Nov. 24, 2015 By Michael Florio
A longstanding coffee shop on the corner of 30th Avenue and Crescent Street is gearing up to reopen as a diner next week following months of renovations.
Crescent Kitchen, a diner featuring a wide variety of menu items including daily cream soups, is set to open at 23-42 30th Ave. early next week, according to co-owner John Sakellis.
Sakellis said the plan is to open on Monday, but it will be open by Wednesday at the latest.
The establishment was previously the Crescent Corner Coffee Shop, but closed in late August to undergo renovations. Sakellis took over as a co-owner this summer and quickly saw that the shop was in need of a facelift.
“There was a need for some change,” Sakellis said. “It will have a more upscale feel now.”
The shop had been in business for a long time, as his partner, Gus Economou, has co-owned the shop for the past 22 years, Sakellis said.
It will now feature a new floor and ceiling, new tables, chairs and booths and redone bathroom and walls. It will also have free wifi and two TVs.
The menu also underwent changes to offer new items.
The restaurant will feature a variety of cream soups, such as cream of turkey, cream of broccoli, lobster bisque and New England clam chowder. It will feature three of these each day.
The menu will also now have steak, lamb chops, seafood such as broiled salmon filet and fried shrimp. It will have a larger dinner menu with items such as eggplant parmesan with spaghetti.
The restaurant will also serve breakfast, hot sandwiches, a variety of salads, souvlaki, gyros and desserts.
Sakellis said he wanted to expand the menu to be more appealing to hospital workers and visitors of Mount Sinai Queens, which is located just across the street.
“Doctors and people from the hospital can come in, sit down, eat their food and enjoy their break,” he said. “The larger menu will attract more people.”
Hospital workers are not the only ones the opening will benefit. Sakellis said residents keep stopping by and asking about the diner.
“People are stopping in all the time asking when are we going to open,” he said. “This makes me really excited and hopeful we will succeed.”
The restaurant will be open from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m., seven days a week. It will be able to seat 52 people.
