While many NJ diners are folding, this one is forming a chain

It’s been the stuff of many articles, even ones I’ve written. The business model of the New Jersey diner is starting to die. Not one of those fast deaths you wish for your favorite uncle so they don’t suffer, but the slow, torturous kind that you wouldn’t wish on your worst enemy.

Read More: The Bendix Diner's return: A 1950s charm revival

Diners closing

According to an article in the Bergen Record, as many as 150 diners closed over the past decade. Certainly, more are closing than opening. It reads like a memorial to victims.

The Penn Queen

The Cherry Hill Diner

The Country Club Diner

The Galaxy

Marlton Diner

The Bendix

Many, many more.

Times and tastes of younger people have changed. The customer base of diners is graying, and many in the industry say it isn’t sustainable. Profit margins for restaurants in general are tighter than most of the public realizes, and the hours it takes to run a diner can break a person.

Yet, with so much going against diners in general in New Jersey, there’s one in New Jersey that keeps expanding and is becoming basically a chain.

Pandora Diner

It already has locations in Cinnaminson, Hainesport, Springfield, and Williamstown. Now they are adding another. The ownership group is now taking over Vorhees Diner on Route 73 in Voorhees Township. The Vorhees Diner closed in the summer of 2024. After a year and a half, it’s expected to open as a Pandora in the next few weeks.