Another old-style downtown diner has vanished. Everest Diner on Chatham Square closed a couple of months ago after the restaurant was sold by Teddy Vasilopoulos. Now the space is undergoing a gut renovation and will be reborn as a modern bakery/cafe.
Recently Chinatown BID head Wellington Chen told us the new owner decided it was time for a fresh start. A sign on the storefront at 22 Chatham Square (near Bowery) reads, “Tria Bakery Diner Coming Soon.”
In 2013, we featured Everest Diner in a tribute to six old school diners. Vasilopoulos took over the Chinatown space in 2008, which had previously been a lunch counter. His family has owned diners in New York since 1973, when they came to this country from Greece. John Vasilopoulos, Teddy’s brother, runs the beloved Cup & Saucer on Canal Street. Teddy is also a co-owner of Landmark Diner, 158 Grand St.
Two of six diners we featured two years ago have now closed. The other victim is the Olympic Diner on Delancey Street, which occupied a corner of an old Essex Market building that was demolished for the Essex Crossing development project. Click here if you’d like to have a look at our original feature.
