Diner at it appeared in the '70s. © Ron Dylewski

After a previous bid to reorganize under Bankruptcy Court supervision was dismissed less than a year ago, the Highland Park Diner again is asking for the court's protection from creditors.

The new filing comes as the prominent local eatery faces a foreclosure action filed by its previous owner and as it struggles with state and federal tax woes.

Its previous owner, Robert Malley, who in the early 1980s revived it as a restaurant, retired and sold the business to its current owner, Evangelos Zissis, several years ago.

Zisco Restaurant LLC, which does business as the Highland Park Diner, filed its most recent Chapter 11 petition in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Rochester on Dec. 28. The filing states that Zissis is the corporation's sole member. The petition lists Zisco's current assets at $145,800 and liabilities at $446,923.

In 2006, Zissis inked a $127,500 mortgage on the restaurant property at 960 S. Clinton Ave. with Malley's real estate company, Malcro Corp.

In November, Malcro filed a notice of foreclosure against the eatery, according to records on file with the Monroe County Clerk's Office. Malcro's current claim on the South Clinton Avenue tract and diner building stands at $99,000, the restaurant's bankruptcy petition states.

Zissis said in an interview this week that a balloon payment on the mortgage is due and he currently would have difficulty paying in full. He filed the Chapter 11 petition in hope of restructuring the loan but has not discussed the possibility with Malley.

Malley did not return a call seeking comment.

The camera leaned in on the salty, slippery American classic — Spam.

Kim A. Kniskern, cook and owner of the Miss Worcester Diner on Southbridge Street, demonstrated how to properly fry the pink stuff, then set it on a platter garnished with eggs, toast and home fries.

The camera zoomed in.

Watch The Learning Channel in a few months and you might see this very dish. The Miss Worcester Diner is scheduled to have its very own episode in a TLC series about exclusive dining destinations. The historic diner was picked from hundreds across the country, according to Ms. Kniskern.

A camera crew, led by a producer from New York, filmed for hours at the diner yesterday, starting well before dawn. They shot the outside of the dining car and the inside, the bacon sizzling, the silverware clanking, the people shouting, the barstools, the coffee mugs and the Red Sox paraphernalia covering the walls.

In between frying eggs, serving customers and generally managing things, Ms. Kniskern, wearing a fitted “Miss Woo” T-shirt, paused to say a few words in front of the camera, coached by producer Laura J.E. Marini.

The Miss Worcester offered a cozy respite to dozens of hungry people yesterday. It is a quintessential American diner, where comfort food comes in big portions for small prices, where home fries and lively conversation are never in short supply.

For the last 60 years, Standee's Snack 'N Dine in Edgewater has been open almost continuously -- 24 hours a day, 7 days a week -- offering heaping breakfasts and midnight meals to North Side residents and college kids. But at 6 a.m. today, the longstanding greasy-spoon establishment turned off its iconic 50s-style sign, unplugged the grill and deep fryers, and shut its doors.

For the first time in decades, Standee's, at 1133 West Granville Avenue, was closed for business.

"It's going to be totally weird to not see Standee's here anymore," said Jim Twist, who has been eating at the diner for more than 40 years. "It's really sad."

Despite a petition signed by more than 600 customers and a "Save Standees" Facebook page created by local college students, the lease was not renewed, according to restaurant operator Adolfo Suastegui.

But Suastegui said that a Standee's-less Edgewater would only be temporary. Suastegui, who has owned Standee's for about 11 years, said he plans to re-open the restaurant around March just a few storefronts down the street.

"I didn't want to leave here," Suastegui said. "But the new place will have the same food, same hours and same people."

Worcester, MA
James Yantsides remembers taking over the Kenmore Diner in 1974 as a pretty massive undertaking.

“The nice marble counter, you could not tell what color the counter was,” Mr. Yantsides said, sitting in a booth with his wife, Pauline, on a recent morning. “You could cut through the grease with a razor blade.”

The Franklin Street landmark, tucked under Interstate 290, didn’t have a very good reputation back then, Mr. Yantsides said, but it benefited from a steady stream of hungry bellies from still-operating factories and neighborhoods. Still, he said he had to work hard to build a solid customer base. Mrs. Yantsides said they spent several months paying only the utility bills and a waitress who helped out. To have to start all over again in today’s economy would be all but impossible, Mr. Yantsides said.

