The Riverhead Diner and Grill is celebrating its anniversary in a very special way.
On Thursday, Oct. 29, the downtown Riverhead diner is selling soda, coffee and tea for only 83 cents to mark its 83rd anniversary.
Owner Liz Strebel, who has worked at the eatery for the past 50 years this month, said she planned on making 2015 a banner year for the restaurant since it might be her last.
The building went up for sale last year.
“I hope to find a new owner that wants to keep it the same,” she said in an earlier article. “People love it as a diner. I want it to see it stay that way.”
First opened on Oct. 9, 1932 by John Moustaka, a Greek immigrant, the eatery was in a prefabricated dining car about 15 feet west of the current location. In 1950, Fenninmore Meyer, who owned the land the diner sat on, decided to build a department store in that location, prompting the move to it’s current spot. Then in 1961, Ms. Strebel’s father and uncle, Joe and Frank Strebel, purchased the business and owned it up until Ms. Strebel bought it in 1973.
Three years ago, for an 80th anniversary celebration, people gathered in the building and shared stories of their time at the diner over the years.
“This is what Riverhead was about,” said Jerry Steiner, former owner of Allied Optical, in a 2012 News-Review article. “The Riverhead Grill, you came in here and you had real food, and when you left, you were so full … We’ve evolved into quick food, corporate America. But this place is like a throwback to what Riverhead used to be.”
The Riverhead Diner & Grill is located at 85 East Main Street in downtown Riverhead.
