It's a diner in a diner state, at one of South Jersey's most well-known spots, distinguished by a classic red neon sign.

Maybe that's why it's so hard for the owner of Olga's Diner, John Stavros, to acknowledge that the landmark, which has been in his family since 1960, is actually for sale.

Despite a listed asking price of $9.75 million - or $75,000 per month for a lease - Stavros appears to be a reluctant potential multimillionaire.

"It would be my saddest day and my happiest day," said Stavros, 74. The reason why Stavros wants to sell Olga's Diner at Marlton Circle (also known as "Olga's Circle"), is also why he doesn't: It's his life.

"It's not the easiest job in the world," he said. "It's a tough life."

But it's all he knows. He can't imagine what he would do if he weren't strolling the linoleum floors and greeting customers.

"If I leave here, what am I going to do?" said Stavros, shooing away the notion of taking up golf.

"What am I going to do? I don't (feel) 74. As long as I'm healthy (I'll work)."

Contradictions abound. Despite the public listing and the two Realtors working to sell the property for the last six weeks, there's a large yellow "Now Hiring" banner in the lobby.

Plus, a few weeks ago Stavros denied - three times - that the diner was up for sale after a reporter asked about it.

And even his sister, Tina Georgaklis, the diner's hostess and manager for 45 years, said she isn't so sure her brother is really going to sell.

"I want to keep working," she said.

Stavros, dressed in a gray suit, sat in a booth in the sparsely-filled diner Tuesday afternoon and spoke openly.

His father, Thomas John Stavros, operated a diner in Baltimore in the 1930s and opened Olga's Diner at 16th and Federal streets in Camden in 1946. The diner was named after his wife, Olga, who ran the place when he died months after it opened. It burned in an arson fire in 1981.

John Stavros got involved in the business after leaving the Marines. He has been in Marlton ever since the family's second location opened at routes 70 and 73 in 1960.

"We were the only ones here," he said, waving at the bustling highways outside. "This town didn't have a traffic light when we came."

Stavros said he faces the same plight as many diner owners: There's no one willing to take over, not even his two sons.

Stavros' dedication has garnered generations of support from his customers, all of whom referred to the diner as a landmark.

"I'd like to see them keep the place, but everybody has to move on someday or another," said Dan Brown, 37, of Deptford.

Art and Jean Burkle, snowbirds who take their 34-foot recreational vehicle back and forth from Lakehurst, Ocean County, to Florida every winter, said Olga's is a traditional stop on their way home. Tuesday's choice meal was the Yankee Pot Roast.

"We always stop. They have the most wonderful food and we don't have to cook when we get back home," said Jean Burkle. "I hope they stay. I don't want them to go."

New Jersey has 570 diners, more than any other state, according to the state Web site. About half of all towns in New Jersey have at least one diner, and Route 130 alone has about two dozen, according to the state.

But Olga's has competition now - from restaurants like Champs Americana on Route 73 and the Marlton Diner on Route 70. And the central location of the nearly three acres is attractive to other business.

According to Jack Philbin, the Weichert Realty listing agent for Olga's along with his partner Eileen McStravick, there are about five parties interested. Some want to keep the structure there, while others would knock it down and build a different business.

The state Department of Transportation has considered reworking the Marlton Circle for years, but Philbin said that the project would only affect the frontage of the property.

Citing the Diamond Diner in Cherry Hill, which closed and leased to Walgreens, Philbin also said the land could be rented to a chain store.

Still, Stavros said the many offers he's had for the diner do not come "even close" to what he was asking for.

Lateah Robinson, 47, of Maple Shade, said losing a family-owned diner hurts a little more.

"You lose the traditions and the family values that come along with it," she said.

Robinson's husband, Ernest, 58, said Olga's is more than just a place to eat. "It's a place of history. It's like losing the Latin Casino," he said.

Robert L. Mauriello can sympathize with Stavros. He's 83 and still runs his excavation business out of Winslow.

"What's he gonna do?" said Mauriello. "It's hard to just walk away."

Mauriello's wife, Mary, said they learned Stavros was selling on Tuesday morning and came in to say goodbye.

"They are the nicest people," she said. "And they have the freshest coffee."

Still, Stavros's son, Thomas, is relatively sure his father is ready.

"Will he sell?" said Stavros hesitantly. "I don't know . . .I think if the right offer is made. . .Everybody has a price, right?"

But asked whether he could envision another business in his location, the elder Stavros gazed out the diner's large windows in silence.

"I don't know," he said. "I really don't know."

DINER TIME LINE

1946: Olga's opens in Camden, at 16th and Federal streets.

1950: Olga Stavros is briefly held by police after detectives find an illegal slot machine in the restaurant.

1960: Olga's Diner opens a second location at the Marlton Circle, routes 70 and 73.

1978: John Stavros makes an unsuccessful pitch to the Evesham Township Council to build a liquor store on his property resembling the Parthenon in Athens.

1979: The Stavroses sue Olga's Kitchen, a fast-food restaurant at the Cherry Hill Mall. The chain takes out a newspaper ad clarifying the difference but is allowed to keep its name.

1981: The Camden location burns in an arson fire.

1989: Olga's Diner bakes a cake for President George H.W. Bush's inauguration.

1990: Olga Stavros dies at 88.

2003: The diner's hours change; it is no longer a 24-hour operation.

Originally published online here: http://www.courierpostonline.com/news/southjersey/m042705g.htm