Mary West, 73, went to Malibu Diner’s final breakfast shift on Sunday with her guide dog, Judy. They sat at their regular comfortable spot.
Ms. West, who has been a patron for over 40 years, lives just a few paces away in Selis Manor, a 200-unit apartment complex that serves people with visual impairments, in the Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan. For many who live there, getting to the diner is a routine — one that has now come to an end.
Malibu Diner, which opened as City Diner in 1978, closed its doors on Sunday evening after serving the neighborhood for close to 50 years. The diner’s owner, Alexandros Grimpas, said he and the building’s owner could not come to an agreement on a new lease after the rent was raised.
Mr. Grimpas, who took over the place almost two decades ago, has operated his diner like an extension of the senior center at Selis Manor.
He served food to the community after an explosion rattled the neighborhood in 2016 and over the years donated birthday cakes to regulars.
Ms. West remembered being served an English muffin and coffee by Mr. Grimpas after the Chelsea bombing, but noted his kind gestures didn’t come only in times of crisis.
“It’s hard to find people who are actually kind,” said Ms. West, who was perched at the diner’s counter on Friday and Sunday morning.
Mr. Grimpas and the residents of Selis Manor also had a more formalized relationship, one that was unique.
For the nominal fee of $1, residents at Selis Manor could head down to the diner on a weekday and pick up a breakfast of eggs with home fries and a coffee, or pancakes with a tea, all through a special voucher program.
Since 2013, VISIONS, which provides services with the older adult center associated with Selis Manor, has supported the diner with funding from the city’s Department for the Aging to supply breakfast for participants.
The department’s commissioner, Lorraine Cortés-Vázquez, said in a statement that the agency was not aware of any other older adult center partnering with a local restaurant to provide breakfast. Since the pandemic, patrons say the diner has only offered the breakfast as a to-go meal. The center serves a sit-down lunch and breakfast at Selis Manor.
At a time when a diner breakfast in New York City can be upward of $20 for eggs, bacon and toast with coffee, and when grocery prices can make at-home cooking expensive too, a $1 meal is not a small gesture.
“I want them to feel like they’re a part of the society,” Mr. Grimpas said.
While there is funding, the dollar breakfast was an expense for the diner. Mr. Grimpas said he was contributing about $4 per meal.
But for participants, it helped ease their budgets.
Nestor Lopéz, 62, has lived next door for over six years and admits he doesn’t do a lot of at-home cooking. He lamented to staff on Friday morning that it was his last voucher breakfast — a buttered corn muffin and a lemon tea. It was a small meal, but he estimated the voucher saved him about $100 a month.
Some patrons pointed out small things that the restaurant could have done to be more accommodating, like having a large-print menu or an easier way to distinguish the salt and pepper shakers by touch. Others, like Sharon Lash, who had been a regular for at least 10 years, wasn’t a huge fan of the vouchers, which restricted what Selis Manor residents could order.
“I like to eat what I want to eat,” Ms. Lash said. The menu has four breakfast options that follow health guidelines from the city, but doesn’t include diner staples, like B.L.T.s. Still, along with many of her neighbors, she dined there anyway.
It’s unclear whether a new local restaurant will be able to team up with VISIONS. The nonprofit was not actively looking for a replacement. Mr. Grimpas said he was handing over the keys to the property owner at the end of the month and planned to open a more upscale restaurant a few blocks away.
While the voucher program allowed some older people to save on food costs, quite a few patrons said it also helped to get them out of their apartments, and they appreciated the diner’s attentive staff.
Paola Bautista, a 19-year-old waitress, made sure to tell a customer on Friday that she had placed napkins to the right of the plate. Ashley Simon, the hostess, who has worked at the diner for over 10 years, joked with her regulars.
Others kept going back because it was familiar and convenient.
George Ashiotis, 78, one of the first people to move into Selis Manor over 45 years ago, said he just had to say “Malibu!” and his guide dog would take him to the diner.
They’ll now need a new command to take them to a new spot.
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