Is The Diner the next State College icon to disappear?

[CF LION]

The place has severely gone down hill over the years so maybe a change would be a good thing.....

http://onwardstate.com/2018/01/16/ye-olde-college-diner-facing-closure-unless-new-owner-steps-in/

 

[lj4heisman1]

It is really awful as a place to eat and has been for at least a decade. Need a place to get takeout grilled stickies though.

 

[Dave-97]

Unfortunately the Diner has been gone for years...

 

[massimoManca II]

I stumbled in there with my two sons about five years ago - had all the atmosphere of a long-in-the-tooth/seen-better-days resort in the Poconos... smelled more like a grandparents house than a diner... most of the dining room was cordoned-off even though it was a football weekend, looked as though that area had not been used in ages... service was ridiculously poor... pretty hard to serve customers lousy diner-food, buy they did that day... very sad to see a once-bustling business now with a death-rattle

 

[PearlSUJam]

I stumbled in there with my two sons about five years ago - had all the atmosphere of a long-in-the-tooth/seen-better-days resort in the Poconos... smelled more like a grandparents house than a diner... most of the dining room was cordoned-off even though it was a football weekend, looked as though that area had not been used in ages... service was ridiculously poor... pretty hard to serve customers lousy diner-food, buy they did that day... very sad to see a once-bustling business now with a death-rattle

This is why there's a wait outside the Waffle Shop all the time.

 

[massimoManca II]

This is why there's a wait outside the Waffle Shop all the time.

the Waffle Shop, at least during my era (late-eighties), seemed they always had a few waitresses that were smokin' hawt... #winningbusinesstactic

 

[Cletus11]

Crazy that a diner could fail with that location in a college town but somehow the owner made it happen. Last time i ate there was like 7 or 8 years ago and we literally waited about 30 minutes for our food even though the place less then 50% full. Felt bad for the waitress as everybody in the place was yelling at her. She said that one of the cooks didn't show up and they couldn't get anybody else to come in and the guy cooking only started last week. Asked where the manager was and she said she didn't know and if I found him, let her know also. Was really pathetic.

 

[EPC FAN]

Crazy that a diner could fail with that location in a college town but somehow the owner made it happen. Last time i ate there was like 7 or 8 years ago and we literally waited about 30 minutes for our food even though the place less then 50% full. Felt bad for the waitress as everybody in the place was yelling at her. She said that one of the cooks didn't show up and they couldn't get anybody else to come in and the guy cooking only started last week. Asked where the manager was and she said she didn't know and if I found him, let her know also. Was really pathetic.

Last time we were in there it was filthy. The restroom was third world.

 

[dwiz]

the Waffle Shop, at least during my era (late-eighties), seemed they always had a few waitresses that were smokin' hawt... #winningbusinesstactic

It's still the same ladies....

 

[Nitt1300]

We knew it as the NCD (New College Diner) in my day. It's the same building, but that's all.

 

[Evan Ceg]

The Diner is perhaps the most poorly managed restaurant I've ever visited. Kind of an embarrassment in a downtown across the street from a university that features a nationally ranked School of Hospitality Management, although I don't mean to imply that the Diner's problems are in any way Penn State's responsibility.

I'd be sorry to see it permanently close. Surely with first-rate management the Diner could be profitable and a good place to eat.

 

[TheBigUglies]

Since they outsourced the Stickies they haven't been the same. I also heard that the HUB having all the new restaurants and stay open late is also what hurt the Diner. Did new ownership take over in the last 10-12 years?

 

[ThePennsyOracle]

After seeing the kitchen, general condition of the restaurant, and how poorly the owners manage things, I stopped getting grilled stickies. Totally disgusting all around--they should be ashamed.

 

[step.eng69]

I stumbled in there with my two sons about five years ago - had all the atmosphere of a long-in-the-tooth/seen-better-days resort in the Poconos... smelled more like a grandparents house than a diner... most of the dining room was cordoned-off even though it was a football weekend, looked as though that area had not been used in ages... service was ridiculously poor... pretty hard to serve customers lousy diner-food, buy they did that day... very sad to see a once-bustling business now with a death-rattle

Karen & I were hoping some would by the diner and refurbish it.

