Gothamist: The Cheyenne, One of the Last Vintage Diners, to Close

ottoemezzo

Tue, 01 Apr 2008 15:50:31 -0500

Oh man...I'm so depressed. All the things that are (were) fun and funky in NY are disappearing. Such a shame greed is killing the city's personality.

lanciano

Tue, 01 Apr 2008 13:55:46 -0500

Sigh, The Cheyenne. I haven't been there since high school but MAN OH MAN their burgers were delicious. I spent many hours there.

adriane

Tue, 01 Apr 2008 13:44:10 -0500

New York is letting go small mom and pop shops that made NY the way it is. and its not only this, there are many places loosing it low skyline.

JenChungsBra

Tue, 01 Apr 2008 13:03:37 -0500

Ironic that this diner is disappearing at the same time that the City Council just approved pricing lower income drivers off the streets.

boop

Tue, 01 Apr 2008 12:33:34 -0500

New York is being killed by the greed of it's own people. All these places are disappearing because of landowners looking for more money, and the only ones who can afford the skyrocketing rents are corporations or those who are already incredibly rich, not small businesses. Its like watching someone you love being slowly consumed by a fatal disease, although it's happening faster and faster these days. So sad.

Carl Sagan

Tue, 01 Apr 2008 11:50:02 -0500

They should take the Cheyenne and move it into the Empire Diner's spot. That restaurant has great vintage charm but the service is awful.

eyekantspel

Tue, 01 Apr 2008 11:35:48 -0500

the owner of the property feels he can make a lot more money on that spot by building a multi-story building and having a lot of tenants. Really, this isn't too hard to understand. Build a multistory building and sell a bunch of apartments for $1M each (or rent them for $4000/month) or work your butt off running a kitchen that makes $15 a head before expenses. Faced with those options, who wouldn't sell out? Too bad that they can't just build over it, but I guess the new tenants would prefer to live over a well-appointed first floor lobby and not a diner.

Kingpin

Tue, 01 Apr 2008 11:31:25 -0500

Whilst the owner of the Skylight is within his rights if he legally owns the plot... you can't help be cynically wonder if it's a two-pronged attack: Generate more income by putting up a boring apartment building and put your main competition out of business with the same pen stroke. Hopefully they can move the Cheyenne so it'll survive even if in another place... the diner is so pleasing to the eye and it's even been featured in a orange juice advert here in the UK. In addition to that, if it is rescued I hope the ending is a bit more upbeat then that of the Moondance.

Dave Hogarty

Tue, 01 Apr 2008 11:22:13 -0500

The only thing that didn't shock me about this story is that the Dolan's aren't tearing the Cheyenne down in an attempt to build a new MSG on the sliver lot.

JMH

Tue, 01 Apr 2008 11:13:34 -0500

Well that's good. What the city really needs is more luxury condos and fewer buildings that have some semblance of character or personality.

Toby von Meistersinger

Tue, 01 Apr 2008 11:05:21 -0500

This sucks. I used to know some Amtrak conductors who liked the place partly because it had decent food and was open all the time and they did take out. It is also a great place to grab lunch after visiting B&H across the street.

JenChungsBra

Tue, 01 Apr 2008 11:04:48 -0500

There's another one-story diner on the UWS that's just gone out of business to make way for another high-rise eyesore. The Strand on 96th street between Broadway and Amsterdam is gone with a sign in the window saying that the building is going to be torn down. Now, don't get me wrong, this is no great culinary disaster. The Strand was a crappy diner. But losing it to development really bites. Another neighborhood one-story diner on the corner of Columbus and 97th closed last year to make way for a massive development that's been featured here on Gothamist for a construction accident that threatened the foundation of a nearby apartment building.