Whiskey Down Diner Will Offer Family-Feel With New-School Twist

FARMINGDALE, NY — A new, family-owned eatery is coming soon to Farmingdale. The Whiskey Down Diner is expected to have its grand opening during the first week of June, located at 252 Main Street where Jade Palace used to be.

The establishment is owned by the Kanaras family: father Peter, 66, and sister and brother Alyson, 34, and John, 29. The siblings practically grew up at the Olympic Diner in Deer Park, which their father owned for 39 years. He recently sold his share of the Olympic Diner to focus on the Whiskey Down Diner.

“To us, it’s all we know," John Kanaras told Patch. "We grew up in our family business, learned everything from our dad."

The phrase "whiskey down" is diner-speak and translates to "rye toast." While that served as the primary inspiration for the impending diner's name, the business will feature a bar with plans to serve at least 20 different types of whiskey at launch.

"My dad’s been in the diner business for 40 years, so it just kind of hit him one day," Alyson Kanaras said. "My dad and my brother are big whiskey drinkers. It all kind of tied together.”

Alyson Kanaras said the concept of the restaurant will be to take all the best qualities of the classic diner and add a new-school twist towards what she and her family feel the business is trending towards. Some of those changes include eliminating a huge menu in favor of five or six items per category to focus on quality, adding a full-fledged bar, featuring brunch and combining today's restaurant trends with classic diner ambiance. The hope is that it will satisfy customers of all ages.

One aspect that will not be compromised at all is the family-feel.

"We love knowing everyone by name and seeing the same faces all the time, and they liked seeing that we’re a family, too," Alyson Kanaras said. "That’s also part of the diner business: it’s not a corporate thing, it’s family-owned and family-presented."

All-day breakfast will be a staple of Whiskey Down Diner's operation. The breakfast menu will feature classic items like pancakes, waffles and french toast, as well as new-school egg sandwiches. There will be hamburger specials, salads and other healthy options. At night, dinner specials will come to the forefront. All of this is being overseen by head chef Michael Heinlein, who the Kanaras family was excited to hire.

Jonathan Gonzalez will manage the diner's bar. About 20 whiskeys will be available from the start. Irish coffee, vodka-based mixed drinks, spicy margaritas and a sizable wine list will all be available. The bar will have 10 taps, which will mostly pour beers, including a specialty blonde ale brewed by fellow Main Street small business Lithology Brewing Co. as part of a partnership. Cold brew from Flux Coffee, another Main Street business, as well as a rose cider, will round out the tap-list.

Farmingdale has been the family's primary target to open their diner for over two years now. John Kanaras said around four to five years ago, he started coming out to Farmingdale's Main Street practically every weekend to hang out with friends.

"I noticed the growth through continually coming," he said. "It was up-and-coming. There’s definitely a big future coming in."

He told his father that Farmingdale was the ideal place for their business. Despite looking at other areas in the town, Main Street was always the family's priority. Alyson Kanaras said the close proximity to the train station was a key factor in the decision. And now that the Whiskey Down Diner is here, the family wants to focus on getting to know the Farmingdale community.

"We want to really focus on getting things done the right way here and showing this community the pride that we take in it and hopefully they realize it and appreciate it," Alyson Kanaras said. "We want to be known as a hard-working family that’s doing right by this community. Not only this community, but Long Island. We feel like [our diner] is a new concept that no one else has that we’re hoping to expand one day, but we’re happy to start it here. We’re really happy that we settled here, and we’re going to be a part of the Farmingdale community."