BY DENNIS LYNCH | When the News Year’s Eve ball dropped at One Times Square over the weekend, it didn’t only ring in 2017. It rang in a new era nearby — one without a stable presence that served countless waves of tourists, locals, and celebrities over the last 24 years. By the time the clock struck midnight, the Evergreen (145 W. 47th St., btw. Sixth & Seventh Aves.) was no more.
Hungry regulars, tourists, and curiosity-seekers alike packed the beloved diner when Chelsea Now paid a visit on the morning of Fri., Dec. 30 — its penultimate day in business, and one spent like any other, as the waitstaff and kitchen were busy cranking out hearty breakfasts and sandwiches.
Co-owner Tommy Mavrakis said that many of the diners had probably never even been to his restaurant, but read in the city newspapers and seen reports on local news broadcasts that an iconic diner was shuttering and came for their last chance to get a meal at the well-known joint.
“This is a landmark, my friend. People are coming and they don’t even know us,” he said.
A couple sitting at the counter said it was their second time at the Evergreen. They live in New Hampshire, but come to the city once a year or so. They loved the diner their first time and were shocked to hear they wouldn’t be able to come back during next year’s trip. It was the warm atmosphere that drew them in at first, Dave Wojichowski said.
“It felt welcoming. We don’t like the fancy places; we like more affordable stuff. So we walked by and said, ‘This looks like our place,’ ” he said. “And the coffee and food are good, so we came back.”
Sitting next to them was a regular who knew Mavrakis and Evergreen’s staff well. Construction firm partner Richard Prevost has been working in the area since the late 1970s. He and his crews had been coming to Evergreen “from the get-go,” for morning meetings, quick lunches, and good company. Prevost greeted almost all the staff that walked by him at the counter and asked them about their plans for the future.
“It’s the personalities, and the food is always great. I’ve never had a bad meal here; never. Everybody gets along so well and you know its fast food so you’re in and you’re out, that’s what’s good for me. And it’s just the people — this guy here,” Prevost said with a smile, pointing over the counter to Mavrakis.
Mavrakis is sad to see the place go, but he and his business partners had no say in the matter. Their longtime landlords, who have owned the building since 1981, sold it for a whopping $101 million to an LLC earlier this year. The owners notified them they would not renew the lease in September and confirmed so in December.
“I guess you’d like to walk out of the place on your terms, but sometimes that’s not the case. Construction is happening all around Manhattan — it’s not easy you know. Its been a pleasure,” Mavrakis said, noting that he and his partners are looking for a new home in the neighborhood and would hopefully hire back some of their 20 employees who don’t find other work in the meantime. Either way, he lamented, it will be hard to capture the magic again.
“Its been a lot of fun; you can’t replace this,” he said. “The atmosphere this place had from the beginning — there will never be another Evergreen.”
The neighborhood was much different when they first opened their doors in 1992. The city was just starting its campaign to transform Times Square from ground zero for depravity and crime into the (relatively) safe destination it is now.
Evergreen’s proprietors got in the neighborhood at a good time and took advantage. They served affordable food hot, quickly, and with a smile, and its reputation grew among blue collar and white collar folks alike. They had solid diner coffee, breakfast, and lunch — perfect for the tired tourist ready to embark on their metropolitan expedition or in need of a recharge.
Word spread to television stars and news anchors working at Fox next door, and at NBC a few blocks away at 30 Rock. They signed autographs to hang on Evergreen’s walls, solidifying its iconic status.
Now folks like Prevost will have to find an alternative. Prevost had cleared his plate of a classic diner breakfast — two eggs, bacon, well-done home fries, and white toast — like it was his last meal in or out of Evergreen, and declared he was headed back to work at the NBC studios at Rockefeller Center.
A representative of the LLC that owns the 12,000-square-foot lot had no comment on the plans for the property, although a lawyer told the Wall Street Journal that it was slated for development. The lot’s zoning allows for a tower, and benefits from bonuses that allow a developer to build higher if they incorporate affordable housing or a public plaza into their design. A smaller lot similarly zoned at W. 45th St. allowed developers to build the 53-story Hyatt hotel, completed in 2009.
As for Prevost, life without regular meals at the Evergreen will put a stop to his own potential for expansion. “I’m gonna go on a diet,” he declared. “Look what they’ve done to me!”
