classic diner atmosphere with weekly specials and breakfast served all day," according to a release.

Medusa's Cafe recently opened at the location, but closed after less than three months in business.  

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“Our laser-like focus on the food will set us apart from other breakfast spots,” Diane Wolf said in a release. “We’ll be a full-service diner with culinary professionals in the kitchen. We will cure our own bacon, serve farm-fresh eggs, smoke our own salmon for bagels, and whip our own cream.  We have fostered relationships with local farmers, including Maitland Mountain Farms here in Salem, to provide us with the best foods to offer our guests.”

What do you think about this new idea for a diner?

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