UWS Diner And Love Story Featured On 'Humans Of New York'

UPPER WEST SIDE, NY — The decades-old relationship between a longtime Upper West Sider, her late husband, and their beloved local diner was featured Tuesday on the incredibly popular platform "Humans of New York".

The Facebook post and corresponding pictures start with a retelling by the couple's child of how the Cafe Eighty Two diner at 2282 Broadway, between West 82nd and 83rd Streets, was a major part of her parent's relationship.

"This place was a big part of their lives as a couple," reads the post. "When Dad came home from art school, his bus would drop him off in front of the diner. Most of the time Mom would meet him for a meal."

The unnamed father passed away 10 years ago, but the now 92-year-old mother, identified as Sarita, has continued to make the four-block trip to the diner almost every day for the last decade.

"I told her: ‘Mom, there are so many choices in New York. Why does it always have to be the diner?’ But she always insisted," the post reads. "So eventually I stopped fighting, and started paying attention. Mom’s always greeted by name when she walks in the door. And she almost always orders the same thing: a special grilled cheese sandwich with half-avocado and half-tomato. The entire staff knows her order. They call it the ‘Sarita Sandwich.’"

Sarita has recently been battling a tremor, and the Cafe Eighty Two staff has done their best to make things easier for her.

The staff brings her coffee only three-quarters full so it won't spill at the top, with a side of ice, allowing her to drink the brew with a straw. Employees also bring her grilled cheese out already cut into tiny little pieces, so she can eat it with one hand.

"Everyone says ‘hello’— other customers, the waiter, even the owner," reads the post. "It’s the center of her social life. Mom’s a stoic, so she’d never complain. But she’s 92 now. Most of her friends have passed away. And it could be so easy for life to get narrow: waiting for people to visit, watching TV, reading the paper."

The post detailing Sarita's relationship with the Upper West Side diner has been liked nearly 200,000 times as of Wednesday afternoon and shared more than 7,000 times.

You can find out more about Humans of New York on its website, and Cafe Eighty Two on its website.