NYC’s Theater District provides ideal home for new – Business News
Diner 24 is getting an encore of kinds, opening new digs in New York City’s Theater District the place clients will probably be serenaded by singing waiters whereas chowing down on traditional eats, Side Dish has discovered.
The new two-story space is slated to open late subsequent month at 1674 Broadway, a landmarked building run by the Emmes Group.
Think “Zorba the Greek,” “Mamma Mia,” and “My Big Fat Greek Wedding,” mentioned proprietor Stratis Morfogen.
The new two-story space is slated to open late subsequent month at 1674 Broadway, a landmarked building run by the Emmes Group. Pauls Signs Inc
“That’s not a Broadway show, but it is theatrical and great entertainment. There will be lots of fun stuff,” he mentioned.
Still, clients will have the ability to get an genuine expertise whereas they eat – 5 of about 16 singing waiters employed up to now have Broadway and off-Broadway expertise, in keeping with the restaurateur.
“They don’t have steady work, and that’s why they want to do this now,” Morfogen defined.
The unique Diner 24 in Gramercy was famed for its “church ladies” — grandmas referred to as yia yias in Greek — who got here out of retirement to create do-it-yourself Greek dessert specialties with their own recipes.
It has grown so fast up to now two years, with gross sales leaping from $2.5 million to $6 million a yr, that the 2 “yia yias” of their 70s and 80s now work for John Nikolopoulos, or “papou” — which implies grandfather in Greek — out of his Brooklyn commissary and bakery.
Customers will have the ability to get an genuine expertise whereas they eat – 5 of about 16 singing waiters employed up to now have Broadway and off-Broadway expertise, in keeping with Stratis Morfogen. World Red Eye
Nikolopoulos simply celebrated his ninetieth birthday. He has been baking American, French and Greek desserts for the previous 75 years.
“I feel very good. I’m strong,” Nikolopoulos informed Side Dish, scoffing on the thought of retiring. He is understood for making scrumptious cheesecake and baklava, in addition to bagels, breads, pink velvet muffins and apple pies.
While the candy treats will probably be served in each diners, solely Diner 24 within the Theater District comes with singing waiters.
The Theatre District space will seat 235 people with an further 16 seats exterior and comes with singing waiters. Daniel Kwak
Theater, Morfogen says, is an element of his DNA. Actors within the household embody his late uncle, stage and screen veteran George Morfogen, who appeared within the collection, “Oz.”
“The new Diner 24 comes full circle for me,” Morfogen mentioned.
The Theatre District space will seat 235 people with an further 16 seats exterior. It consists of a stage upstairs with a 20-foot runway that divides the cubicles for the performers to be elevated above the company, with stage lighting.
“I want it to feel like an off-Broadway play,” Morfogen mentioned. “There will be so much energy upstairs. We have great food and the performances. It’s exciting for the consumer. It’s dinner and a show and the only place on Broadway where the show never closes.”
The menu will observe the success of the primary Diner 24, in Gramercy, he added.
“I found a formula with Diner 24,” Morfogen mentioned. “We created a diner that is more focused on the new generation, with fresh produce, no longer dependent on a six-page, plastic-coated menu that’s driven from the freezer,” Morfogen mentioned.
“We found a niche, a ‘diner 2.0’ version that is working — with big burgers, crazy shakes and all-day breakfast.”
The menu will observe the success of the primary Diner 24, in Gramercy, Morfogen mentioned. Daniel Kwak
The new Theater District opening happened organically, he mentioned.
Another restaurateur had invested hundreds of thousands within the space and walked away during a friends-and-family week — and that’s when the Emmes Group reached out, in keeping with Morfogen.
They labored out a revenue-sharing model for rent and a strategy together with pricing, which will probably be barely increased on the new spot than in Gramercy.
Burgers, for instance, are $10 on the Gramercy location and $12 within the Theater District, with double-decker smash burgers costing $19 in Gramercy and $23 within the Theater District. The new space can even have a shake bar.
Prices will probably be barely increased within the Theater District. Daniel Kwak
“We are confident that sales in the area will be robust,” Morfogen mentioned.
He initially needed so as to add performances to Diner 24 in Gramercy, however the space was smaller: 1,500 sq. toes with 75 seats.
“But we go all out for birthdays, with singing waiters and sparklers,” he mentioned.
The Gramercy location advantages from hospitals, police and different establishments with night time employees, in addition to 16 bars within a few blocks.
“We cater to them all. Midnight to 5 a.m. is our busiest time,” Morfogen mentioned.
“We are confident that sales in the area will be robust,” Morfogen says. Daniel Kwak
Meanwhile at 1674 Broadway, the building — which as soon as housed Birdland, the place Count Bassie and Ella Fitzgerlad carried out — just lately welcomed The Lambs, the oldest skilled theatrical membership, based in 1874.
Diner 24’s growth comes as Pearl Diner, a stand-alone, one-story construction surrounded by skyscrapers, closed in FiDi earlier this month after 64 years in business.
Morfogen, who grew up operating Greek diners along with his late father, needs to buy each Pearl Diner and the Ritz Diner, which just lately closed after a strong 25 years on the Upper East Side.
The unique Diner 24 in Gramercy. Daniel Kwak
“I would love to buy them back. They are nostalgia,” mentioned Morfogen, including that he would take an strategy of, “I’m not in the restaurant business, I’m in the theater business,.”
He’s additionally taking a trendy strategy, factoring in social media and noting that with “viral content on TikTok, you can fill a tree house in Antarctica with lines out the door.”
And, he’s eyeing new outposts past the Big Apple.
“We are looking to expand the concept not just in New York but across the country,” he mentioned.
