Mar. 28, 2023 By Ethan Marshall
The Bayside Diner officially closed its doors on March 28, after more than a decade of serving the community under its new ownership, and many years under prior ownership. According to the owners, the closure results from the impact of inflation and lasting effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“It is with a heavy heart that after decades of service to the community, we are closing Bayside Diner,” the owners said in a statement, which was posted on the diner’s front door on Tuesday. “We sincerely thank the Bayside community as well as our current and past employees for their loyalty and hard work. It has been an absolute privilege serving the Bayside community over these many years and we will never forget the love and support our customers and employees have shown us.”
Photo by Ethan Marshall
Despite the diner’s closure, its owners still urged their former customers to continue supporting other small businesses within the community so that they can remain open.
“It’s a very hard time for us [employees],” former Bayside Diner employee Angela Cespe said. “We were a family and lost our place of employment. Thank you to those who came in and continued to be patrons of the establishment. We wouldn’t have been there without you. Most of our patrons were also like family, coming in for meals and a chat on a daily basis. Thank you once again.”
Cespe had spent over 10 years working at the diner as a waitress and working the counter and phones. Like Cespe, much of the Bayside community was sad to hear about this community staple closing its doors.
“I’m very upset,” a Bayside resident said on Facebook. “Not only have we been going there for years, but our American Legion holds luncheons there every Memorial Day and Veterans Day after the service at the monument for a long time as well.”
Located at 20707 Northern Blvd., the Bayside Diner was purchased by brothers Spiro and Elias Katsihtis in 2010 following its initial closure that summer. They reopened the diner in the summer of 2011 after several months of remodeling, revamping and staffing the business.
Outside of that period of time, the diner had been serving the community for close to 60 years, dating back to when it was originally called the Copper Penny Diner.