HIDING in plain sight on a Williamsburg corner, #85 Broadway at Berry Street, is a one-story building, a shack really, that has been a diner for the better part of the last 90 years, if not longer. It’s presently called Diner and it has been under the same ownership since the early 2000s, and offers brunch and dinner for fairly high (for a diner) but not outlandish prices. I haven’t been in, but if I’m with company in south Williamsburg I might give it a shot. As far as the “artwork” above it, I’ve seen these Runic characters around town, but don’t know the artist.
Let’s jump in the Municipal Tax Photo time machine. Here it is at #85 Broadway in 1980. Reports from this era indicate it was called Sabrina’s around this time. Note the plastic lettered “privilege sign” sponsored in this case by Coca-Cola.
Pressing the lever and setting the controls for 1940, we see the diner still there, in what’s likely the same one-story building, sporting a “Broadway Diner” neon sign.
The longevity of this building, and its history hosting diners, is impressive. I never see any published pieces about it…but that’s why Forgotten NY is here.
Check out the ForgottenBook (HarperCollins, 2006), as well as Forgotten Queens (Arcadia, 2013). I also have a chapter in the anthology “New York Calling: From Blackout to Bloomberg” (Reaktion, 2007). As always, “comment…as you see fit.” I earn a small payment when you click on any ad on the site.
9/10/26