Rescued N.Y. Icon Moves West

The Moondance Diner looked out on busy 6th Avenue in New York for 75 years and was featured in films like "Spiderman" and "Sex and the City." Now, thanks to one woman, it's the only restaurant in the tiny town of La Barge, Wyo., population 431, reports CBS News correspondent Cynthia Bowers.

Cheryl Pierce bought the Moondance for $7,500 from developers who wanted to tear it down.

"There was a lot of work that needed to be done, a lot of cleaning that needed to be done. But it was an awesome place," she told Bowers in Part Five of the Early Show series, "Early Across America," which tells stories of hope amid the economic despair sweeping the nation.

Then her husband and father, who are both truckers, went to Manhattan, loaded up the diner and drove it the 2,200 miles to southwest Wyoming.

"A lot of people had hopes and dreams and expectations for it," Kent Profit, Pierce's father, said. "New Yorkers, people in Wyoming here, have all said go for it."

But once here, nothing came easy. A brutal snowstorm collapsed the roof, making a big restoration job even bigger. It took the Pierces a full year to get the money and manpower needed to restore it, using a diner photo book to replicate the look she wanted.

What she didn't anticipate was that friends and family would be moonstruck by the Moondance and be willing to donate time and talent. Cheryl's sister Tanya left a high-paying office job to help out with menu design and stayed on to wait tables and wash dishes.

Although the shiny silver building may not be noticed during the day, at night the Moondance comes to life, drawing in both regulars and first-timers. And the diner's unique story helped create a big buzz.

"We have somehow become a destination diner," said Pierce. "And that in itself is a wonderful feat."