Elsewhere in NYC: Pearl Diner reopens for curbside dining

Going outside the usual coverage zone for some positive restaurant news: EVG favorite Pearl Diner is now open for curbside dining as well as takeout and delivery.

The diner at 212 Pearl St. reopened this past weekend for the first time since mid-March, as the Downtown Alliance Blog reports. (And thank you for letting me know!)

An adjusted menu of basic, diner-style classics, as well as the restaurant’s well-loved breakfast menu, is now available for in-person service as well as delivery via apps like GrubHub and Seamless.

The Saturday reopening was a joyous occasion for longtime fans and newcomers alike. "They were all regular customers that showed up," [owner Alex] Pritsos said. “"We also had one or two tourists from Italy. Apparently one of the hotels nearby is now hosting some Italian tourists."

If you happen to be down in the Financial District, the Pearl is open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m to 4 p.m., and until 2 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays.

The Pearl had been on the endangered list. In December 2018, reports surfaced that a a new 21-story would rise here. However, the building permits were never approved by the city (as of January 2019).

The Pearl opened in 1962, and is one of the last standalone diners in Manhattan. As Nick at Scouting NY said about the Pearl's neon sign: "at night, [it] makes New York City look like New York City."


[Photo from 2010 by James & Karla Murray]

Another disappearing diner

Going outside the usual coverage zone for this post about the Pearl Diner, a place that I always liked.

Yesterday, New York Yimby reported that building permits have been filed for a new 21-story hotel at 212 Pearl St. in the Financial District — a plot of land that currently houses the Pearl Diner.



Per NYY:

The concrete structure will yield 26,413 square feet with 21,120 square feet dedicated to hotel rooms. Permits detail the 244-foot tall building will have 48 hotel units, averaging 440 square feet each. Gene Kaufman Architect PC is responsible for the design.

No demolition permits have been filed as of yet and the Pearl Street Diner located at the site is currently still open for business. The estimated completion date has not been announced.

The Pearl Diner hasn't announced a closing date just yet.

Diners in NYC are an endangered species as it is... especially a single-level building in the heart of the booming Financial District. So it's rather amazing the Pearl Diner has lasted this long.

And now another hotel via Gene Kauffman will rise here. (According to The Real Deal, who first reported on this, Kaufman was already the architect for three of the six ongoing hotel projects in the Financial District.)

The hotel will have company — a 40-story Marriott consisting of two brands — a Courtyard and a Residence Inn is rising directly across the street from the diner...





The Pearl opened in 1962, and is one of the last standalone diners in Manhattan.


[EVG file photo]

As Nick at Scouting NY said about the Pearl's neon sign: "at night, [it] makes New York City look like New York City."


[Photo from 2010 by James & Karla Murray]

Welcome back: the Pearl Diner has returned

We've been keeping an eye on one of the city's great diners, the 50-year-old (plus) Pearl Diner on the fringes of the Financial District. They never reopened after Superstorm Sandy.

We're happy to say that the Pearl is back. Our friends at One More Folded Sunset noted that the diner started serving again on Feb. 19.

We swung by for a few photos. A great deal going on now weeknights too...





The diner is at 212 Pearl St., a block west of Water Street between John Street and Maiden Lane.