Owners polish up diner in preparation for 25th anniversary

For almost a quarter of a century, the Palace Diner on Washington Street has been a popular gathering spot in the City of Poughkeepsie.

The local eatery has a reputation for providing an uninterrupted atmosphere with noshables for business meetings, a meeting place for families, a site for friends to catch up, a late-night spot for Marist students to grab a plate of French fries with melted cheese and gravy, and a quiet place to read the paper while drinking a cup of coffee.

Dana Effron of the Town of LaGrange has been meeting her husband Ira, president of EFCO Products Inc., for lunch at the diner as well as conducting business meetings there for 25 years.

"I never feel I have to rush to get out of there. There is never a customer more important than you," Effron said, explaining her penchant for the city establishment.

The Vanikiotis family purchased the diner in 1981. The business is owned by brothers Theodore, Peter and Dino and their father, Nick Vanikiotis, who is now retired.

The diner was built in 1979 and operated as the Parthenon by its previous owner.

To mark the upcoming 25th anniversary of their ownership, the Vanikiotises completed a $1.5 million interior and exterior renovation project in December. The 6,500-square-foot-diner, which seats 300 people, keeps its doors open 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

And the continuous volume of customers takes its toll on the building, Theodore Vanikiotis said.

"We changed everything from the outside to new refrigeration, new plumbing, menus, dishes, everything," Theodore Vanikiotis said. "When a place is open 24-hours a day, it takes a beating." The diner's last renovation took place in 1988.

Paul King has been a diner regular since 1999. King frequently finds himself in the neighborhood while working on his master's degree in community psychology at Marist College.

"It's laid out a lot better than it was. It's a little less like a diner with seats and more like a restaurant with a counter," King said.

The Rhinebeck resident said in addition to the Palace's new art deco motif, he finds the idea of a hot meal more appealing than deli food. "Sometimes you don't want a sandwich out of a bag," King said. His latest preference at the Palace is a salad with grilled chicken or salmon.

Aside from the food and decor, another component of the eatery's success is based on something more understated than the building's inviting exterior chrome top, recessed lighting and cream, black and green mosaic border and the interior's art deco, railroad-dining-car theme. It is also each individual family member's devotion to the business.

"We're a family operation. Family is important to us," said eldest Vanikiotis brother, Theodore. So much so that Theodore Vanikiotis, Peter Vanikiotis and their father often worked 12-plus-hour days together to get the business up and running in its formative days.

"It was a lot of hard work. There were days we put in 24 hours," Peter Vanikiotis said. Theodore Vanikiotis agreed. "It was very hard, but I loved every minute of it," he said.

Arrived from Greece in 1974

The Vanikiotis family came to the United States from Skoteini, Greece, in 1974 and launched their careers in the food industry by working for a relative at the now closed Double O Doughnut shop on Main and Market streets.

Six years later the family purchased the Parthenon and changed its name to the Palace Diner.

Family patriarch Nick Vanikiotis was the diner's head chef until he retired in 1995. Mother Maria, who also retired in 1995, was the salad bar's prep chef. Theodore Vanikiotis managed the front of the house, while Peter Vanikiotis was the in-house baker and assisted with running the front end of the house.

Youngest son Dino Vanikiotis contributed by bussing tables and continuing the family's legacy in the food industry by graduating from the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park in 1988.

The Palace Diner isn't the Vanikiotises' only dining establishment. The Brass Anchor in Hyde Park, The Daily Planet in the Town of LaGrange and Barnaby's in New Paltz are owned and operated by the family.

More often than not, customers can find Theodore and his wife, Roseanne, at the Palace tending to their customers' needs, and that translates to superior food and service.

"We always do the best we can, offering the best product at the best possible price. This is not a franchise. If there is a problem, they (customers) will face me," Theodore Vanikiotis said.

Roseanne Vanikiotis believes their constant presence has fostered many relationships over the years. "We have an extended family," she said about her patrons.

King values that sentiment. "When I walk in, they recognize who I am, which is nice. It feels more homey."