Summit Diner: Hemingway Connection?

Summit Diner is one of the landmarks of our city. With its charmingly small size and only eight booths, it brings a part of Summit's yesterday into our day-to-day lives. Yet, did you know that it is rumored to have inspired a Hemingway story?

In Hemingway's short story, "The Killers," two characters eat in a diner and share a simple dialogue: The first one states,“This is a hot town. What do they call it?” “Summit,” says the other character.

The setting of the story was long thought to be Summit, New Jersey, with Summit Diner providing the inspiration after Hemingway ate there. However, to the dismay of believers in the myth, Carlos Baker, a Hemingway biographer, claims that Hemingway was actually referencing Summit, Illinois. Despite this claim, many Summit Diner regulars still like to think that Hemingway was also inspired by the enduring atmosphere of this classic eatery.

Carlos Baker, "Ernest Hemingway: A Life Story"