Seven days a week before 8 a.m., a box of bread gets delivered through the back doors and into the busy kitchens of Silver Diner. It’s an artisanal bounty—buns, ciabattas, sourdough, wheat, rye—baked that very morning by French-born baker Didier Rosada, of Uptown Bakers in nearby Hyattsville, Maryland, outside of Washington, D.C. And for more than a decade, his old-world, just-out-of-the-oven loaves have made all the difference for local chefs like Ype Von Hengst, now part of his ongoing commitment of providing his guests with the best food possible.

Three words we live by: must love mom. From the early inspiration for our founders, whose mothers sparked a lifelong love of sharing food, to the many mother-daughter teammates who work at our various locations (and sons, too!), to the many families who choose our tables and booths for everyday and extra-special meals together, Mother’s Day is every day at Silver Diner.

Fresh, quality, comforting food—that’s what “home” means to Chef Ype Von Hengst, and it’s an ethos that he’s carried with him from a small-town childhood in the Netherlands, where he first learned his way around a kitchen with the help of his mother, all the way through an illustrious culinary career, including in his creative menus at Silver Diner today. “When I used to cook as a kid, I learned to not just love making food,” he says, “but also the joys of hospitality and service—putting a great meal around the table and having time with my friends and family.”

What makes a diner a diner? Well, if you want to know the answer, and everything else there is to know about America’s most iconic kind of restaurant, there is one man to call, and really one man only. And that’s why nearly 40 years ago, our founders dialed up Richard Gutman, the Boston-based architect, best-selling author, and bona fide diner historian who has become known as the “Diner Man,” over his decades-long career, which included helping us launch the very first Silver Diner.

In the middle of winter, Chef Ype Von Hengst is dreaming about warmer weather. That’s when spring menu development begins at Silver Diner, all in hopes of finding a few new stand-out dishes to add to the regular rotation, and help the restaurant remain committed to constantly evolving for the next generation.

When owners Bob Giaimo and Ype Von Hengst wanted to open a restaurant, they went on a road trip. But not just any old road trip. Instead, in the 1980s, they took planes, trains, and automobiles to visit 500 diners across the United States to understand just what makes this kind of iconic dining establishment so special.