FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM APRIL 12, 2018 • QUEENS BUSINESS • THE QUEENS COURIER 39
Photo by Ryan Kelley/Queens Courier
queens business
Business as usual at new Georgia Diner
BY RYAN KELLEY
rkelley@qns.com
Twitter @R_Kelley6
Th e ever-popular Georgia Diner in
Elmhurst has offi cially relocated a few
blocks from its original location on Queens
Boulevard and it’s busier than ever.
Founded in 1978, the Georgia Diner
closed its old location on the corner of
Queens Boulevard and 55 Avenue on
March 25 aft er the building was sold to
a developer for $14.25 million, according
to city records. Th e diner’s owner,
Jimmy Kaloidis, decided to take the
locally famous name down the road and
re-brand the Nevada Diner, which he
also owns.
Today, there is a large yellow sign on
the side of the closed Georgia Diner
building that points guests toward the
new location, where temporary signs are
draped over the old Nevada Diner signs.
According to John Singh, a longtime
manager at both diners, the transition has
been “very smooth” and loyal customers
are still coming back.
“All the Georgia customers are coming,
and they like the new atmosphere
because it’s a lot of the same employees,”
Singh said.
Singh also explained that there is a
brand-new Georgia Diner sign with
neon lights on the way, as well as redesigned
menus. Th e traditional Georgia
Diner menu with the same prices has
also replaced the Nevada Diner menu,
Singh said.
Th e old Georgia Diner was sold to
Justice Avenue Tower II LLC, which has
an ongoing construction project next to
the diner. Kaloidis had already sold part
of the diner’s parking lot to the developers
three years ago before the project began.
Designed by My Architect PC and
contracted by United Construction and
Development Group, the new structure
will be 18 stories high, with four fl oors of
“community facility” use and the remaining
14 stories for residential use with
184 apartments. Construction began in
2016 and the structure of the fi rst four
fl oors is currently in place, Department of
Buildings (DOB) records show.
An application for the demolition of
the old Georgia Diner was fi led on Feb.
7, but pending its approval there has been
no permit for the demolition issued yet, a
DOB spokesperson said.
Th ough it may be a while before the
building actually falls, guests and employees
alike have moved on quickly, and
Singh said the consolidation is keeping
everyone busy.
“I love to work like this now because it
was too slow for me before,” Singh said.
“Now we’re really working, you pass the
time so quickly now.”
A temporary Georgia Diner sign hangs over the old Nevada Diner sign on Queens Boulevard on April 5.
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