Ewing Diner and Restaurant

The Facts

Peter Kritsikokais and Pete Gromitsaris, both Greek immigrants, have spent 14 months and $3 million transforming the Ewing Diner from a run-down eatery to a polished chrome monument to optimism. The front of the restaurant looks like a giant, jukebox, and the inside looks like an upscale lounge.

So far, the restaurant, which opened August 11, 2008, seems to be drawing crowds hungry for Greek and American fare.

“Yes, it’s booming,” Gromitsaris said. He said he and his partners are the seventh owners of the 60-year-old diner, and hope to be the first to make it into a thriving business. They bought the then-empty diner in 2000 and spent three months on renovations before opening for the first time. They shut it down in June 2007 hoping to open again in the wintertime with expanded dining and a new look.

But what was meant to be a seven-month project turned into a year-long odyssey.

“If I knew what I would have had to go through I never would have done this renovation,” Gromitsaris said.

Unexpected obstacles that delayed the opening for months and added expense included underground pollution that had to be cleaned up.

Gromitsaris, 43, spared no expense to create an sleek look inside and out. The facade is gleaming stainless steel. Indoors are granite countertops, granite tile floors, mahogany furniture and a large, modern kitchen.

“This is quality stuff here,” Gromitsaris said, knocking on the mahogany wall of a booth. The owner himself is practically an architectural feature, and can be found at almost any time at the Ewing Diner.