But start all over again is exactly what Mr. Yantsides had to after Dec. 3, 1999, when his diner had the bad luck of happening to abut the Worcester Cold Storage and Warehouse Co., which became engulfed in flames.

“We had brush fires, things like that, nearby,” said Mr. Yantsides, 58, describing what he thought the first time he heard of a fire near the diner.

Mrs. Yantsides got her night-owl husband out of bed early, about 6:30 or 6:45 p.m. She knew it was worse than a brush fire, but didn’t tell her husband.

“I came down to Kelley Square, and a police officer who was a friend of mine took us down here,” he said. “I knew it wasn’t going to make it.”

Riverdale, NY
Riverdalians desperate for thick, spongy pancakes and sugary French toast flocked to Tibbett Diner for their grand re-opening early Tuesday, nine months after an electrical fire ravaged the beloved eatery.

Tibbett devotees started lining up outside before 6 a.m., anxious to check out the diner’s revamped digs and scarf down big plates of hot, cheap, delicious food.

For longtime customers and the diner’s owners, the day took on the feel of a family reunion: People hugged at the counter, cooks couldn’t stop smiling, and beaming servers talked with customers like they would loved ones.

“It’s like everybody lost their New York attitude when they walked in today,” said Stan Turken, 57, who polished off a plate of eggs and bacon in 10 minutes flat. “This is the best breakfast food in the Bronx, and it makes people happy. We were lost without Tibbett.”

Keith Watson, a Tibbett regular, was the first customer seated Tuesday: a distinction he achieved by waking up extra early and skipping his usual workout at the Bally’s across the street.

“I wanted to be the first to welcome them back and support them,” said Mr. Watson, who indulged in a plate of French toast with peppermint tea. “I was heartbroken when they had the fire.”

SeaCoastOnline.com | November 26, 2009

Wells, ME
The Maine Diner and the Portland Pirates ice hockey team will once again join forces to support the 13th annual Gary Pike Day on Wednesday, Dec. 2. All proceeds from food sales at the Route 1 restaurant for that day will be donated to "Gary's House," — a hospitality home for patients and their families battling life-threatening illnesses at Mercy Hospital and at Maine Medical Center. Gary's House is located at 97 State St. in Portland.

This marks the Maine Diner's fourth year of pairing up with the Pirates for this charity. The Portland Pirates team mascot "Crackers," the Mercy Hospital Bear, and the Maine Red Claws basketball team mascot "Crusher" will visit the diner from 5 to 7 p.m. — with other favorite local team mascots — to offer free giveaways of hockey sticks, T-shirts, ice hockey game tickets and an official Portland Pirates jersey. Last year's event raised more than $2,800.

Albany, NY
The Miss Albany Diner -- the tiny restaurant with a big following -- is up for sale.

Owners Cliff and Jane Brown are ready to retire, and they're looking for someone to take over the landmark business. They're asking $350,000 for the pint-sized structure.

The Miss Albany, featured in films and listed on the National Register of Historic Places, has been on the market in a word-of-mouth sort of way for months. Now the Browns are going public.

"It's official," Jane Brown said Wednesday, sitting in one of the diner's six booths. "Very official."

The Miss Albany, at 893 Broadway, is in an industrial section of North Albany, about a frisbee toss from Nipper's tilted head and a half-mile north of downtown Albany.

It's one of those city neighborhoods primed for a tantalizing development boom that always seems just around the corner.

The diner, like the neighborhood, draws all types: Yuppies and factory workers, rich and poor, old-timers and hipsters -- all in search of a cup of coffee, a warm meal and...

"A friend," Jane says. "They just need somebody to listen to them."

The message on my voice mail said “This is Blaine House calling.” That’s the governor’s mansion in Augusta, Maine. Mrs. Baldacci’s assistant wanted to let me know that the First Lady was sorry she couldn’t attend Bob Newell’s retirement party, but to please make sure to pass along her very best wishes.

Who is this Very Important Person, Bob Newell?

Bob is a diner cook.

But to people in Maine, he is a very significant diner cook. In a state that prides itself on its work ethic, Bob is a champion, a living example of the power of persistence and the comforts of continuity.

Photo by Sean Hartnett

He was delighted. “The grill, that’s a killer when you get to be my age,” says Bob, who is now 81. “I did that for 36 years, 62 hours a week. That was a long haul.”

So it was rather a shock to the community last month when Bob finally retired.