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Empire Diner Will End With Coffee Shop Invasion
By
John Del Signore
Published Nov 12, 2009
Modified Nov 12, 2009
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By
John Del Signore
Published Nov 12, 2009
Modified Nov 12, 2009
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The iconic Empire Diner in Chelsea is being taken over by the team that operates the obnoxiously fashionable but beautifully staffed Coffee Shop in Union Square. The owner of the property will not be renewing the lease with Renata Gonzalez, who's operated the classic diner for over three decades. Instead, the Gotham City Restaurant Group will replace Gonzalez with a 15-year lease rumored to be in the $25,000 per month range. Gonzalez says she's trying to get the new owner to keep some of the current employees, some of whom have been there for as long as her, but that seems unlikely. The name's changing too, but that hasn't been revealed yet.
Coffee Shop co-owner Carolyn Benitez tells Chelsea Now the diner will still operate 24/7, but she's planning on radically reinventing the menu: "It’s a diner in feel, and that’s what appeals to us. It’s not going to have any other identity except being a great old diner with better food." She's promising "better ingredients and better quality production," as well as "that Coffee Shop flavor," which we interpret as 'higher prices and hot but aloof servers.' Oh well, at least we're not losing it to Alabama.
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Chelsea
coffee shop
empire diner
new
nyc
union square
John Del Signore
Originally from the Albany area, John Del Signore has called NYC home since 1995. In addition to his thousands of meticulously-crafted bespoke blog posts for Gothamist, his writing has also been published in The Awl, Deadspin, The Nervous Breakdown, and performed at The Brick Theater in Brooklyn.
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