Nothing says “Jersey” like a diner, especially a 24-hour one, with its blazing neon sign a welcoming beacon in the night.
Prior to mid-March, when the coronavirus forced lockdowns around the country, there were dozens of 24-hour diners in New Jersey, the Diner Capital of the World.
Now there are just a scant few, including the Stateline Diner in Mahwah, the Coach House Diner in Hackensack and the Chit Chat Diner, also in Hackensack.
The owners of the former 24-hour diners are not hopeful they’ll go back to 24/7 when things return to “normal.”
“To be honest, I don’t think so,” says Jimmy Douranakis, co-owner of the Park West Diner in Little Falls, a longtime 24-hour diner that now closes at 9 p.m.
“We were (open) 24 hours the last 30 years until COVID hit. Now we’re fighting for survival,” said Steve Mitossis, co-owner of the Menlo Park Diner in Edison. “Will we go back to 24 hours? If we have the help, yes. If we don’t, no.”
Diners, like restaurants everywhere, are dealing with plummeting revenues and customers. At the Tick Tock Diner in Clifton, probably the state’s best-known diner, business is down 65% to 70%, while business at the sister Tick Tock Diner in New York City is down a sickening 90%.
The two former 24-hour diners now close at 10 p.m. At both Tick Tocks, operations have been streamlined. On a recent lunchtime Friday in Clifton, three waitresses were on duty; there are usually nine. Both diners received Paycheck Protection Program loans, but they were a temporary bandage. Asked if he considered closing for good, co-owner Teddy Daniil replied, “Of course we thought about it.”
Then he added: “I heard an expression the other day — ‘You can drown in water, but you can’t drown in sweat.’ We kept working.”
The Tick Tock Diner in Clifton has seen business drop 65% to 70% since the pandemic started.
The Tick Tock underwent a major renovation last fall, closing for two months. The shiny new diner — terrazzo floors, walnut-colored tables, a new kitchen, an expanded menu — now plays to a much-reduced audience.
The original Tick Tock opened in 1948, then underwent a renovation in 1994. “Eat Heavy” is the diner’s slogan — the words appear in neon atop the diner, next to the “24 hrs.” sign, which remains illuminated. Most famous customer ever? That would be Mick Jagger, who feasted on a Taylor ham, egg and cheese sandwich prior to a concert last August.
Will the Tick Tock, the state’s quintessential 24-hour diner, ever return to 24/7?
“We’re not sure that’s going to happen,” Daniil said. “The current spike in (COVID-19) sicknesses ... may close us down again. We’re on our toes.”
Diners did not start in New Jersey — they can be traced to Walter Scott’s horse-drawn lunch cart in 1872 in Providence, Rhode Island — but they have gained a foothold here like nowhere else. There are about 600 diners in New Jersey — on major highways and backcountry roads, in big cities and small towns, from Sussex County to Cape May.
Coconut crusted french toast, Chit Chat Diner, HackensackSL
“Generations and generations, young and old — New Jerseyans love their diners,” said Niko Katsanos, general manager of the Chit Chat Diner in Hackensack.
The diner, one of 10 finalists in our statewide diner showdown in 2017, remains open 24 hours. Why?
“Because I don’t know where the key to the front door is,” Katsanos joked.
The main reason the Chit Chat didn’t decide to close at, say, midnight: The cook was already coming in at 2:30 a.m. to begin prep work.
‘‘It didn’t make sense to close (earlier)‚” Katsanos said. “We were already doing the long hours.”
The Chit Chat, a big, bustling diner with a telephone book-sized menu, does a healthy overnight takeout business. Regulars include doctors, nurses and EMTs from nearby Hackensack University Medical Center. The diner’s overnight staff consists of two people to answer phones, one cook, one server and one dishwasher.
For now, Hackensack is the 24-hour diner capital of New Jersey, with the Coach House Diner in the Bergen County seat also remaining open 24/7.
“Have a late-night craving? We are open 24/7 for delivery, pickup, & curbside pickup!” reads a message on the diner’s Facebook page. Its sister restaurant, the Coach House Diner in North Bergen, comes close to being 24/7. Pickup and delivery are available from 6 a.m. to 3 a.m. every day.
Ponzio’s Diner in Cherry Hill, South Jersey’s best-known diner, operated 24/7 until the 1980s. Now it closes at 9:30 p.m.
“I‘ll probably go back to 11 or 12 o’clock (closing time), but I don’t foresee that for a long time,” said owner Nick Fifis. “There’s nothing going on. Nobody’s out there.”
Business at Ponzio’s is off 60% compared to last year.
“For a restaurant, that’s tough,” Fifis said.
Mike Niotis, owner of the Seaport Diner in Elizabeth.
