To understand why Mario would fight to retain his treasure is also to understand why he feeds, clothes, and houses young boxing talent, like WBF champ Vincent Gatti, to keep them off the streets and out of jail. Money can't buy soul. As Mario will tell you, the minute he made the deal, he felt sick. Because he almost lost a piece of heaven, his own personal heaven, but didn't realize it until it was almost gone. So I sat down with Mario, smoked some stogies and listened to the story.
Many diner enthusiasts know the basic story.
The original visionary, Webster Bridges, somehow obtained the diner at the World's Fair and transported it to Jersey City. Webster saw the future of fast food and had the plan. He began with five White Mana restaurants, but only one structure existed from the World's Fair. The brothers never had the vision of Webster, though, and his dream of a national chain of White Manas never came to fruition. Mario had been working in the White Mana as the manager for many years, saving money for law school.