Two More Manhattan Diners Have Closed

Two more diners have closed in rapid succession. After 12 years of business, The Diner NYC in the Meatpacking District has shuttered. The place served beef stew, pulled pork sliders, and diner-style breakfasts into the wee hours. Though it’s not as old-school as the 25 year-old Evergreen at 47th Street that closed last month, the Meatpacking spot peddled nostalgia in the spirit of the all-American, 24-hour joint — even if it wasn’t open 24 hours a day.

About a mile away at the corner of W. 28th and Seventh Avenue, The Greek Corner Coffee Shop closed after a 36-year run, with a sign on the door posted last week. The owners will open Blue Door Souvlakia in Bay Ridge later this year.

What had been an anchor of urban life ,diners in Manhattan are closing by the week due to rent, labor and food costs on the rise, not to mention owners’ families who no longer want to keep longer-than-usual restaurant hours.

In his November narrative, “New York’s Vanishing Dining Culture” in the Times, George Blecher lamented the closings. “Losing New York diner culture would probably be a watershed in the city’s history,” he wrote. “How will New Yorkers get along without these antidotes to urban loneliness?”

Yet those in search of diners know they’re alive and well in the city’s more suburban neighborhoods like Ridgewood and across borders into Long Island — with well over 50 diners listed across Nassau and Suffolk counties.