And just like that, it was gone.
Having served the Sunnyside community for nearly 50 years, the old-school coffee shop Alpha Donuts closed its doors for good last week leaving patrons shocked and in disbelief.
The no-frills diner, located just a few feet from the Sunnyside Arch on Queens Boulevard and known for its donuts and greasy breakfasts, abruptly shuttered on Wednesday, June 28. Around 48 hours later its interior had been completely stripped and dumped.
The only remnant of the Sunnyside staple is its bright yellow and red exterior sign, while a notice attached to the diner’s front window reads: “Thank you for so many years of beautiful memories.”
The Sunnyside/Queens Post visited the location on Monday, July 3, and passersby could be seen gazing through the shop’s windows with astonishment and asking what had happened.
Cab drivers, who were known for parking in a line along Queens Boulevard and then frequenting the business, speculated that massive rent hikes had forced the business to shutter. The rumor was also rife on social media.
However, Patty Zorbas, 62, who owns Alpha Donuts, told the Sunnyside/Queens Post on July 5, that she was forced to close due to inflation and the potential costs of several upgrades needed to keep the business afloat — which she said she could not afford to carry out.
She said that while her rent had increased, it was not the reason behind her decision to close.
Zorbas said equipment such as the grill as well as other items at the eatery needed to be replaced.
“I sat down and put down the numbers together, and with insurance, taxes and inflation, the amount of money I would have to spend was above my reach,” said Zorbas, who is originally from Greece and lives in Woodside.
“I’ve been crying for two weeks. I’ve been there for 32 years.”
She said she decided to close late Tuesday, June 27, and the following day she shut down Alpha Donuts and started stripping out all of the equipment and fittings.
Gone is the establishment’s unique S-shaped countertop that allowed workers to serve customers up close, and gone is the shop’s vintage, button-styled cash register.
“It was tough. I was exhausted both physically and mentally,” Zorbas said. “It’s life-changing and I’m trying to sort my mind. I’m very sad but that’s life.”
31 comments:
Very sad news. Great memories of that place.
Love Mom & Pop stores....
With pandemic aid running out NYC is toast !
Forget about it said...
Fast food restaurant chains & big box stores for the sheeple.
There is a lethal cocktail of bankruptcies and closures comming soon.
All Dem0rAt cities are pricing people out of bussiness with Woke capitalism and failed progressive causes .
Less trash thrown onto the streets. Eat bugs...
Will be replaced by a bank, souless DD or a Woke Starbucks.
Greek Donuts Matter !
Wonder if high labor costs caused the closing ?
Any Econ 101 student can tell you the answer: Raising the minimum wage will increased inflation and unemployment.
Remember New York had 44 electoral votes in 1970. Now it's 22. Soon it will be 11. That's how pathetic New York is now.
This is the end times for NYC. A stoner/slacker crime paradise that's doing everything it can to drive responsible people and employers away.
Let them eat weed
I lived in Sunnyside years ago and only remember alternate side parking tickets and Alpha Donuts.
"Zorbas said equipment such as the grill as well as other items at the eatery needed to be replaced."
"Hey I've a great Idea" said Mayor Eric Adams, "Oh No!" said everyone else, "NYC is thriving (Not really, I took some literary license here) so let's put another nail in the coffin! I figure if we force Pizzerias that use wood burning ovens to use electric instead, that would be a great step in killing business in NYC!" "What say you NYC Council?"
Should have started to serve soup dumplings and Tibetan yak snacks. Got to keep up with the demographics.
@“ Wonder if high labor costs caused the closing ?”
Typical rightwing, anti American, corporate shill!
Take your “Economics 101” bs and shove it up your ass.
Corporate CEOs and their cronies have seen their earnings rise for exponentially for years, thanks to Reagan and trickle down economics.
As soon as workers get even an inkling of a pay increase, we hear this bs being spewed out by the Fed and the corporate lie machine.
As for Alpha Donuts, they were a mom and pop shop with little labor overhead.
But you wouldn’t know that, as you are obviously not, nor never were a New Yorker.
Kitara is not too bright.
Any Econ 101 student can tell you the answer but not the troll who hates America !
"spewed" out by the Fed ???
Are you Blue Anon ?
"Never were a New Yorker" You can read minds too Wokie ? Wow...
“Economics 101” is not BS if you would read fundamental principles of free market economics.
Immigration used to be about getting the best and brightest, while increasing the population so our nation will be greater in the future. We are full. Build the wall and enforce some law.
I stopped yesterday and gave 100$ to a family holding a sign that read they were in desperate need of help. They could of been here legally or illegally but I don't honestly care. At the end of the day they are human beings and my life is no more important then theirs. Giving made my soul feel good and I wish I could of done more.
"corporate shill" Make sure you thank Sleepy Joe. Is he rightwing too ?
But you wouldn’t know that... LOL Mr/Miss know it all
Wut? You mean to tell me there’s a downside to electing municipal officials who are in the pockets of developers?
Krazy Liberal logic at work believing labor cost don't matter !
I’m visiting my brother in Texas and today I saw three moving trucks and cars with NY plates outside of two different sections in his neighborhood. I stopped to say hello to one family and they told me they’d finally had enough of New York and the Dems.
“If you don’t work you don’t eat” should apply to everyone.
Hey DD MUNCHKINS are they way to go. Donuts are for Commies...
@"I’m visiting my brother in Texas and today I saw three moving trucks and cars with NY ..."
Spare us your bullshit and fake stories. Y'd have to be as dumb as a Fox News Sheeple to believe that one.
@"Immigration used to be about getting the best and brightest, "
When and where? Australia has those requirements, never here. If you want proof, look at yourself. How did you or your ancestors get here if the USA only allowed in the best and brightest?
@"Krazy Liberal logic at work believing labor cost don't matter !"
Sure, they matter, but not nearly as much as overpaid CEO's and corporate monopoly price fixing.
US wages have stagnated since Reagan set about the destruction of unions.
As for "Alpha Donuts", they had one cook and one counter person. Most of the time it was the owners who worked there.
So, take your fake "Economics 101" and shove it up your ass, brain-dead corporate shill!
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