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It is not a time machine, but this 80-year-old greasy spoon in Newport News will give you a taste of the past
Depicting a penguin carrying a comically large ice cream cone, the Monty’s Penguin sign has watched over Warwick Boulevard for decades, inviting customers to stop inside the diner for a banana split, some flapjacks or an ice cream cone measured in swirls. This Peninsula institution celebrated its 80th anniversary in May
Most days after school when she was around 8 years old, Beth Dickson carried a zip-close bag of change and walked to Monty’s for ice cream and a plate of cheese fries. When she was in high school, her father took her a Monty’s job application. She got the job and became friends with one of the employees, Stephanie Hill
At 14, Hill had started waitressing at Monty’s. And to her mother’s dismay, she returned to Monty’s after college
Then, in 2023, she bought the place, and brought Dickson back on board.
Hill, now 40, said many customers have known her since she was a teen, and they have become like family
“Many of them have known me since I was a little girl. They watched me pregnant. They watched my daughter be born,” she said, pointing to her daughter, Braelynn Hill, who was working behind the counter
In 1946, George Monfalcone and his brother, Emmanuel “Monty” Monfalcone, opened Monty’s Restaurant, a drive-in diner in downtown Newport News. The diner moved in 1963 and merged with Penguin Ice Cream to become Monty’s Penguin before moving to its present location in Hilton Village in 1974. George Monfalcone sold the restaurant to Orson Jung in 1990, and it stayed in the family until Hill bought it 33 years later
Not only have generations of families stood behind the counter, but many people who went to Monty’s as kids have taken their own children and grandchildren there
Adding to the diner’s consistently low prices, older regulars — some who dine multiple times a week — serve as another constant
Like many regulars, Charles W. Allen went to Monty’s Penguin every day for his cup of coffee. Unlike other customers, Allen lived to be 109 before he died in August 2025
“He always said from Day 1 that the reason he lived so long and was so healthy is because the amount of sugar he put in his coffee,” said Dickson, who’s now a daytime cashier.
Sometimes, a trip to Monty’s is the only cure on the Peninsula for certain classic cravings
The Chuckwagon — a patty of chopped sirloin, breaded and fried — was on the original menu and is not available anywhere else in the area, Hill said. The daily specials, like meatloaf Mondays and spaghetti Wednesdays, often sell out. Monty’s hot dogs, fit with specially made buns, are also popular
“I’ve been coming here since 1970. I drove all the way from Williamsburg to get that dinner I had, and I do that regularly,” 71-year-old Allen Harville said. “There’s a lot of places around here that have hamburger steak dinners, and I like some of the other ones, but they don’t touch those.”
While she tries to preserve the diner’s retro charm, Hill has made changes to bring it into the modern age: seasonal items, new ice cream and milkshake flavors — with butter pecan being a fan favorite — and getting rid of paper tickets. Staying as loyal to her customers as they are to Monty’s, Hill has raised prices only once
Thanks to the support from its fans, Monty’s Penguin continues its march to 100 years
“The Hilton (area) is a really tight community. They stand for all their little places that are around here. They make sure they visit and keep going, and they’re really loyal to their little places that have been here,” Hill said. “I think that it has the perfect spot, the perfect location and the perfect customers.”
Clare Pacella, clare.pacella@virginiamedia.com
If you go
Where: 9607 Warwick Blvd., Newport News
Hours: Breakfast 6-10:45 a.m. Monday through Saturday; lunch and dinner 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday
Prices:Breakfast $2.30 to $9.85; lunch and dinner $2.92 to $10.49; dessert $2.10 to $6.99
