| Rocko's Diner | |
| Current-Owner: | Schiller Family |
| Previous-Owner: | Nick Nicholson |
| Food-Type: | diner |
| Street-Address: | 32786 Lougheed Highway |
| City: | Mission |
| State: | British Columbia |
| Zip: | --> |
| Country: | Canada |
| Coordinates: | 49.1328°N -122.3168°W |
Rocko's Diner is a diner located in Mission, British Columbia, best known for its forty flavours of milkshakes and its use as a filming location for several televisions shows. The diner was the first drive-in and first 24-hour restaurant in Mission. In 2017, USA Today named the diner one of Canada's top ten filming locations.[1]
On July 11, 1956, under ownership of Nick Nicholson, the diner opened as Nick's Diner and then was named Hi-Lite Burger Bar.[2] It was Mission's first highway drive-in.[3] To celebrate the opening, Nicholson hosted an open-air dance on the driveway of the restaurant.[4] The Schiller family acquired the Hi-Lite Burger Bar in the early 1980s and renamed it Rocko's Diner in 1986.[3]
Because the Schiller family owns both the land and the diner, the restaurant is an attractive filming location for production companies. Rocko's Diner has been a filming location for several films and television shows, including various Hallmark movies, Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief, Killer Among Us, and Horns.[3]
The diner is the site for the pilot scenes of Pop's Chock'lit Shoppe in Riverdale.[5] [2] The set used for later scenes in the series was modeled after Rocko's.[6] After the Riverdale scenes were filmed at the diner, fans of the show began visiting the diner.[5] [3] Rocko's named milkshakes after the characters of Archie, Veronica, and Betty, and created a burger called the Jughead Burger.[5] [7] Following Luke Perry's death, the diner created a milkshake to honour him and his acting career.[8] [9]