Did you ever wonder why the coffee and food in most every New York City diner is basically the same? Have you felt a little uncomfortable when your parents or grandparents meet someone named George, and ask if they work at a diner because every Greek male is named George in their mind?
Well it's mainly due to one man's strategy behind bolstering immigrants and his coffee business all at once-- and the result was around 1,000 diners in NYC as a generation ago.
His name is John Vassilaros, and he helped foster the diner culture we've considered a cornerstone of NYC food culture for as long as the bacon, egg, and cheese sandwich has been our City's breakfast of choice.
After immigrating from Greece, Vassilaros began selling coffee to restaurants and lunch counters (in lots of pharmacies back then, weird!) back in 1918.
As he witnessed the trend of Irish, Jewish, and Italian eatery owners willing to sell and retire by the 1930s, he seized the opportunity, but not for himself alone.
Vassilaros became the godfather of the NYC diner by helping Greek immigrant kitchen workers buy diner locations provided they bought Vassilaros & Son's coffee, and the rest is history.
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Now, about a hundred years later with his great-grand daughter at the helm of the business, it's estimated that New Yorkers drink five million cups of Vassilaros' coffee each week.
But in recent years, the NYC diner has become an endangered species of sorts, with rising rent pricing all types of iconic NYC businesses-- bodegas included --out of business, it's a rough climate out there for classic eateries unless they're famous.
Katz's Delicatessen (which is a deli not a diner) is actually expanding to Brooklyn, while its iconic NYC eatery counterparts are dropping like flies.
Add that to the fact that many young consumers would rather eat at some place "trendy" than classic, and you've got a recipe for disaster for diner owners. But all hope is not lost. There are still a lot of great diners around the City. Which is your favorite?
Check out Arby's Will Open a Midtown Location.
[via Crain's New York]
[Feature Image Courtesy Guest of a Guest]