 

[stf110]

It has basically been in a slow death spiral for the past 10-15 years or so, we stopped going when we make trips back to State College for most of the same reasons others have mentioned. Slow service, often under staffed, often what staff is there is disinterested and or inattentive, they often are not open for their posted hours (for those who have been away for a bit, they stopped being 24/7 about 5-6 years ago or so) And their prices tend to run on the slightly high side for what they offer. They also have not put any money into updates/upgrades/fixing broken things it would seem in a good 15ish years.

And yes, the past 2-3 times we went, before we finally stopped going, the place was filthy, and the rest rooms were bad, like worse then the worst of the bars bad.

So this is not the same situation as say the Skellar, this is more just people slowly running their business into the ground sorta thing.

 

[PearlSUJam]

After seeing the kitchen, general condition of the restaurant, and how poorly the owners manage things, I stopped getting grilled stickies. Totally disgusting all around--they should be ashamed.

From the Onward State link above:

"Owner Dan Rallis says his rent has nearly tripled over the past 30 years, and now that the lease is up, he’s ready to close the restaurant and focus on selling grilled stickies. The grilled stickies are currently made in the basement of The Diner, but Rallis is building a new facility in Boalsburg to continue making them."

It sounds to me like the money is in the stickies and the restaurant was an after thought.

 

[ThePennsyOracle]

From the Onward State link above:

"Owner Dan Rallis says his rent has nearly tripled over the past 30 years, and now that the lease is up, he’s ready to close the restaurant and focus on selling grilled stickies. The grilled stickies are currently made in the basement of The Diner, but Rallis is building a new facility in Boalsburg to continue making them."

It sounds to me like the money is in the stickies and the restaurant was an after thought.

Yes, and if they can't be bothered to keep visible public areas (or the kitchen) of the restaurant clean, can you imagine what the basement looks like?

 

[Nitt1300]

I love a good diner. I don't know of any that aren't both family run and owned.

It's a lot of work to do it right, and if the owners aren't on premises pretty much all of the time, things slip quickly.

 

[renrut416]

My wife and I were there twice and service was bad. We were 10th in line and it took 45 min. to get a seat, and yet there was still open booths.

 

[NittPicker]

From the Onward State link above:

"Owner Dan Rallis says his rent has nearly tripled over the past 30 years, and now that the lease is up, he’s ready to close the restaurant and focus on selling grilled stickies. The grilled stickies are currently made in the basement of The Diner, but Rallis is building a new facility in Boalsburg to continue making them."

It sounds to me like the money is in the stickies and the restaurant was an after thought.

The guy making stickies in Boalsburg won't last very long. I personally have never understood the hype over the grilled stickies but that's just me. The attachment most people have for them is because they could walk down the street with their friends in State College and on a whim stop at the Diner for a grilled stickie. Great memories shared with friends can be powerful things. Selling them out of a place in Boalsburg will send the grilled stickie off into the sunset where it will rest in peace alongside the chicken cosmo.

 

[stf110]

My wife and I were there twice and service was bad. We were 10th in line and it took 45 min. to get a seat, and yet there was still open booths.

They seemed disinterested in the whole "seat you and then take your order" concept the last 2 or so times we were there. And then following time we were going to give them "one more chance" and they were closed even though the hours said they should have been open.

 

[coveydidnt]

The guy making stickies in Boalsburg won't last very long. I personally have never understood the hype over the grilled stickies but that's just me. The attachment most people have for them is because they could walk down the street with their friends in State College and on a whim stop at the Diner for a grilled stickie. Great memories shared with friends can be powerful things. Selling them out of a place in Boalsburg will send the grilled stickie off into the sunset where it will rest in peace alongside the chicken cosmo.

They are sold in grocery stores all over PA, I don't think he's hurting too bad. The physical restaurant is just a unnecessary hassle now.

