The Decatur Diner - Greek Omelette and Homefries

Greek omelette, homefries and wheat toast with jelly

The Decatur Diner is now closed -  It probably has been closed awhile but I just noticed it. 9/19/12 

 

The Decatur Diner opened a couple of weeks ago.  I had been observing the restaurant since this last summer and wondered why noone was ever inside which is never a good sign.  Come to find out, it had not opened yet.  Anyway, I wanted to check it out and see what they had going on up in there. It is located in the City of Decatur, AKA Downtown Decatur which is only a few minutes away from the Atlanta city limits.

I love the idea of a diner in the mix of what downtown Decatur has become. It has completely transformed itself since I first arrived in the ATL over twenty years ago. I know that someone, homegrown, of another generation is reading this who will say…Now let me tell you about downtown Decatur! I’m sure that they can tell this mid Atlantic transplant a thing or two about downtown Decatur. But anyway, for good and for bad, it seems that the city has cleansed itself from hole-in-the-wall, gritty restaurants and any appearance of the working class. I remember a diner along Ponce de Leon that a friend and I used to go to. I think the diner was called Square Table. It was a beautiful little authentic place where the owner and his wife were also beautiful, weathered-looking people who came out and talked to us about their family, their lives and just about anything. But that was back when downtown Decatur was still more of a small town with a few gas stations along the main corridor. Some of these gas stations have been cleverly reconstructed into trendy restaurants. Back then, the City of Decatur was not a destination place for those visiting the ATL from out of town. It is now after substantial planning and redevelopment. 4.4 million dollars alone was spent just to redevelop the MARTA train station located right in the middle of the town square. I completely get it and I enjoy most of what it has become. I understand that this isn’t unique to downtown Decatur and is common to many cities across the U.S. I’ve dumped a lot of my own dollars into the area as a former tax-paying resident and one that continues to support the city’s businesses and restaurants. At the same time, it seems that something was intentionally lost in translation.

The Decatur Diner kept all of this in mind. It looks rather contemporary. Two sides of the diner along Church Street and Ponce de Leon have huge windows at least 6 feet in height. The chandeliers throughout are made of wrought iron and amber glass shades. They look like they belong in one of the nearby condos and not a diner. But like I said, this is Downtown Decatur.

I enjoyed my breakfast at the Decatur Diner. I selected the greek omelette made of tomatoes, onions and feta cheese. It came with homefries and wheat toast. Grits may be substituted for the homefries. I requested that the omelette be made with egg whites which was done without an extra charge. They gained some points on that one.  I felt satisfied after my meal which is what I expected from a good, decent diner. I enjoyed sitting in my booth, with the tall windows, watching people pass by as they walked along Church Street. The music was good and I enjoyed listening to How Deep is Your Love by the Bee Gees. The staff was very friendly. I heard my waitress talking to the customer in the booth behind me about a scripture that she had read. Maybe he had a bible out or something but that isn’t unusual in the ATL. People will break out into a testimony.

With any restaurant, they have a few challenges. I could tell that they were still working out staffing kinks. There was a little too much running around and the place wasn’t even a third full. I asked my waitress, the scripture lady, about validating parking. She said they didn’t and us employees have been parking all around this city and that one place across the street is $7 dollars a day. I know, being a transplant and all, that $7 a day is a drop in the bucket to pay for parking. However, she raises a valid point. Many people who live in metro Atlanta still do not feel that they should have to pay for parking. Some of the businesses in close proximity to the Decatur Diner validate parking. Other restaurants have occupied the same space but have not remained opened. Hopefully, it isn’t due to bad location Karma. A few really good breakfast places are just down the street, and my favorite one, Pastries A Go Go has free parking. That’s just reality. Decatur Diner is decent diner food and that’s what I expected. I’ll probably be back.