The new owners of the Garfield Diner in Pottsville plan to reopen the business Tuesday, Ashraf Abouomar, Pottsville, one of the partners in the business, said Tuesday.
City Health Officer Frank Spleen visited the 1950s-style restaurant at 402 W. Market St. on Tuesday. He will conduct an inspection Thursday and expects to give the owners, Abouomar, 46, and Mohamed Elhabashy, 46, of Lebanon, a health permit to open the eatery.
"He has good potential. He's certified. He took the ServSafe course and all," Spleen said, referring to the state's food safety manager certification course.
"Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture regulations require that each establishment have one person in the operation who holds a nationally recognized food protection certificate. This demonstrates to the inspector, the public, and to employees and co-workers, a commitment to providing safe food to consumers. Safe food-handling practices protect customers, increase profitability, reduce liability, promote goodwill, maintain patronage and enhance a business' competitive position," according to the website for Penn State Extension at extension.psu.edu.
On Tuesday, Abouomar and his staff, including head cook James Myers, 39, of Pottsville, were still getting the place ready. Spleen said he wants to see the business fully operational before he issues a permit.
On Jan. 10, City Code Enforcement Officer Donald J. Chescavage and City Fire Chief Todd March approved the building.
"For the most part, this is a lot of the original stuff here. But it's been well cleaned up. It's cleaned up quite well. And there's 110 different items on the menu," Chescavage said as he walked through the business Tuesday.
Those items include: fish over rice, lamb over rice, gyros, chicken kababs, shish kebabs, cheeseburgers, pizza, Italian sausage sandwiches and Philly cheese steaks, according to a display showing pictures of those foods behind the counter.
Abouomar said he plans to be open 6 a.m. to "8 or 9 p.m." Sunday through Thursday and open 24 hours on Fridays and Saturdays.
The Garfield Diner originally opened in August 1953 and was the backdrop for a speech by then-presidential candidate John F. Kennedy, who stopped in Pottsville while running against Richard M. Nixon.
Since the 1990s, the Garfield Diner has had several owners.
In November 2006, the diner was reopened by John M. Nicolas, Port Carbon, then closed two years later.
On July 2, 2008, Bill Kontogiannis, a native of Nafpaktos, Greece, and his wife, Lean, reopened the diner while leasing the property from Jimmy Manaroulas and George Hazakis, Pottsville. The restaurant closed Jan. 30, 2011.
To prevent the building from losing its commercial zoning designation, which was set to expire in February 2012, Manaroulas and Hazakis opened the diner for one day to serve light refreshments, Chescavage said.
Abouomar, a native of Egypt, said he's been living in the United States for 21 years. He is leasing the Garfield Diner property from Manaroulas and Hazakis.