CityView Magazine

46 | April 2020 "If you want to see someone you haven't seen in a while, hang out and you'll see someone walk in," Brenda says. Like a number of folks in the joint, they're talking about the virtues of the daily specials. "Meatloaf day! Pork Chop Day! Chicken and Pastry Day!" But when are those days? It's when Nick or Eleni says it's that day. (Hint: Might just be a Wednesday for the meatloaf.) It's not unusual for an individual's total bill to fall in a range of $5 to $9. Some breakfast items, like biscuits or hotcakes, are less than $2. Just make sure to bring cash. "Dealing with credit cards is such a pain," Nick says. "But I know we'll probably have to take them someday." Guests who don't know the cash policy are told the same thing at checkout: "You can come back later and pay." It's about treating people right, Nick says. "If they come back later to pay, good. If they don't, well, that's on Right: The Guy family enjoys the family feeling at New York Restaurant. them," he says. Some customers eat at the restaurant every day, like clockwork, says longtime waitress Chelsea Kale. At 3:30 on a recent aernoon, enter Adelaide and Alva Rozier, both 88. Chelsea takes special pride in serving them and other seniors, many of whom depend on the restaurant for their main meal of the day. Some call ahead for takeout, and Chelsea says she can usually guess customers' orders by their voices or names. e Roziers are splitting the Chuck Wagon Steak with mashed potatoes and gravy, a side of mac and cheese, and tossed salad, with two sweet teas. Ask Mr. Rozier if he recalls the first time he ate at the restaurant, and he doesn't skip a beat: "First of February, 1957." He explains that he had just gotten out of the Marines and went to work as a diesel mechanic at a truck dealership across the street from the restaurant. "It's clean, and the food has always been real good," he says. Nick Drakos says the recipe for success isn't brain surgery: "If you fix good food, peoples gonna keep coming back." But it's also about the positive vibe at New York Restaurant, a Southern establishment with a Northern name. e clang of dishes. e whir of waitresses. e sizzle on the grill. It's about food, family and friendship – in a conversation- and laughter-filled diner that harkens back to simpler times – before life got so complicated. New York Restaurant fills the order every time. It's not unusual for an individual's total bill to fall in a range of $5 to $9. Some breakfast items, like biscuits or hotcakes, are less than $2. Just make sure to bring cash.

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