Fort Greene's Academy Diner Will Close After Three Decades

FORT GREENE, BROOKLYN — A classic diner that has been part of the neighborhood for nearly four decades will close its doors this weekend, Patch has learned.

Owners of the Academy Restaurant told Patch that they have decided not to renew the lease for their corner spot on Lafayette Avenue and Saint Elliot Place, where they have served the neighborhood for about 35 years. Their last day will be Saturday, an employee said.

The diner first opened back in the 1984 by two brothers in the Koutroumanos family, who also owned the Coby Diner in Canarsie, a Flatbush outpost and other Brooklyn shops, according to a 2012 history by the Fulton Area Business Alliance.

"My dad always had good ideas about where places would do well," Dimitrios Koutroumanos, the son and nephew of the diner's founders told FAB. "And then he found this spot right down the street from BAM and Brooklyn Tech — this corner in particular — and he knew it would be a good spot."

The family business serves up all the diner classics, its most popular items being the breakfast all-day menu, online reviews show.

Koutroumanos told FAB that, for him, the most enjoyable part of serving the neighborhood for so long has been the people.

"You get all kinds of people walking the streets and coming in here," he said. "I like seeing how their lives change. You know, a customer you've known for a while will have a baby. And now that baby is 3 — just to see all the different people and how their lives move on."

Owners were not immediately available to go into detail about why the family business itself decided to move on, but when reached by phone Thursday, said the story is "not much different" than why many restaurants close. The lease had expired and owners decided not to renew it this time around, they said.

Patch will update the story with more details as they become available.