Geets Diner & Bar in Williamstown is for sale. What comes next?
The 82-year-old landmark eatery that's long been a destination for shore travlers was put up for sale late last month.
A wave of anxiety rippled through the late-breakfast crowd at Geets Diner & Bar in Williamstown on Friday.
The 82-year-old landmark eatery was put up for sale late last month. But some folks at the counter who were hunched over huge platters and steaming coffee cups thought that meant it was going away for good.
“They better not close, I love this place,” said Oran Murray, 46, a shipper from Sicklerville, as he polished off his eggs. “I’ve been coming here five years. The food’s delicious. If they shut it down and leave only an abandoned lot, well, abandoned lots are the kinds of things I got away from Newark for. That can’t happen here.”
It won’t, according to owner Sandy Cannon.
“I just have it up for sale,” said Cannon, 53, who bought the more than 400-seat diner and bar in 2017. “I’m sure whoever buys it will keep it a restaurant. I want to sell to somebody who’ll care about the business and my employees.
“Please don’t tell anybody we’re closing.”
Cannon, who’s asking for $5 million for the nearly 10,000-square-foot diner and accompanying bar, said that nothing is wrong with the business. She’s simply longing to get out of the day-to-day grind of running a diner to spend more time with her eight grandchildren.
“I want to have fun with them now, while they’re still young,” said Cannon, who added that she and her husband, James, own other businesses, including Allied Painting Inc., a bridge-painting company. Allied recently painted the Delaware Memorial Bridge, Cannon said.
Located on Black Horse Pike and Sicklerville Road, Geets has been a favorite stopping point for Philadelphia motorists bound for Atlantic City since its opening in 1942. Geets was the nickname of founder Frank Sylvester.
Cannon bought it after the previous owner, NJK Hospitality, abruptly shut it down in 2016 and declared bankruptcy. She took a year to open the place in March 2018, after an extensive renovation that included gutting the kitchen, updating plumbing and electrical systems, and repairing the foundation.
The diner is sided in shiny, silver metal highlighted by red stripes. A large American flag waves over it, near a towering, old-timey Geets sign from who-knows-when, according to Cannon. Inside the huge lobby, 11 chairs and a 15-foot-long couch indicate that the place gets big crowds of customers, many of whom are apparently willing to wait for what people say are over-portioned meals at underwhelming prices.
“I just had a steak quesadilla meal for $21 that I couldn’t finish,” declared Eleanor Sgrow, 65, a retired accountant from Christiana, Lancaster County. She and a friend were on their way home from an Atlantic City jaunt.
“It’s a tradition for me to come here whenever I’m driving through,” she added. “And I’m never disappointed.”
Cannon, who first ate at Geets when she was 7, said that the family-oriented diner has become a nurturing “third place” for locals needing a break from home and work.
Generations of families have eaten at Geets, she said. They show up for celebrations, they come for lunch after funerals. “‘Mom would have wanted us to be here,’” mourners have told Cannon. “That fills my heart,” she said.
Cannon believes Geets is especially important for older customers with distant families. “They’re here to eat, but also for company,” Cannon said.
“Oh, for sure,” agreed Bill McGinnis, 69, who works for an engine distribution company. “The food is lights-out good. You can’t get a bad meal.
“And being here feels just like coming home.”
Cannon was appreciative of the compliment, saying she’ll miss her customers and employees.
“Hopefully,” she said, “I created some good memories for all of them.”