Long-troubled Lee's Diner, a Lincoln Highway icon, gets new operator - and soon a new name

Anthony J. Machcinski | York Daily Record

Show Caption Hide Caption Owner of Lee's Diner in a bad situation After Lee's Diner repeatedly failed its food safety inspections, business has diminished.

Lee’s Diner, the 66-year-old stainless steel icon along Lincoln Highway, has a new operator.

Teddy Petropoulos began leasing the diner from owner Omar Ilayan on June 14.

Petropoulos, formerly the owner of the South York Diner from 2005 to 2017, became interested in Lee’s Diner after Ilayan placed it for sale. Petropoulos became enamored with the property because of the historic and classic diner feel.

“I think it has the potential,” Petropoulos’ daughter, Amalia, said. “The location, the old style diner – there’s not a lot of those left.”

What made Lee's great:

The diner has been closed since then to allow for cleaning and the transition, but it is expected to open sometime later this week, Petropoulos said.

Lee’s Diner first opened along Route 30 in West Manchester Township in 1951, named for the first owner, Lee Paxton. It’s had nine different owners since then, including Ilayan.

The diner has been a landmark on Route 30 since it opened, with stainless steel siding, Formica countertops and the vinyl trolley-style diner of the era. It’s served as a pit stop for both regulars and truckers passing through for decades. Even as it’s been closed the last week, people have stopped in, asking if the restaurant was open and when it will return.

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Lee’s has had its troubles over the years, too.

Before the diner passed its latest inspections in April, Lee’s had failed 16 of its last 20 inspections with the Department of Agriculture. While the fines took a financial toll on the restaurant, it crushed the restaurant’s reputation and left customers few and far between. At one point, Ilayan was able to make $800 to $1,000 each morning for breakfast. By June of 2017, he was lucky to get $150.

“I want to get out, but I don’t know how,” Ilayan said in April. “I want to stay, but I don’t know how.”

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Ilayan found a way out by leasing the diner to Petropoulos, who in the week since the lease began has cleaned up the restaurant, including the kitchen. There are additions, too: new paint, several tables for outdoor seating, new décor inside the restaurant and, once he gets approval from West Manchester Township, an outside deck on the west side of the restaurant.

“(The restaurant’s reputation) worries me some, but I’m going to do my best to keep things clean and nice,” Petropoulos said.

To help, the diner will reopen under a different name for the first time since 1951 – Vicky’s Diner. The name comes from his youngest daughter.

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“I didn’t want to keep the old name,” Petropoulos said. “I wanted to put my daughter’s name on it.”

In the end, it's about the customers -- the ones who made Lee's an icon for decades, the ones who helped clean up Lee's when it failed more than a dozen restaurant inspections and hoping the ones who gave up on Lee's return again with a blank slate.

Once opened, Petropoulos plans to offer discounts for military veterans and senior citizens. He plans to offer free meals for city and state police officers, as well.

While the diner's new operators are making changes to the restaurant and its menu, they still hope to recreate the original vibe that has made Lee's an icon -- for the right reasons.

"We love our customers," Amalia said. "We love interacting with our customers. We want people to come in and feel welcome, whether they are regulars or people who are just driving through."

Anthony J. Machcinski is the food reporter for the York Daily Record. Follow him on Facebook, @ChinskiTweets on Twitter or email him at amachcinski@ydr.com.