Landmark Menlo Park Diner back on the market at a reduced price

EAST BRUNSWICK – A landmark 4,500-square-foot Route 1 southbound diner is up for sale again, this time at a reduced $3.5 million price just months after a fire damaged the kitchen .

Recently a large red For Sale sign was posted in front of the Menlo Park Diner, 1475 Route 1, which has been closed since the Oct. 28, 2023 fire. The sign lists Peggy Trstensky Zervos of Keller Williams Elite Realtors in Metuchen as the real estate associate.

The listing indicates the owner is selling the business and the more than half acre of land, located between a portion of Roosevelt Park and the nearby Menlo Park Mall. The one-story diner was built around 1960 and updated in 1998, listings indicate. One listing indicates the property is being sold as is.

The diner features a kitchen, two restrooms, a finished basement, central air conditioning and forced heat, public water and sewer, a large parking lot and is located in a general business highway zone.

The diner was listed for sale last year with a price tag of $4 million . At that time the listing agent indicated the owners had worked at the diner for more than 30 years and were looking to retire.

Formerly a 24-hour business, following the COVID-19 pandemic the diner had been operating from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Last October a two-alarm fire damaged the kitchen and spread smoke throughout the building. The building was closed due to smoke and water damage. At that time Fire Chief Andrew Toth said the owners didn't indicate their future plans for the business.

Around 10 p.m. Oct. 28, 2023, police received multiple 911 calls about heavy smoke coming from the diner. When Edison firefighters arrived, they found the building filled with black smoke and a fire in the kitchen which they knocked down and used the skylights to ventilate. Toth said most of the damage was in the kitchen. No injuries were reported at the fire which occurred when the building was closed.

The Menlo Park Diner is one of two major diners along the Edison section of Route 1 southbound. The other is the Edison Diner at 101 Route 1 just before the Morris and Donald Goodkind Bridges linking Edison and New Brunswick, while the Skylark Diner and Lounge in Edison is located on Route 1 northbound at Wooding Avenue.

The Menlo Park Diner was often busy on summer evenings when theatergoers attending shows at the nearby Plays-in-the-Park in Roosevelt Park would walk over for dinner before showtime and dessert after the performance. The diner set up an outside tent to continue serving customers during the pandemic.

Email: srussell@gannettnj.com

Suzanne Russell is a breaking news reporter for MyCentralJersey.com covering crime, courts and other mayhem. To get unlimited access, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.

This article originally appeared on MyCentralJersey.com: Landmark Menlo Park Diner back on the market at a reduced price