Gioia DiChristina, owner of the Downtown Diner (Provided photo by Naj Wikoff)

The Downtown Diner on Main Street is closing, and with it, another iconic local business passes. Doing so, it wraps up a year that also saw the closure of Lamb Lumber, a business that served the community for over 100 years.

Lake Placid used to have several similar establishments with a counter and stools, catering primarily to year-round residents and workers. They were places where people shared a meal, information about goings on in the town, and the ups and downs of life.

For some, it was the counter at HoJo’s, others, the counters and booths at Marshal or Myer’s Drugs, and then there was Ruth’s Diner, founded by Ruth Pitts in the mid-1950s. The diner was brought up on a railcar from New Jersey, moved from Station Street, and set on the ground, facing McKinley Street. Three or four years later, the diner burned down. Undaunted, Pitts rebuilt the diner on the existing footprint, first laying in a foundation and basement with cement blocks provided by Gus Miller.

For a brief period, Bob Graham owned and operated the diner. After a couple of years, he went bankrupt, and Ruth took it back and ran the diner successfully for many years, eventually selling it to Lena Dowie, with Mary Lahart serving as manager.

Since the beginning, Ruth’s was a 24-hour, seven-days-a-week diner where people could have breakfast, soup, and a sandwich, as well as specials at all hours of the day. Back in 1962, the noon hour special sandwich of the day cost 95 cents. The motto was breakfast available all the time, and lunch when we’re open.

Jason Clark (Provided photo by Naj Wikoff)

“No matter how late the bars were open, you could go to Ruth’s and get either a late dinner or an early breakfast depending on what you wanted,” said Red LaFountain. “At 1, 2, 3, or 4 o’clock in the morning, the place was packed. Literally packed. There was a cadre of people, usually in the service industry, bar and restaurant business, owners and employees, who would go there along with their closing patrons, have a bite, go home and to bed, and, back up at noon, would do it all over again. Many days, it was crack of daylight when you left Ruth’s.”

As the late-night patrons left, the early morning shift, who worked for hotels and the highway and police departments, came in.

“There was a guy, Abe; I can’t remember his last name,” said Red. “His uncle owned Number One Main Street, which was a linen shop. Abe was one of the most notorious eaters I ever met, and he was a stick. One time, at Ruth’s, Abe came in. I don’t remember what else he ate, but he ate a half dozen whole grapefruits along with eggs, and everything that went with them. You’d look at him and wonder where he put it all.”

After Dowie and several other owners, the diner was purchased by Mike Nicola in the early 1980s. He gave it a major overhaul, including shifting the diner so it faced Main Street and renaming it the Downtown Diner. Mike’s goal was to preserve and enhance the diner as a local institution, providing a larger seating area and improved kitchen layout. Gioia DiChristina has owned the Downtown Diner for 24 years. At the time DiChristina took it on, she had been working for nine years as a baker for Mike. Nicola, in the midst of building his restaurant across from the Arena, was looking to sell, and DiChristina raised her hand.

“When I was 5, my dad brought me to Grant’s Department Store in downtown Buffalo, and I had my first lunch counter experience where I had the first milkshake in my life, and a little lunch, “said DiChristina. “I just loved it.”

Maryliz Alexander (Provided photo by Naj Wikoff)

DiChristina love for diners and desire to provide good food at a fair price has attracted a devoted following.

“What I like about the Downtown Diner is that it’s convenient, it’s reliable, and it has all the standards for breakfast,” said Jason Clark. “The staff has always been friendly and helpful. It’s a great place to see locals, and they have plenty of parking. It’s sad to see it go; it’s been a staple place in Placid for years, for decades. The loss of the diner will change the face of the community, especially on this side of the village; there aren’t a lot of breakfast options in Placid as it is.”

“I am sorry to see it close,” said employee Armin Morankic. “It’s very good, and on weekends we’ve been very busy, full every weekend. A lot of locals come here; they love the food. I notice that the food here is very different from what you find at many other places; you can tell it’s premade or frozen. Here, everything is homemade. I like working here and meeting all the people. I was disappointed to learn that it’s closing.”

“It’s closing makes me sad,” said fellow employee Linda Thatcher. “I’ve been working here since September, but have been coming here for twenty-five years. “It provides good homemade food in a diner atmosphere. When it closes, there will be no diner in the Tri-Lakes, just Noonmark in Keene Valley. In Lake Placid especially, food’s becoming Syscoized, everything tastes the same, as so much comes from Sysco; it’s all pub food.”

Regular Maryliz Alexander echoed others’ sadness. She loved the food, the environment, and the people — fellow customers and the staff. Her favorite meal was breakfast, scrambled eggs with onions and peppers. For young John Huttlinger, also a regular, it was his takeout lunch.

“I like the food,” said John Huttlinger Jr. “I’ve been getting a grilled cheese sandwich with bacon and French fries for lunch every day now for the past 20 years. Recently, when food prices went up, they’ve kept my sandwich price the same. I can’t imagine any chain restaurant doing that.”

“I am very sad that the new owners are not going to continue it as a diner,” said Gioia DiChristina. “I’m sad for the town. Locals are the heartbeat of the diner. They want to be here. I have people who chat with others, open their laptops and work, or wait for their car that’s getting fixed at Central Garage. I have people that I’ve been making breakfast for 25 years. People can come and sit at the counter for a while or get something quick. One who has a wife or partner at Uihlein comes here for a break. The Diner’s that kind of place. I am eternally grateful to the people who came here again and again. Locals matter.”

After she sells, DiChristina plans to do all the things she couldn’t do because she was working at the diner: attend the farmers market in Keene, the Saranac Lake Winter Carnival and eat at Noonmark and Mountain Cafe in Upper Jay. And, if there’s a place that needs someone to do prep work in a kitchen, give Gioia a call.

(Naj Wikoff lives in Keene Valley and has been writing his column for the Lake Placid News since 2005.)