Chat n' Chew Diner

"Hogarth, honey... I'm really sorry, but I need to work late tonight."

- Annie Hughes to Hogarth Chat n' Chew Diner is a 1950s restaurant in the 1999 film, The Iron Giant. Located near the harbor and town square of Rockwell, the restaurant is the center of all social life and is generally busy serving coffee, burgers, fresh caught fish, soup, and pies to customers. The diner itself is the current place of Hogarth's mother, Annie Hughes' employment.

Appearance
The Chat n' Chew Diner is a typical restaurant of the 1950s era. Similar to a mobile home, the restaurant is a narrow and elongated with roadway transportation for customers. Its exterior itself features multiple windows alongside a yellow paint job and a barrel vault rooftop with a large neon sign on top. A single door leads into the restaurant below an arrow sign and clock.

Like many diners of the era, the interior of the restaurant has a compact floor plan with a long counter with floor-mounted stools for customers at the front and a row of booths along its walls. The restaurant also features multicolor tile flooring, a telephone booth for customer use, and green walls with mounted shelves covered with fishing objects and other aesthetic such as license plates, signs, awards, and pictures.

History
After the hurricane at the beginning of the movie came to an end, Hogarth headed down the street on his bike toward the Chat n' Chew Diner, with a light green shoe box mounted to the back of his bike. Quickly parking it on the sidewalk, Hogarth headed inside with his box to meet his mother, who was currently on duty as a waitress. After being created by her and settling down on a barstool, Hogarth explained that he has found a new “pet” in the woods and hoped to persuade her to let him keep it. Unfortunately, however, before he could show her the animal (a squirrel), he discovered that it had escaped from the shoebox and was likely now roaming free in the restaurant.

While looking for it, Hogarth sees the animal run under the table of a stranger behind a paper. When pried by Hogarth, it is discovered that the man was actually asleep. Hogarth explains the situation but before he could continue, the conversation was interrupted by a rather loud group of men listening to the tale of Earl Stutz about an invader from mars. After a brief listen, Hogarth's mother asked the stranger if Hogarth was annoying him but the man declines and introduces himself as Dean. Dean reveals to Hogarth that the squirrel he has been searching for is now inside his pants. Hogarth asks Dean not to "wig out" but unable to take the feeling, Dean apologize to Hogarth and opens his fly, releasing the squirrel into the restaurant resulting in chaos.

Later, after Hogarth has headed home, his mother calls and apologetically informs him that she will have to be working late at the Chat n' Chew Diner (possibly as a result of the squirrel incident). She does not arrive home from work until well after 9:30pm.

The Chat n' Chew then has one last short appearance the next morning when Dean picks up a tractor with a large bite out of it from a farmer outside the restaurant.

Trivia

 * The day Hogarth goes to the Chat n' Chew Diner, the soup special of the day is clam chowder.
 * In a deleted scene (later added to the Signature Edition of the film in fully animated form), Dean was supposed to have a short conversation with Annie about Hogarth inside the Chat n' Chew Diner, before picking up the tractor from the farmer.