Tuesday, November 29, 2016

Will diners soon be a thing of the past?


From LIC Post:

The number of diners across New York City is on the decline and it is not just Manhattan establishments that are closing, according to the New York Times.

Health-department records show that there are half as many diners in New York as there were just 20 years ago, reported the Times. In fact, there were 398 diners last year as compared to 1,000 a generation ago.

The article stated that the diners everywhere are coming under pressure.

“Manhattan has certainly seen more diner closings than other boroughs,” according to the Times. “That said, with rising costs in rapidly gentrifying neighborhoods, classic diners like the Neptune and Bel Aire, both in Astoria, Queens, could soon be under threat.”

16 comments:

Anonymous said...

Yes I see diners will be a closing down. Besides the neighborhood changing and the minimum wage hitting $15....owners will take notice that the customers are few but costs are high with the wage increase and health care benefits.
Yes while the wage increase is good but in ways it's not...jobs going automated or disappearing all together.
You see it when you go out...once a busy diner with many workers to a slow diner with less workers and the food prices high.
Sad to say....It will happen.

Anonymous said...

Diners all serve the same food on the menu. Very expensive too.

Anonymous said...

i used to work in the area in the photo and we used to avoid that diner like the plague. haven't eaten at a diner in years too.

the food is usually crap, overpriced and bland. eggs are always overdone to the point of being so dry that you're gasping for water.

there is a new diner in rego park that i might go to this weekend cause the reviews sound good

A Better NYC said...

Costs are going up, up, up in NYC.

When you have less disposable income you cut back on activities such as eating out, going to the movies, going to sporting events, etc. Basically anything that's not a necessity gets eliminated from a family's monthly budget.

Needless to say, operating costs for diner owners are going up too.

Shrinking Disposable Income + Rising Costs = Time to Move

Anonymous said...

I love a good diner and I think there will always be a few around but many are closing because the younger generation of hipster transplants want more variety. The diner is like a jack of all trades, master of none type of thing. If someone wants a great burger, there's gourmet burger places all over; a good Greek or Italian dish, they go to an ethnic restaurant; brunch, well, plenty of places for that, etc. It doesn't surprise me that the biggest decline is in Manhattan, that's where the more interesting and varied dining options are. I see mainly older clientele in diners now and it's sad. I think they will still be somewhat popular in the suburbs where there are less options.

Anonymous said...

You just do not get what you pay for anymore.
Overpriced and the same food. In some places no parking.
Cheaper to eat at home and at least you know it's fresh.

Anonymous said...

Diners became disgusting when they stopped cooking and began opening cans and nuking trays from Sysco! All of their food tastes institutional! Think hospital cafeteria!

Anonymous said...

It's the sign of the times. The economy has gotten so bad that people can't afford to go out anymore. I'm even surprised that the movie theaters are still opened considering the fact that ticket prices in a lot of theaters are 15+/ticket and popcorn and soda there is 12 bucks! Plus In the theaters they have reserved seating now so the theaters are now holding less people on jacked up prices.

JQ LLC said...

The ones with the most disposable income are the transients. Tourists and hipshits. In manhattan, where most of the diners have vanished, they don't patronize those places but in quirky and artisan eateries that sell overpriced meals with smaller portions.

Generations play a huge factor of course, since most people who frequent diners are getting older or moving out of the city they can no longer afford, and grotesque property speculation/fabrication makes it impossible to keep a diner in business no matter how good it does and closes shop and the predators swoop in and build a tower or a hotel.

I used to frequent diners a lot in the 90's but have only gone to a few in the past 10 years if you want veritable proof. Result of stagnant wages and higher cost of living. Same old song and dance, same ol' shit.

Anonymous said...

everything that made new York city great up until 1990 is gone or almost gone, including its great 20th century population. ITS OVER JOHNNY.

Anonymous said...

Diners that serve decent food still have many customers, the problem is that the developers offer ridiculous amounts of money for the 1 story properties. Why work 16 hours a day when you can retire nicely on the sale of your property? This is merely another example of how overdevelopment and overcrowding has ruined the things we've come to know and love.

Anonymous said...

$15/hr is great for the one getting the raise, not so good for the two getting laid off.

Anonymous said...

> It doesn't surprise me that the biggest decline is in Manhattan, that's where the more interesting and varied dining options are.

Wouldn't that be Queens?

Anonymous said...

Love diners.i remember going to my first one,Toomey's. we were living in pig town and went there in 1960 with my grandfather and 2 grand uncles. Nothing like breakfast in a NYC diner/ greasy spoon!

Anonymous said...

LOL!
Call Michael Perlman, the diner saver!

Anonymous said...

First of all let's get one thing straight here.
These so called diners, with Bible sized menus charge the same for a real (frozen and microwaved) meal as most restaurants.
A salmon diner at Court Square diner cost about the dames as Brooks 1890 restaurant a few blocks away.
The dinner at Brooks is far superior.
Secondly...the land value of the Court Square diner is worth a fortune!
It is jus a matter of time until they sell out for millions of dollars.
Aside from breakfast fats, most diners really suck!
They are good for cholesterol feasts, cheese fries, etc. Goodbye!