Tuesday, February 5, 2002
By EVONNE COUTROS
Staff Writer
John Mullin always considered a movie followed by a burger at the Tenafly Diner a cool night out.
"For me in the 1950s and the 1960s, the Tenafly Diner was the 'in place,' " says Mullin, 65, a retired history teacher at Tenafly High School. "During the day, the adult population sort of took it over -- but at night, after the movie hour, we would all meet there."
Mullin recalls the railroad dining car version of the Tenafly Diner that he frequented as a teen in the 1950s. And he remembers the early days of its successor, which opened in the 1960s and boasted a distinctive ultra-modern aura.
That diner, too, is just a memory, after its demolition last year.
But now, the 21st century version of the diner is quickly taking shape. It opens in a few months and will be called the Tenafly Classic Diner.
The structure was delivered over the last week via flatbed truck in four prefabricated pieces from a diner factory in New Rochelle, N.Y.
Die-hard diner patrons may still experience a bit of nostalgia when they walk through its doors, since the 99-seat diner (50 more than the last model) will retain 1950s flair.
"We had it in mind to do something in a 1950s style," said Steve Kontolios, 41, who with his brothers John and Dimitri bought the diner about a year ago. "People these days like the look of that era of diners. The only thing we won't have outside are the neon lights."
As a freshman in high school in 1951, Mullin would come to the Tenafly Diner after occasions such as the winter school ball.
"I was with my girlfriend from Cresskill," Mullin said. "We walked over from the school gym and had burgers. There really wasn't too much else in town as far as places to eat. The other option was a diner in Closter, but we couldn't really get there until we learned to drive. So the Tenafly Diner was it."
In a 1954 photograph, Mullin and his classmates are outside the old dining-car diner. Above the group is a sign boasting "Ladies Invited."
It "was some hangout," Mullin said. "What I remember most was that there was no public urinal inside. It was outdoors in the back parking lot."
Mullin said that when the dining-car model was replaced in the early 1960s, he was in shock.
"I drove by one day and nearly had an accident," he said. "Just the look of this new shiny diner."
When it was torn down to make way for the prefab model, Mullin made sure to get a keepsake.
"I took a little souvenir of its tile flooring," he said, adding, "The diner was run down, but in its heyday, it was thriving. The countermen could remember 15 orders at a time."
The Tenafly Diner was indeed a landmark, said Mayor Ann Moskovitz, a Tenafly resident for 39 years.
"Everyone knows it," Moskovitz said. "The seats were no longer comfortable, but it still had its own special character. What was nice is it had all the old pictures -- the history of the diner was right there over the counter in black and white."
As the 10- to 14-foot-wide prefabricated pieces of the new Tenafly Classic Diner rolled in over the George Washington Bridge during the wee hours last week, some early risers caught a glimpse of it from the bus stop off Railroad Avenue.
Others dropped by with cameras as the pieces were bolted and the skeleton became a whole but empty shell that will be filled with modern counters, booths, and tables.
A portion of the kitchen will be in the basement to allow for more seating. Granite and tile were already in place on the outside.
"The town wanted the diner to have granite exteriors and an earth-tone color," said Joe DeRaffele, a spokesman for the family-owned company that made the diner. "They also requested a brushed stainless steel, rather than one that is mirrored."
The Kontolios brothers, who were raised in Cliffside Park, said their 2,500-square-foot diner, which cost just under $1 million, will boast the extensive menu that customers now expect.
"It's not just eggs and burgers anymore," Dimitri Kontolios said. "The business has been here for 70 years and people know where we are, but the difference will be extensive additions to the menu, including lobster, pasta dishes, steaks, and fish."
Moskovitz said she's looking forward to the opening of a traditional diner because that's what has always been along the avenue.
"It should be very good for the town," Moskovitz said. "And along with tables, it's always nice to go to a place with booths. There's something friendly and casual about a diner."
Lifelong resident Al Stone, 74, was fascinated by the arrival of the diner parts and how they were slid into place using a steel cable and beams. Stone was not upset at the closing of the old diner, saying the new one is a plus for the borough and part of the changing scene in the area.
Stone has his own memories of the old place.
"It wasn't a smoker haven when it first opened," Stone said. "But later on, if you weren't a smoker and you went in there, you soon became one."
Staff Writer Evonne Coutros' e-mail address is coutros@northjersey.com