Seattle's Orient Express Restaurant Has A Tie To This President

Dining inside the Space Needle is a pretty fun experience, but there are many other unique restaurants in Seattle to explore, too. For example, you can hop on board an actual presidential train car at The Orient Express, a landmark eatery that's made up of seven old-fashioned train carriages. Located in the SoDo neighborhood, The Orient Express used to be the home of Andy's Diner, an iconic piece of the city's history that opened back in 1949. The diner originally consisted of just one decommissioned rail car, but over the years it expanded to include an array of carriages, including one that was used during Franklin D. Roosevelt's presidential campaign.

According to the Seattle Department of Neighborhoods, the carriage was used by both Roosevelt and his wife Eleanor on their travels across the country during his 1944 re-election campaign. It even sports a tribute to the former president painted on the side which can still be read today: "Assuming the presidency at the depth of the Great Depression, FDR helped the American people regain faith in themselves." The train car had been bought decades ago for $18,000 back when the joint was still Andy's Diner, but remains a permanent fixture of the Chinese restaurant to this day.

The FDR car was one of Andy's Diner's most prominent carriages, which were all repurposed with booths and supported by metal structures. The founders of the restaurant, Andy Nagy and his nephew Andy Yurkanin, wanted to highlight the area's train track history with a playful new concept. The carriages were home to a steakhouse, a ballroom, a bar car, and a large collection of historical items. The FDR car was the most popular for various parties and meetings, and it even still had some of the original furniture used by the Roosevelts. The platform that the president used to address potential voters during his campaign is still attached.

In its heyday, Andy's Diner served up to 1,200 customers for lunch per day, but the restaurant closed after nearly 50 years back in 2008. That same year, an Asian restaurant and karaoke bar moved in soon after and renamed the location The Orient Express. The restaurant is still open today, and the FDR car remains in place as a permanent fixture, retaining some of the same furniture, photos, and paneling it had before. The menu options may be a little different than in FDR's days, but who knows? Everyone likes a good orange chicken, and it certainly wouldn't be the most bizarre eating habit of a U.S. president, that's for sure.