D.W. Diner to Serve Up Third Course

Starting on July 12, don't be surprised to see the lights ablaze inside the D.W. Diner at 4 p.m. 

Two hours after the diner has traditionally closed its doors, after feeding a hungry breakfast and lunch crowd, employees of the eatery will fire up the grills and ovens for a new course -- dinner.

Or, as D.W. Diner owner Peter Yeanacopolis prefers it, supper.

The difference, he said, is mostly semantics, but dinner is what you get at a restaurant like The Common Man or The Homestead. Meals are generally a little pricier, and not always something you'd  serve up at home.

Supper, Yeanacopolis said, is meatloaf, or shepherd's pie, lasagna, and the like. It's hearty, like-your-grandmother-made-it cooking that is underserved in the evening hours in town.

And it's affordable, he said.

"Older couples can come eat without breaking the bank," Yeanacopolis said. "A family with 3 or 4 kids can eat without breaking the bank."

And it's the right time, he said. As the economy remains unstable after a few bad years, Yeanacopolis said people are tired of tightening their belts and eating at home. They want a treat.

"They can get a meal at reasonable price in an environment that these people are used to," said Yeanacopolis, who owns the diner with his wife Ginnie. "I think it's a winner."

And his customers agree. 

"There isn't a restaurant like this in Merrimack open for dinner," Kathy Felski, a regular customer of the diner said.

Sitting at a round table in the front corner of the restaurant with four other women she frequents the diner with, Felski and her friends chatted with Yeanacopolis about supper.

"Are you going to have liver and onions?" Jean Dowling asked.

"Really," Yeanacopolis said, a note of surprise in his voice.

Dowling wasn't the first one who's requested liver and onions, he said, but she was the first "girl." 

Yeanacopolis said he'd consider it as a special and see how it does.

"I want the people to tell us what they want," he said.

Joy Wayne said she'd be there for supper, if not only for another excuse to get together with her girlfriends, but because she thinks the "friendly atmosphere" in the diner sets it apart.

"I hope it does well," Felski said.

"We'll be here to support him," Dowling said, and with a chuckle she added, "And we'll critique him as well."

This isn't Yeanacopolis' first foray into supper, but he said the last time, he just didn't do it right.

The D.W. Diner, which celebrates its sixth anniversary in September, opened for supper for a short stint back in 2007.

"It wasn't the right time," Yeanacopolis said. "It snowed every day."

He wasn't as invested in it, he added, explaining that he went into it too timidly, opening later only two days a week.

This time around, he'll be open five days a week, Tuesday through Saturday. Those days, the D.W. Diner will be open from 6 a.m.-8 p.m. On Sundays and Mondays, the normal hours will remain at 6 a.m.-2 p.m.

At the same time, Yeanacopolis will open the ice cream parlor -- where he expanded his restaurant last summer -- with premium ice cream and other summer treats. Portions will be slightly increased, he said, and if eating in the parlor, served in metal dishes with silverware, verses paper cups and plastic spoons. Diner food will no longer be served in the ice cream parlor.

In addition to believing it's the right time to expand his business, Yeanacopolis is also happy to be able to create a few more jobs in town.

He's adding seven employees to his staff, including cooks, waitresses, prep cooks and dishwashers.

Previously working in corporate management in Boston, as as a truck driver, hauling his own rig around the country for 20 years, Yeanacopolis said he got tired of the truck driver hours and didn't like having his hands tied in corporate management.

"Here, I make my own decisions," he said. "You make your best call and it's your dime you're playing with."

He's hoping for success, and expecting it, he said. People have been asking him for later hours and supper since prior  to the missed opportunity in 2007.

"I know they want to come," he said. "So really, why wouldn't we do it?"

The D.W. Diner will open for dinner on July 12. The new hours will be Tuesday-Saturday from 6 a.m.-8 p.m. Breakfast will be served until 2, lunch from 11 a.m.-4 p.m. and dinner from 4-8 p.m. Sunday and Monday's hours will remain the same. In addition to a new supper menu, the D.W. Diner will serve beer and wine. The ice cream parlor will be open at least on Tuesday-Saturday, from noon-8 p.m. and Yeanacopolis said he's considering having the parlor open seven-days-a-week.