The truck drivers, factory workers, limousine drivers and airport workers that chowed down on nine-ounce burgers, corned beef sandwiches and stuffed peppers at the Seaport Diner in Elizabeth pre-pandemic have all but disappeared. The former 24-hour diner is located in an industrial area minutes from Newark Liberty International Airport and Port Newark/Elizabeth.
“It’s brutal,” said owner Mike Niotis. “A lot of the companies around here are not running their night shifts. Truck depots, ShopRite — they’re running skeleton crews.”
The diner closed entirely from mid-March to late April, then re-opened from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. for two months. The Seaport now closes at 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 3 p.m. on Sundays.
“It was 24 hours from day one,” Niotis said of the diner, which opened as the Meadows Diner and became the Seaport about 30 years ago.
He installed a walk-up ordering window. It accounts for 50% of his business.
“I have to get back to 24 hours — if it’s working,” Niotis said. “The truck drivers come in (and ask), ‘When are you going to open up at night?’”
Steve Mitossis and Angelo Hionis, owners of the Menlo Park Diner in Edison.
The Menlo Park Diner is one of two former 24-hour diners on Route 1 in Edison, along with the Edison Diner. The mid-March lockdown spelled the end of the Menlo Park Diner’s 30-year-run as a 24-hour establishment. It now closes at 9 p.m. Sunday through Wednesday and 10 p.m. Thursday, Friday and Saturday.
Asked how much business is off from last year, Mitossis laughed bitterly.
“Our business is 25% of what it was last year,’” he explained. “It seems every time someone issues a new warning it just gets worse. The restaurants are the ones hurting the most. If there’s another shutdown, most restaurants and diners will not make it. You can’t keep borrowing money. If we get another (setback), bye-bye.”
The diner, one of the few Jersey diners with jukeboxes at every booth, closed from mid-March to Aug. 1. It wasn’t worth keeping it open, according to the gray-bearded Mitossis.
“It wouldn’t have made any sense,” he said. “You open, your gas and electric bills are $10,000 (a month). You close, it’s $5,000.”
He’s been forced to scale down the menu to save on food expenses. There were once a half-dozen steaks on the menu. Now there’s just one. Takeout business has been minimal. “If I get 20 (takeout) orders a day, it’s a good day,” Mitossis says.
Will the diner ever return to 24/7?
“I don’t know if we’ll ever get back to 24 hours,” Mitossis replied.
Jimmy Douranakis, Pete Kavalos and John Stoupakis, the owners of the Park West Diner in Little Falls.
At the Park West Diner, Jimmy Douranakis has a quick answer when asked how business is going.
“No good,” replied the co-owner.
The 240-seat Route 46 diner, known especially for its salads, was closed from mid-March to the end of May. When it re-opened, the Park West joined the growing list of former 24-hour diners. Its hours are now 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. every day.
Business is only a fraction of what it was pre-pandemic.
“Sometimes it’s 38%‚” said Douranakis, managing a smile. “That’s 55-60% gone. Goodbye Charlie.”
Even with drastically reduced hours, running a diner is still an expensive proposition. The Park West’s utility bill is normally $12,000. Now, it’s about $7,000.
“You have a lot of compressors, freezers, refrigerators, all that,” Douranakis said. “They gotta work.”
He doubts the Park West will ever go back to being a 24-hour diner.
Themis Nissirios, co-owner of the 24-hour Stateline Diner in Mahwah, hopes it stays open all night. But the overall outlook for diners is grim.
“The people who have been in this business — they’re in disbelief,” Nissirios said. “Are we hurting? Absolutely. We need another round of PPP.”
Business was down 85% the first month after the lockdown. It has slowly crept back up. Now there’s a new challenge — the recent spike in COVID-19 cases has made people “more fearful than ever” about going out, Nissirios explained. “Even if I opened up completely, I wouldn’t fill the place.”
Two tents were installed for outdoor dining from mid-May until mid-November, but their rental came at a cost: $9,000 for the first three months, $5,000 in September, $3,300 in October. Ten ionizers, which help purify the air, cost $8,000.
Will the Stateline stay open around-the-clock?
“We’re trying to keep it open as long as it makes sense,” he replied. “It’s pretty borderline right now.”
Two Jersey diners have closed due to the coronavirus — the Six Brothers Diner in Little Falls and the Double S Diner in Wantage.
The death of Jersey’s 24-hour diners might end up being a more crippling blow, especially to a state that prides itself on its diners.
“You say New Jersey, everyone thinks of diners,” Menlo Park Diner’s Mitossis said. ”It’s part of the landscape.”
“I can’t picture New Jersey without diners,” Nissirios added. “Without diners, we’re just another state.”
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Peter Genovese may be reached at pgenovese@njadvancemedia.com.
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