Variety of food factors driving diners to close today in ‘sad’ trend: experts

Some people in New York City have noticed a “sad” trend — and not just in the Big Apple. 

More diners are closing their doors today. 

A hospitality professor from the Cornell Peter and Stephanie Nolan School of Hotel Administration told Fox News, “Sadly, I think it is a trend,” as diners close up shop. (See the video at the top of this article.) 

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Christopher Gaulke of Cornell University said running a diner is a complex operation. 

“With fewer customers in the dining room, [plus] all these other costs increasing, fewer people wanting to work — it just doesn’t make economic sense.”

Gaulke cited consumer demand and preference for quick-and-easy meals, plus drive-thru establishments, labor costs and operational costs as factors affecting the nostalgic experience.

The National Restaurant Association said food costs have surged more than 29% in the last four years. 

At the same time, labor costs have shot up 31%. 

“Diners have this nostalgic appeal,” said photographer Riley Arthur. 

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She noticed more doors closing and felt the need to document each diner’s last days. 

“Since the time I started photographing, over 135 diners that I’ve photographed have closed. So diners are an integral to the cultural fabric of New York City, and they are rapidly closing,” she told Fox News.

The Jackson Hole Diner in Queens, New York, flows with a 1950s soda shop vibe. 

Owner Alexander Meskouris grew up in the restaurant business and said he’s doing his best to keep the nostalgic diners alive. 

“It’s basically like a work of art, you know? You’re eating in a museum,” said Meskouris. 

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The diner’s owner said operation costs and labor costs are pricing out diners across the city; he cited high property taxes as one example.

“[For] one of our locations in Astoria, Queens … the property tax is $100,000 a year. So how could a small business keep up?”

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Meskouris and his brother own a real estate business and are trying to buy old-school diners to keep them from being sold to developers. 

Jackson Hole is just one of hundreds within the city. The diner attracts both young customers and long-time regulars.

“He just had a juicy cheeseburger, and it put a smile on his face,” Jason Meister said of his son, Miles. 

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The National Restaurant Association says the average restaurant will have to increase prices by more than 26% to cover higher costs — just to keep making a 5% profit.