New Owner Of 99-Year-Old Long Island Diner Vows To 'Preserve' It

NORTHPORT, NY — The Northport Shipwreck Diner is under new ownership, but the Shipwreck faithful should not expect an overhaul to the neighborhood eatery, said new owner Denis Beyersdorf.

The diner is a former dining car from an old trolley that was rolled to 46 Main Street in 1924, former owner Tim Hess said. The trolley car came from beyond Long Island before its near-100-year stay in Northport.

The Hess family owned the diner since 1972 when Tim's father, Otto, purchased it, according to the Long Island Press. Tim bought the establishment, then known as Northport Diner, from his retiring father in 1996. It is Tim's turn now.

"I love my diner, I love Northport, I love my customers," Hess told Patch. "There’s nothing that I don’t like about being here. It’s just that I’m old."

Hess, 64, has grandchildren he wants to spend time with. He has a 93-year-old mother to care for. He added a pool to his home. And he wants to enjoy a weekend off for the first time in 45 years.

Hess said he hopes the diner never changes.

"You cannot change the diner," he said. "The diner’s been here 100 years ... You don’t break anything that’s still working. The diner cannot change. There should be no changes to the diner. We’ve been here for 50 years. We got it to where we want it."

He added: "My waitresses, my wife Janet. These people really ran my diner. I could never have done it without them."

Beyersdorf said he isn't looking to change anything.

"If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it," Beyersdorf said. "I’m going to continue to operate and steer the Shipwreck as it has been. Look, there will be subtle changes, I’m sure, at some point. Those are not going be earth-shattering or drastically different from the overall customer experience that customers experience today."

Beyersdorf, 49, has lived in Northport for 19 years. He has been a patron of Northport Shipwreck Diner for 25.

"So I know the value of it, and I know what it means to Northport," he said. "I don’t want to tinker with that in any way. Like I said, one of the things that make it so unique and special to me is that I have the ability here to preserve it, and that, to me, is very, very important."

Preserving the diner was Beyersdorf's answer when Hess asked him why he wanted to buy his business. He called it a piece of Northport's history, noting its 100th anniversary in Northport is next year.

Beyersdorf's answer of preserving the diner is the key reason Hess said he sold to him, adding "everybody [in Northport] knows Denis."

Hess said he felt he could no longer give the village what it deserved.

"I just don’t have it in me," he said. "The village deserves to be open at night. It needs to be open and going. It’s Northport. The diner is Northport. And you cannot take this away."

Beyersdorf, president of Harbor Wheel, Inc., closed on the Shipwreck on Dec. 20, 2022.

He lost his financial services job at the end of 2021 and had to decide to look for a new job in the industry or reinvent himself. He was looking to purchase a food service place when he heard Tim's Shipwreck Diner was available. Beyersdorf abandoned any other idea and conversations around purchasing the diner started in March 2022.

Beyersdorf lauded Hess's approach to treating his staff like family.

"I told him that is probably the single biggest trait that I truly, truly value in the diner: The people who work there and the customers," Beyersdorf said. "As long as we operate like that, we should be successful."

Beyersdorf plans for Hess to remain with the diner for at least six months.

"And then whatever Timmy wants to do, whether he still wants to be involved at the diner, if he still wants to cook at the diner, or appear at the diner, he can. It’s totally up to him. I don’t see the value in pushing him out. In fact, I see the value in having him around, especially come the summertime."

Hess said he wants to go through the retirement motions first, and then he'll decide what he wants to do. He said he would consider returning to work at the diner on his own terms.

"I will always have a spot here, and I could be here," Hess said. "I could work here. I’m not saying I’m not. I have to finish the whole thing about retirement. It’s like going to school and quitting. I want to retire. And then it’s my choice. It’s totally different when it’s your choice."

The Shipwreck's brand, Beyersdorf, is what made it an attractive purchase. He plans for Hess to guide him toward keeping the eatery successful.

"You put your faith in Tim, and you like what the Shipwreck is," Beyersdorf said to Northport residents. "I’m here to tell you that I’m not going to change anything that they’re accustomed to, and I hope that they will learn to trust me and like me as they do Tim."

Hess, in his message to Northport residents, said everyone who walks into his diner is a part of his family.

"We’ve been here five decades," he said. "We’ve seen kids who were not even born come here and run my diner. It went that quick. It’s very sad, though, to me. I might be lost, but I don’t know yet. This is my whole life. I don’t even know what to expect. But it’s another chapter, and I’m going to finish it out. My whole life was the diner. I worked every day for 49 years, I’ve worked. I’m tired. It’s my time."

The Northport Shipwreck Diner features a large menu with breakfast through dinner items including pancakes and waffles, burgers, sandwiches, appetizers, and more.