It was a genuine slice of Brooklyn's culinary heritage on the move this past Saturday, as the venerable Wythe Diner was hoisted onto a flatbed and carted to its new abode at Steiner Studios. The 50-ton stainless steel charmer has stood at 225 Wythe Avenue since 1968, feeding portions of nostalgia and homey meals to the Williamsburg neighborhood.
Once settled in the city's Navy Yard, inside the largest television and movie studio on the East Coast, the Wythe Diner will embark on a refreshed journey of stardom, having already graced the screens in films like "The Good Shepherd" and "Men in Black 3". Moving the entire diner – not just its essence or its memory – was a task tinged with sentimentality for its former owner Sandy Stillman. He told ABC7NY, "Whoever bought it had to help me preserve the diner. I've imagined this for years, I can't believe it's actually happening."
Heartstrings were tugged in the community as the plot where Wythe Diner stood was slated for a new apartment complex development. Stillman, who has owned the diner since 1997 and ran Relish Restaurant there until 2010, described the relocation as "one of the best days I've ever had," in a statement obtained by CBS News.
The reprieve came thanks to Doug Steiner, studio owner and neighbor, who unveiled the diner's salvation plan that had been cooking for months. "It just seemed like a great thing to preserve it," Steiner explained, keeping an eye on the neighborhood's eats that had expanded from a scant handful to a smorgasbord. Stillman, envisioning a shiny future for his "stainless steel or inanimate child," hopes Steiner Studios will showcase the diner in all kinds of movies. Plans are for the Wythe Diner to continue casting its culinary spell in upcoming films, as per the CBS News.
