Dec. 20, 2023
By Emma Bannon
Editor
This fall marked the end of an era for customers who frequented the Lyndhurst Diner. Once home to disco fries and family memories, the iconic restaurant and its property sold to an investor for $2.9 million on Oct. 23.
The diner, which is located on 540 Riverside Ave., closed in 2020 due to Covid-19, according to the Real Estate NJ newsletter. Although there was speculation of a reopening, this day never came for the diner, which had been family-owned and operated since the 1970s.
School resource officer Sgt. Passamano, who has lived in Lyndhurst all his life, said he has fond memories of the diner.
“I [had] been going since I was a little kid with my family for breakfast on the weekends,” Passamano said. “It is something that was a part of all of our lives in Lyndhurst…. I took my own kids there until it closed.”
Passamano said the diner was a meeting spot for all occasions. He said people would go there to conduct business lunches, grab a bite to eat after sports games, head over for a meal after a night out or meet there with friends just to catch up.
“It is like a piece of Lyndhurst history [has shut] down,” Passamano said.
Sophomore Charlie Benjamin said he grew up going to the diner with his family, always ordering a classic cheeseburger.
“This was a place you could go to take a load off, a place of calm,” Benjamin said. “I live close enough to walk there, and I’m sad to see it gone.”
Benjamin said the diner had always been a part of his life.
“I can remember going with my mom and sister growing up, and now we can’t make any more [memories],” Benjamin said.
He said the diner will always hold a special place in his heart.
“I live close enough to walk there, and I’m sad to see it gone.”
“There is not something I will miss most about the diner. I will miss the diner itself, [but] I’m happy it sold, so it won’t feel like a graveyard anymore,” Benjamin said.
Senior Samantha Garcia said she went there often with her father and sister.
“We were pretty upset about it [closing] as well as shocked,” Garcia said. “It was one of my favorite places to go have breakfast.”
Garcia said her usual breakfast order was a Belgian waffle with maple syrup.
“It was a bonding experience to go there,” Garcia said.
Garcia said her family has not yet found another restaurant to fill the void of the diner’s absence.
“I feel there should have been more efforts [to keep the diner open] because everyone loved that place,” Garcia said. “If they reopened [after Covid-19] regulations were lifted, they could have been successful again.”
