ort Henry Diner Off ers VarietyP

Port Henry Diner The Port Henry Diner has been around, in one form or another, since 1933. Port Henry Offers Variety

Company, it was purchased by Wilford and Grace Tario of Port Henry and moved to its present location off Main Street in 1933. A dining room with 28 seats was built in 1995 by Linda Mullin, when she and Hank D’Arcy owned the restaurant.

After Mullin, the diner passed through several hands until Foote acquired it. By Lohr McKinstry

Port Henry Diner owner/chef Donald Foote prepares to remove food from an oven at the downtown cafe. SUNDAY MORNING MEAL

He offers a diverse menu that includes traditional American choices along with Mexican food.

“I took it in 2012 – there’s a plaque on the wall that says that,” he said. “Things are going well. It keeps getting busier and busier as time goes on. We don’t have too much room for many more patrons.”

Some Sunday mornings, it’s standing room only at the Port Henry Diner, as various church services let out and worshipers head for the popular dining car.

Walking into Foote’s Port Henry Diner feels like home to a lot of the historic downtown eatery’s customers.

Owner and chef Donald Foote often greets customers by name and servers are quick to pour coffee and find out what the news of the day might be. Waitstaff member Aleysha delivers breakfasts at the Port Henry Diner.

MISS PORT HENRY DINER

18 The restaurant got its start in 1933 as the Miss Port Henry Diner, a name intended to make women feel as comfortable in the place as the men who overwhelmingly patronized diners back then.

Donald Foote bought it in June 2012, and the Ward Dining Car it’s in is one of the last of its kind in the country. Built in 1927 by the Ward & Dickinson Dining Car ‘WHAT PEOPLE WANT’

“We let people design their own omelets,” Foote said. “It’s what people want to do. We had quesadillas. It makes it slower, because they take up a lot of space on the grill.” Some patrons don’t like onions, he said, and want to make sure none are in their meals.

“My uncle used to say every recipe should start with an onion. That’s not always true for some of our customers.”

VOLUNTEER OWNER

The diner just reopened January 2nd after being closed for most of December, while Foote volunteered in a rescue mission on Abaco Island in the Bahamas.

“I was working on (rebuilding) two schools, and also for the World Central Kitchen,” he said. “I’d go back again, definitely. I hope to go next year. I want to do something to help.”

World Central Kitchen is a not-for-profit nongovernmental organization devoted to providing meals in the wake of natural disasters, like the hurricane that struck the Bahamas in September 2019.

North Country Foodie • February 2020 Foote was unloading heavy cases of food supplies from a truck on Abaco when he injured his shoulder.

“I tore my rotator cuff ,” he said. “Th e doctor said I just have to wait for it to heal. It’s getting better. I can lift my arm now.”

CHANGING MENU When he returned, Foote made some menu changes. “I lose an item or so and add something diff erent,” he said. “I’m always changing it to see what people want. We have a breakfast burrito now.”

Aft er eight years of running the diner, Foote has become a local celebrity.

“It appears that way,” he mused. “I had a friend who said he was the ‘glorious restaurant owner’ of Lake Placid. Now I’m the glorious restaurant owner of Port Henry.” FEEL AT HOME “Don is great to work for,” she said. “And we defi nitely have our customers with character. I enjoy working there.” GEORGE’S REBIRTH Foote recently acquired the former George’s II Italian Restaurant on Broad Street, which has been closed for two years.

“We’ll probably open George’s next winter,” he said. “I’m working on it now. Th at’s a project. It’s going to be very diff erent when you come in. We’ll have pizza, local brew and wine, just dinners. We need a dinner place in Port Henry.”

Th e hours will probably be 5 to 9 p.m., subject to change, Foote said.

“It needs some work. Roof ’s leaking, there’s some interior damage. Th e dining room will be expanded, with a vaulted ceiling, and from part of the dish room and the offi ce. It (the interior) will be opened up to the kitchen. You’ll be able to watch your pizza being made.” MAKES WORK FUN Running a busy diner is a lot of work, and Foote is the chief cook as well as the owner, but he said he doesn’t mind. “It sort of gets in your blood. I love it. We have a great staff and great customers. Th ey make coming to work fun.” “ We have a great staff and great customers. Th ey make coming to work fun. - Donald Foote

Foote’s has become a community destination, Moriah Chamber of Commerce Events Coordinator Cathy Sprague said.

“Don makes you feel like you’re at home,” she said. “He’s very personable. It’s good food with reasonable prices.”

Many people come in daily, especially for breakfast, and Foote chats with them between orders.

“We have our regular customers,” he said. “It’s like a clubhouse, that place. Th ere are people we see every day. A whole other crew comes in at the counter.”

1933 BOOTH

Building contractors oft en sit at the counter, on their way to and from projects in the area, mixing with town residents and visitors to the community.

Th e front counter is a 24-foot long marble slab installed in 1995, along with marble tabletops for the two booths near the counter. One of the booths is the original from 1933.

Keishya Perkins has been on the diner’s waitstaff for a couple years. Foote’s Port Henry Diner is located in a former dining car that began life as a portable lunch wagon in 1927. The dining room at right was added in 1995.

If You Go Th e diner at 5 St. Patrick’s Place is open Th ursday through Sunday now, 7 a.m. to 2 p.m., but on Mother’s Day weekend will go to summer hours and add Wednesday as an extra day. Call at (518) 546-7600.