 

[joeparules]

For those of you that watch the Food Network, there was a show that just ended last year called Restaurant Impossible that tried to turn around struggling restaurants in two days. I was really hoping they would come in and help out The Diner. Then again Hotel Impossible (Travel Channel) tried to save The Autoport and look what happened.

 

[manatree]

Back when I worked there over 20 years ago Dan Rallis and Dan Pivirotto were the owners. Pivirotto hasn't been involved for several years and it's slow death spiral doesn't surprise me. Back then, Pivirotto was the one who was hands on and Rallis was never around. I have heard good things about Rallis' catering service and I suspect that he has been focusing on that and just letting the Diner slide on by. I honestly don't know when they are open anymore. I haven't eaten there in about three years because whenever I try and stop by for breakfast or supper, they're closed. It's hard to pay your rent if you're not open for business.

 

[stf110]

For those of you that watch the Food Network, there was a show that just ended last year called Restaurant Impossible that tried to turn around struggling restaurants in two days. I was really hoping they would come in and help out The Diner. Then again Hotel Impossible (Travel Channel) tried to save The Autoport and look what happened.

The issue with most of these shows is that while it is easy to undo the lack of upkeep, bad decor, physical issues with the building and so forth, it is really hard to fundamentally change the ability for someone to run a business over the course of 2-3 days of interactions.

Typically you just get a nicer looking place, that gets an additional 4-8 months of life before the poor choices that lead to the issues in the 1st place resurface and they are back to where they started.

 

[PearlSUJam]

They are sold in grocery stores all over PA, I don't think he's hurting too bad. The physical restaurant is just a unnecessary hassle now.

The stores can put them right next to the mustard. When those of us who view both as memories of our college days die off, so will the mustard and stickies.

 

[83wuzme]

Having visited the place in 80’s, I am surprised it was able to hang on this long.

 

[Art]

Last time we were in there it was filthy. The restroom was third world.

Believe the descriptor you are looking for is "shithole." Or "shithouse." I don't know because In wasn't there. Seems that a lot of people who were there don't know either.

 

[kgilbert78]

The issue with most of these shows is that while it is easy to undo the lack of upkeep, bad decor, physical issues with the building and so forth, it is really hard to fundamentally change the ability for someone to run a business over the course of 2-3 days of interactions.

Typically you just get a nicer looking place, that gets an additional 4-8 months of life before the poor choices that lead to the issues in the 1st place resurface and they are back to where they started.

At least one place closed before the show even ran. Their track record wasn't too good. Part of the issue was that folks often refused to listen...

 

[ThePennsyOracle]

The issue with most of these shows is that while it is easy to undo the lack of upkeep, bad decor, physical issues with the building and so forth, it is really hard to fundamentally change the ability for someone to run a business over the course of 2-3 days of interactions.

Typically you just get a nicer looking place, that gets an additional 4-8 months of life before the poor choices that lead to the issues in the 1st place resurface and they are back to where they started.

FWIW, Mama Lucrezia's in Bellefonte is still open and has awesome food--they always did, and food/cleanliness was never the issue there. It was one of the few restaurants where Irvine actually liked the food.

 

[manatree]

Typically you just get a nicer looking place, that gets an additional 4-8 months of life before the poor choices that lead to the issues in the 1st place resurface and they are back to where they started.

Exactly. I forget what my title was when I worked at the the Diner, but I was essentially the 3rd shift manager for a year. If there was ever a problem, you would call Pivirotto. If one of the third shift cook didn't show up, I'd call Pivirotto and he'd come in and cook until 3am to help cover the bar rush.

Back then, the main baker was a guy named Jim. He was the official Skicky man and also made the ice cream. When Jim went on vacation for two weeks, it was Pivirotto who filled in.

Rallis was very hands off.

It would be nice if someone would take it over and make it work. We could use a good diner. Then again, my favorite diner in town was the old Murphy's counter on Allen St.

