Diamond Diner is South Jersey’s fifth diner to close within six months

Burlington County’s Diamond Diner has joined the gone-but-not-forgotten list of departed roadside eateries in South Jersey.

A fixture on Route 38 in Hainesport, the Diamond — descended from the Cherry Hill diner of the same name, which opened in 1967 — shut down on Sunday.

The Red Lion, Gateway, Star View, and Shamong diners also closed in the last six months for reasons that include retirement, redevelopment, and highway construction.

» READ MORE: South Jersey’s revered Gateway Diner closes to make way for a bridge construction project

“I opened for business here in 2007, and now this is the end of it,” said Diamond owner Gus Diamantis, 85, sitting in a booth on the morning of the final day.

Diamantis (”that’s Greek for diamond”) was an 18-year-old immigrant when he landed a dishwashing job at the original Olga’s Diner at 16th and Federal in Camden in 1957. He’d been in the business ever since, running a succession of his as well as his family-owned diners in South Jersey.

“COVID changed things,” Diamantis said. “People got different habits. They work from home, and they want discount prices.

“Am I sad? Yes and no,” he said. “I realize it’s time for me to go. ... I worked 10 hours a day, seven days a week. I have a lot of memories.”

Historian, author, and fan Michael C. Gabriele said Jersey diners on suburban highways and downtown streets — like Holsten’s, the Essex County setting for the famous final Sopranos episode — seem to be “hitting a rough patch” lately. Fresh competition, changing commuter habits, and rising prices are having a major impact on what have traditionally been small, local, family-owned businesses.

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“Running a diner takes a lot of time. It’s a tough business, and partly because of the pandemic, it’s tougher than ever,” he said from his home in Clifton, Essex County.

Many diners have shortened their hours and condensed their menus, rendering the 24-hour breakfast a thing of the past in many locations. “One of my local diners used to have a menu like a phone book. Now it’s a one-sheet, front and back,” Gabriele said.

The Star View, which closed in January, is under renovation and will become an Amy’s Omelet House, the fourth in the state. The Diamond also will be renovated, reopening as South Jersey’s fourth Pandora Diner.

Meanwhile, Shamong Diner owner Manny Monteiro, 64, said he decided to sell in order to retire; his establishment will become a cannabis dispensary. Two other closed Burlington County diners are expected to follow: the Sage in Mount Laurel and the Marlton, in Marlton. The Sage closed in 2017 and the Marlton shut down in 2022.

Mark Matthews, whose 42Freeway.com website covers South Jersey roadside and small-town development, said demand for high-traffic, commercially zoned parcels with lots of parking, as is typical of diners, can persuade owners to sell.

“Some people were saying, ‘We should have a GoFundMe,’ for one local diner,” he said. “But it’s not like someone is stealing this land from the owner.”

Given that three western Burlington County diners — the Red Lion, Shamong, and Diamond — have closed within the last six months, “something other than business as usual may be going on, which is concerning,” Gabriele said.

“But is it the end of the business? I don’t think so.”

For decades, the diner business in New Jersey has been dominated by the families of Greek immigrants. Diners, often owned by siblings, have been passed down from parents to grown children.

“Diners have been so successful that owners were able to send their kids to the best colleges and universities, and now they’re all lawyers and accountants, and there’s no one to hand over the business to,” said Gabriele.

Diamantis’ nephew, Cosmas Diamantis, said he and many of his peers from South Jersey diner families worked in the business as young people and have gone on to professional careers.

“And now we’re seeing the last generation retiring,” said Diamantis, who is the municipal attorney for Cherry Hill Township.

In recent years, other ethnic groups have entered the diner business across the state, including in South Jersey. “I’ve talked to Asians and Hispanics and others who have gotten into the bu

siness,” said Gabriele, who noted that Italians and Jews also have been involved in the New Jersey diner industry.

Monteiro, the Shamong owner, was born in India, and he said he introduced Indian food and expanded vegetarian and vegan offerings on the menu to attract customers during and after COVID.

“PeopIe thought, ‘This man is crazy,’ ” he said. “I started doing complete Indian dinners, five courses, advance reservations, for parties of eight people or more, and it took off.”

Saban Pamuk, who’s Turkish, opened his first Pandora Diner in Springfield Township, Burlington County, with his cousin and business partner, Seval Sevinc, in 2013. Pamuk, 52, said he grew up in the business “since I was 10,” working for his dad, who owned the Pandora when it was called the Esquire Diner.

He said the business has been able to grow “because we’re very ambitious, and you’ve got to give the customers good quality and quantity for their money. Then the rest will take care of itself.”

While nostalgia for a golden age of diners is “a romanticized version” of reality, Gabriele said, ”there is something about the relationship between these places and the people in New Jersey.

As backdrops for informal reunions and youthful hanging out, “diners become very dear to our hearts, and when one closes, people feel like they’re losing a friend.”

As morning turned into afternoon at the Diamond on Sunday — closing time was set for 3 p.m.— longtime customers talked about why they’ll miss the place.

“I’ve been coming here for 10 years and always get an omelet with bacon and Italian sausage,” said James Natson, 61, of Willingboro, who is a materials handler at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst.

“I’ve been to the Pandora Diner on 206,” he said. “It’s good, and I’m glad they’re going to open here.”

Terry Eisenhardt, 52, a Lumberton resident and sales executive, grew up going to the Diamond when it was in Cherry Hill. He and his wife, Kelly, “had to be here on the last day,” he said.

“We’re really sad to see it go.”

This story has been updated.