A Must Stop Diner

By Randy Garbin

Not everyone has a diner in the neighborhood. With roughly 2,000 extant diners, and maybe two-thirds of those actually operating, the opportunities for most of us to go to a true diner have dwindled in the last few decades. Even in New Jersey, the constricting economics of restaurant ownership combined with shrinking diner-building industry make it next-to-impossible for the little guy to afford a true diner.

Roadside has long urged readers to patronize their local diner and where one doesn’t exist, to at least spend your time and money in locally owned establishments. To that end, the reopening of the Bus Stop Diner in Carteret, New Jersey is cause for celebration. It also represents yet another example of the American dream come to life. Granted, the story almost sounds cliché, but cliches spring from truth.

The owners tell the familiar story of so many Greek immigrants who take up food service. Both Nick and Zack separately came to this country to work in the restaurants of relatives, both worked their way up through the ranks, and then struck out on their own. Three years ago, Zack joined Nick at the Bus Stop to help round out the classic dining room and kitchen management team that has found great success in an otherwise nondescript New Jersey shopping plaza.

Conversation with Nick and Zack reveals the pride they feel for their efforts. Though they may initially dismiss their restaurant as just another diner, they will quickly point out that they make their food with fresh ingredients. Their efforts pay off with thick bacon slices, a superlative chicken soup, and one of the best corn muffins you’ll find anywhere. They also speak with obvious pleasure of the quality of their seafood dinners, a wildly popular item on Fridays when, as Nick puts it, hungry customers are “lined up out the door!”

The road to renovation began in early 2005, when the business in the adjacent space closed, making available enough area to expand their existing operation by at least a half. With that in mind, the partners also decided that the time had come to put a fresh look on a space that still sported a look best described as “70s dinge” – tattered carpeting, ceiling panels yellowed from 30 years of nicotine and grease, plus an interior style not popular since Ronald Reagan first took office. Even worse, the growing business had pushed the limits of the aging kitchen. Even a resourceful culinary wizard like Nick had begun to bump up against the limitations of his worn-out equipment.

Finally, in early November 2005, the new, improved Bus Stop reopened. All of the work, planning, and nail-biting would now be put to the test. Without any advertising, Nick and Zack opened their doors on a Thursday to an enthusiastic but manageable crowd. By the following Sunday, they had a two-hour wait on their hands. Customer loyalty like that simply can’t be bought -- but it can be earned.

At the end of the three-month process, the renovations had transformed the Bus Stop from a tired old luncheonette (albeit one that served great food) into a fresh, streamlined, diner-like space with decor that evoked a classic homey, American look that now serves great food to more people, more efficiently.

This little storefront in the shopping center may ultimately become a true landmark restaurant in the community of Carteret. Who knows the fate of auto-centric shopping plazas with the prospect of three-dollar-a-gallon gas prices -- but we’ll never see good food served right go out of fashion.

The Bus Stop Diner is located at 793 Roosevelt Ave in Carteret, New Jersey at the Shop Rite shopping plaza. Its hours of operation are 6:00 A.M. to 10:00 P.M. Sunday through Thursday; 6:00 A.M. to 12 midnight, Friday and Saturday. A smoke-free section is provided and the restaurant is compliant with ADA. For more information call 732-541-1110.