 

[kgilbert78]

Exactly. I forget what my title was when I worked at the the Diner, but I was essentially the 3rd shift manager for a year. If there was ever a problem, you would call Pivirotto. If one of the third shift cook didn't show up, I'd call Pivirotto and he'd come in and cook until 3am to help cover the bar rush.

Back then, the main baker was a guy named Jim. He was the official Skicky man and also made the ice cream. When Jim went on vacation for two weeks, it was Pivirotto who filled in.

Rallis was very hands off.

It would be nice if someone would take it over and make it work. We could use a good diner. Then again, my favorite diner in town was the old Murphy's counter on Allen St.

Does anyone recall Munchies? Was around for a short time ca. 1976-1978. The advantage it had was a breakfast for about a dollar--nothing fancy, but there were some days I could not afford the Waffle Shop--this was usually a game day splurge for me when I was in school.

 

[stf110]

Exactly. I forget what my title was when I worked at the the Diner, but I was essentially the 3rd shift manager for a year. If there was ever a problem, you would call Pivirotto. If one of the third shift cook didn't show up, I'd call Pivirotto and he'd come in and cook until 3am to help cover the bar rush.

Back then, the main baker was a guy named Jim. He was the official Skicky man and also made the ice cream. When Jim went on vacation for two weeks, it was Pivirotto who filled in.

Rallis was very hands off.

It would be nice if someone would take it over and make it work. We could use a good diner. Then again, my favorite diner in town was the old Murphy's counter on Allen St.

Which, going back to those reality shows, one constant that seems to be common with the failing bars/restaurants/hotels that they visit is absent owners who want the place to run on auto-pilot without much effort on their part and are not willing to put the effort in on their part to physically be at the business and actually do the work needed when it is proven that auto-pilot is not going to work.

 

[LionDeNittany]

The issue with most of these shows is that while it is easy to undo the lack of upkeep, bad decor, physical issues with the building and so forth, it is really hard to fundamentally change the ability for someone to run a business over the course of 2-3 days of interactions.

Typically you just get a nicer looking place, that gets an additional 4-8 months of life before the poor choices that lead to the issues in the 1st place resurface and they are back to where they started.

That's correct. Hard work brings success.

The biggest problem I've had with starting businesses with others is that most people believe being an owner means getting to boss people around.

In fact, being an owner means more work and doing the things noone else will do... such as clean the bathrooms in this case.

Often they confuse being an owner with being a CEO.

Waitstaff and cooks will only do the bare minimum.

LdN

 

[nittnee]

Does anyone recall Munchies? Was around for a short time ca. 1976-1978. The advantage it had was a breakfast for about a dollar--nothing fancy, but there were some days I could not afford the Waffle Shop--this was usually a game day splurge for me when I was in school.

I came to State College in 79, so I do not remember Munchies, but the Dinner had a 99 cent breakfast that we lived on, especially a little later during grad school. It was called the First Period Rush and included two eggs, home fries and toast. Add a cup of coffee for 35 cents and you were out of there with tip for less than two bucks. I still have a diner mug I “borrowed” back then. It holds about six ounces of coffee.

 

[manatree]

The Diner also had a good General manager back then as well, J. A. Babay. She knew what she was doing and would pitch in with whatever was needed, waiting tables, etc.

 

[Cletus11]

I remember when The Diner had a coupon in the Collegian once a week on a Tuesday or Wednesday that was buy one dinner, get a second free. Remember going in, ordering water, whatever was on special x 2 which was typically about $8, and each person throwing $5 on the table and that was dinner.

 

[Nitwit]

Good riddance to the Diner. With this location any replacement willing to invest in a rebuild of the property and a commitment to its food service should be successful. A Bobby’s (Bobby Flay) Burger Bar there would make a killing.

 

[Woodpecker]

 

[tboyer]

The place has severely gone down hill over the years so maybe a change would be a good thing.....

http://onwardstate.com/2018/01/16/ye-olde-college-diner-facing-closure-unless-new-owner-steps-in/

It died a long time ago when it stopped being open 24 hours. And I understand that decision -- they had to be tired of cleaning up all the vomit and dealing with all the drunken fights.