HORSEHEADS, NY - Sullivan's Diner, a Horseheads fixture that closed in December after more than 30 years, will reopen Monday under new management.

Peter and Marta Krajnik, Polish immigrants who literally stumbled onto their dream opportunity less than a month ago, plan to bring back the diner's menu and family appeal, with a Polish twist.

The couple recently signed a lease with new owner Bill Goodwin and have been busy preparing the restaurant to reopen.

Everything happened very quickly, said Marta Krajnik, who also works part time as a nurse's aide at the Schuyler County Hospital skilled nursing facility.

“We were just passing by literally and saw the sign. We were going home from somewhere. Normally we wouldn't even take this road,” said Marta Krajnik, 30. “We wrote the phone number down, and gave Bill (Goodwin) a call. That was at the beginning of April, and we met with him April 12. Now we open May 1.”

The chicken pot pies are as good as ever and for $6.25 you can still get a lunch of soup or salad, an entree, two vegetables, rolls, dessert and beverage.

But for the first time since the Gateway Diner opened in 1950 (as Joe's Truck Stop), you can no longer light up over that last cup of coffee.

Which doesn't seem to bother anyone at Gateway very much, smokers included.

"It's not bad when it comes to eating," Dot Kent of Deptford said of the smoking ban. "I just go outside if I want to smoke."

For 50 years a diner in downtown Jim Thorpe has been serving up food. Now, the future of the landmark is uncertain. The current owners put up a 'For Sale' sign and some people are hoping the sun won't set on the Sunrise Diner.

"I'm a little heartbroken. We come here everyday and on weekends, Jim and Sheila make my kids Mickey Mouse pancakes and that's part of our lifestyle," said Leslie Solt of Lehighton.

The owners are selling for family reasons. The asking price is $400,000. There are a lot of memories there, memories money can't buy; just ask one of the co-owners. "The ladies room door has carvings in it of people's names from the 50s and 60s and I've come to find out their nicknames and see them carved in the door," said Jim Holleran.

Closed for the season" has taken on a whole new meaning at the Hi-Lite 30 Drive-In Theater.

An Aurora staple for six decades, the theater usually opens for business this time of year and flourishes by Memorial Day weekend. But the popular outdoor venue currently sits idle, with its fate ultimately lying in the city's hands.

For longtime moviegoers, whose memories are those of rave reviews, the empty lot gets two thumbs down.

"We're heartbroken," said Cindy Ayers, a Downers Grove resident who patronized the drive-in with her husband and two children. "The kids were just crushed. (The theater) is about building tradition and family memories. It reminded me of when we went as kids."

Rose Fromm and her family often made the half-hour drive from Channahon.