South Street Diner Featured In New ‘Batgirl’ Comic

Image via South Street Diner/Twitter

Solomon Sidell isn’t much of a comic book fan, but when he found out that the South Street Diner, located near South Station, was featured in the latest issue of “Batgirl,” he ran to a comic book store and bought 10 copies—and then he asked for 10 more.

“I’m all excited. It’s exciting that we’re in the Batgirl cartoon. It’s one of those things that continues to surprise me about how big the diner really is,” said Sidell, owner of the 24-hour eatery tucked away on the corner of Kneeland Street. “To have your little corner of the world be part of a comic strip—that isn’t something I would ever fathom.”

Sidell said he found out that the diner—complete with the giant coffee cup sign strapped to the establishment’s roof—was in the comic, which hit shelves in January, after a fan tweeted about it last week.

“I saw it and tweeted back to him and said, ‘come on, no way. Let me see,’ and he sent me a picture of it,” said Sidell. “Then it just, you know, we followed up and spoke with the [person who drew it] and the writer of the script, and we had a conversation with all of them.”

In the small strip featuring the diner, Batgirl can be seen flying alongside a man driving a car before dropping a smoke bomb in his lap. The pink smoke from the device causes the driver to slam into the diner, destroying the inside.

The comic’s depiction of the diner is uncanny, from the interior to the outside landmarks. But Sidell said the only thing the artists didn’t get right was that the diner was closed. South Street Diner is a staple for being open 24-7, offering customers late night eats during the week.

Sidell said he was OK with that small inaccuracy. “We are open 24-7, but hey, nobody got hurt that way. When a car comes driving through and you’re cooking bacon and eggs in the kitchen, you don’t want anyone getting hurt. So I’ll take that,” he said.