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Where have all the diners gone? (NYC`)
Crain's New York Business ^ | October 25, 2015 | Aaron Elstein

Posted on 10/26/2015 9:37:03 AM PDT by C19fan

There are no Michelin stars on the door, but you will not find a better breakfast in New York City than at the Bel Aire Diner in Astoria, Queens. The coffee, a lighter roast than Starbucks' and brewed three gallons at a time, is always fresh because just about every customer gets a refill or three. The Greek Breakfast entrée is a masterpiece of the line cook's art, a combination of eggs (any style), feta cheese, soft black olives and grilled fresh tomatoes whose juice seasons the toasted pita.

The Bel Aire is run under the glare of Argyris "Archie" Dellaportas, who immigrated to Queens in 1972 at age 18 from the Greek island of Cephalonia. He baked bread at the Westway Diner in Hell's Kitchen and other joints before being hired to run a diner in Maryland, which meant long stretches away from his wife and children.

(Excerpt) Read more at crainsnewyork.com ...


TOPICS: Food
KEYWORDS: aaronelstein; archiedellaportas; argyrisdellaportas; astoria; belairediner; cephalonia; diner; diners; greece; newyork; newyorkcity; queens; restaurants
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A real institution is dying.
1 posted on 10/26/2015 9:37:03 AM PDT by C19fan
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To: C19fan

If the hipsters don’t / won’t / can’t make it work in these urban areas, it dies.


2 posted on 10/26/2015 9:43:21 AM PDT by cicero2k
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To: C19fan

No Coke, Pepsi...


3 posted on 10/26/2015 9:45:43 AM PDT by Kickass Conservative (THEY LIVE, and we're the only ones wearing the Sunglasses...)
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To: C19fan

I suspect in New York, Maryland and other liberal states, the main reason why diners are dying is taxes.

Who can afford the State sticking their hand deeper into your pockets as they nickel and dime you to death with taxes, permits, and so on?


4 posted on 10/26/2015 9:47:26 AM PDT by Responsibility2nd (With Great Freedom comes Great Responsibility)
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To: C19fan

Regulation and taxes ran them out of business.


5 posted on 10/26/2015 9:47:27 AM PDT by Fido969
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To: C19fan

Been replaced by Food Trucks which the young LOVE!


6 posted on 10/26/2015 9:49:06 AM PDT by Ann Archy (ABORTION....... The HUMAN Sacrifice to the god of Convenience.)
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To: C19fan

Still a lot of diners in Southern Connecticut and at least in Westchester Country, NY.


7 posted on 10/26/2015 9:50:25 AM PDT by SamAdams76 (Businessmen use their own money to succeed. Politicians take other people's money and fail.)
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To: C19fan

“feta cheese, soft black olives and grilled fresh tomatoes whose juice seasons the toasted pita. “

I’d rather nail my soft parts to a burning stump than eat that.


8 posted on 10/26/2015 9:54:00 AM PDT by dsc (Any attempt to move a government to the left is a crime against humanity.)
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To: C19fan

I grew up in NYC, I can’t even look at a picture of it now without getting physically nauseous. All these white out of state College indoctrinated hipster d-bags with their Occupy wall street, black lives matter protests. I don’t remember ANYONE like that when I was growing up, that crap just did not happen. Probably the closest was protests about the Vietnam war which usually would end with the hard hat construction workers beating the crap out of them. Now they got all these white croissant eating, latte drinking, effeminate bitch a*s self righteous backpack wearing twits with bandanas over their face trying to be “rad man”, like these idiots...........

https://www.facebook.com/299257016892538/videos/547994072018830/


9 posted on 10/26/2015 9:58:06 AM PDT by GrandJediMasterYoda (B. Hussein Obama: 20 acts of Treason and counting.)
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To: AdmSmith; AnonymousConservative; Berosus; bigheadfred; Bockscar; cardinal4; ColdOne; ...

A lot of people would rather eat a dog of some sort from a vending cart.

Analysis: Some hot dog brands contain human DNA


10 posted on 10/26/2015 10:00:56 AM PDT by SunkenCiv (Here's to the day the forensics people scrape what's left of Putin off the ceiling of his limo.)
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To: C19fan

Obama sole our lunch money and then forced us to buy BarryCare.


11 posted on 10/26/2015 10:04:31 AM PDT by FourPeas ("Maladjusted and wigging out is no way to go through life, son." -hg)
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To: GrandJediMasterYoda

I know exactly how you feel, except about three thousand miles distant.

My parents were born in Los Angeles, CA, in the mid-1920s and I was born there in 1950. We left CA in 1969, and have never looked back. Well, my father longed to return; but the California we all knew is dead and gone.


12 posted on 10/26/2015 10:08:23 AM PDT by SatinDoll (A NATURAL BORN CITIZEN IS BORN IN THE USA OF TWO USA CITIZENS)
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To: Fido969
Regulation and taxes ran them out of business.

Yep, in addition to all of the fast food joints that remain open 24/7 and serve what passes for breakfast.

I owned a restaurant, bar hotel in the 70s, before MAD, when insurance rates were reasonable and profits were good. Since the 80s that business is too tough {I sold in the early 80s for a nice profit} and you couldn't give me one today.

Too many regulations and no fun and little profit left in it.

13 posted on 10/26/2015 10:18:15 AM PDT by USS Alaska (Exterminate the terrorist savages, everywhere.)
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To: C19fan

I travel a lot. The old mom and pop diners aren’t out there anymore. The only places to get breakfast are fast food joints. I think one need to make too much money to run a smaller operation today.


14 posted on 10/26/2015 10:23:26 AM PDT by IC Ken
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To: C19fan

50th street and broadway, the star diner, excellent.


15 posted on 10/26/2015 10:23:59 AM PDT by longfellow (Bill Maher, the 21st hijacker.)
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To: dsc

Ah, you don’t know what you’re missing. Nothing like it.


16 posted on 10/26/2015 10:26:01 AM PDT by Nationale7
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To: dsc

Diner means waffles, runny eggs, or a greaseburger and fries, not some Greek crap


17 posted on 10/26/2015 10:27:28 AM PDT by bigbob
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To: C19fan

I prefer scrambled eggs with smoked salmon and fresh berries.


18 posted on 10/26/2015 10:30:15 AM PDT by trisham (Zen is not easy. It takes effort to attain nothingness. And then what do you have? Bupkis.)
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To: bigbob

Except for those who like it Greek...


19 posted on 10/26/2015 10:31:45 AM PDT by farming pharmer
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To: C19fan

We have a diner downtown, I read the city’s sesquicentennial book that had a picture of Main Street from 1950, you can see the neon sign, and it’s the same one there today. Ate breakfasts there when I lived downtown.


20 posted on 10/26/2015 10:33:20 AM PDT by W. (I piss fire and acid upon the militant muslims as they pray to their baby-raping god!)
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