'50s-Themed Diner Opening in July on Canal Street

At the moment, the Lenny Abreu's new '50s-style diner is a work in progress, but he is a firm believer in the addage that when you love what you're doing, it's not work.

Translation: He's up to his elbows in a whole lotta love.

"It might not look like much right now, but this is where the jukebox is going to be, and over here will be a counter with 14 seats, and that over there are bathrooms, men's and ladies – ladies first, of course," said Abreu, doing a 360, with narrative, inside the space that will, in three short weeks, open as Nancy's Diner, serving breakfast and lunch seven days a week, with room for 62 hungry diners.

"We're going back to an old concept – a place where you can get great food at great prices for a great value. It's going to have a friendly atmosphere and a family environment. And our meals are going to be so big, you may need a doggy bag," Abreu said.

His target is July 1, and he's determined to be open for business by then, working closely with the city for inspections and formalities. The black-and-white checkered floor tiles are in, and the bathrooms are ready for fixtures. Appliances are purchased, uniforms are ordered and the menu covers are designed and ready.

He has been in the chain restaurant business for 25 years, but was tired of seeing smaller servings dished up at higher prices, with quality being lost in the shrinkage. 

His wife puts the Nancy in Nancy's Diner, and is his inspiration in life, period.

"We found each other a little later in life, but once we did, BAM, that was it. I've had some ups and downs in my life, but I'd go through it all again as long as it led me to find her in the end," Abreu said.

He's an unbridled mix of enthusiasm, emotion and old-school values, all of which he and his wife plan to pour into the service side of family dining.

"We're just doing what we love – that's why there's no hard part about it. Yes, we're here every day, and we'll be here until it's ready, but we can't wait to welcome our first customers," Abreu said.

Interestingly enough, the diner at 25 Canal Street was previously featured as one of Nashua Patch's Visions for Vacancies, from March of 2012, in which we described the history of the Canal Street property – at one time a historic Valentine Diner – information provided by Emily and Jonathan Prigot, who track such pieces of diner history via roadsideonline.com. They reached out to Nashua Patch to find out if it were truly still a Valentine diner.

Turns out it wasn't. But they provided this historical snapshot at the time:

In 1950 it opened as the Armory Grill, a pre-fab Valentine diner, manufactured in Wichita, Kansas. In 1956, it was enlarged with an addition, owned by Arthur Fekas, who had originally planned on opening two more locations (possibly more Valentines), but those did not pan out. It was sold and reopened in 1959 as Paul’s Diner, then again in 1960 as the Buffet Diner. It dropped the “Diner” and became the Buffet Restaurant in 1967. It operated under that name until at least the mid 1980s. By 1994 it was “The Mediterranean Place." 

Abreu said he actually came across that article and, given his retro-diner concept, knew he'd found the right location.

"My wife loves the '50s, so we're going with that – the whole Elvis' '55 pink cadillac, juke box, heavy on the chrome – and this," says Abreu, pulling out his phone, pushing play and holding it up in the air, while waiting for the familiar strains of "Rockin' Robin" to begin.

"Here is our theme song to our restaurant," he says. "We're trying to pipe it outside – we have to have the authorization of the city for that ... but it's our fun song. It gets you going."

Abreu has hired his cook staff and he and his wife will be pitching in with everything. He expects to have about 12-15 employees, and he's still hiring.

"Who should apply? Anyone who wants to do a good job," Abreu said.

Loyalty, hard work and a positive attitude mean everything in Abreu's world.

"Experience or no experience, I'm looking for someone who wants to help other people. In fact, that's one of my mottos, and I'm gonna hang it right here," he says, pointing to a space in the kitchen across from where the stove will be. "It's gonna say, 'Eveyone Helps Everyone.' We just want people to come, have a great meal, leave satisfied, and come back for more."

Abreu said anyone interested in applying should stop by the restaurant – he'll be there working just about every day until opening day.

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I'll be stopping back weekly for progress reports (which I'll bring you here) until the diner is open, at which time I hope to be the first paying customer through the door. Join me, won't you?