The New Ideal Diner
A Desegregated Diner on Route 40
The New Ideal Diner had already desegregated in agreement with CORE before the Dec. 1961 Freedom Ride on Route 40.
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The New Ideal Diner existed in downtown Aberdeen, Maryland in 1961 and into the 21st century. In 1961, it was listed as the "Ideal" restaurant in the CORE brochure for Freedom Riders and listed as "Desegregated." Therefore, it probably stuck to the agreement reached between restaurant owners and CORE earlier in 1961. It was not a Freedom Ride destination on Dec. 16, 1961 although probably tested for it's racial policies by CORE activists in the weeks before.
The iconic diner building still exists in Aberdeen. In 2021 it operated as a fresh seafood market.