VOORHEESVILLE — A village institution quietly closed its doors for the final time on Sunday, Dec. 3.

“I’m sorry to say today was the last day the diner will be in operation! We did not have enough business to keep us going!! Thank you all!” said a posting on the Voorheesville Diner’s Facebook page.

“It was there a long time,” said Mayor Robert Conway. “Years ago, people would be waiting in line to get in.

“It was a very popular spot — yes, it definitely was an institution in the village,” he said.  

The small building, at 39 Voorheesville Ave., stands right next to the railroad tracks.

“My daughter lives a block and a half from the diner and, since my granddaughter was born seven years ago, we got into the habit of going over there for breakfast, probably three days a week, for all these years,” said Russ Pokorny.

On Tuesdays, Glenn Durban and a group from his church would go to the diner for elevated conversation.

“We solved all of the world’s problems, but we forgot them on the way home,” quipped Durban, who is 100 years old.

It was a meeting place, and certain groups had standing reservations or meeting times, said Conway. “Always a friendly atmosphere when you went in.”

For Pokorny, and assuredly, for many others it became more than a diner.

“It was a mainstay of our life — being able to go to that diner and visit with the people who came in,” Pokorny said.

“We’ve had 20 to 30 acquaintances we’ve made at the diner,” he said. “You go down there not just to eat but to see all these people, and of course Mary, John, and Sue.” Pokorny was referring to the waitress, and to owners Mary and John Flansburg, who could not be reached for comment.

It was a real family deal, Pokorny said. “All of these people who came in — we sort of became a family.”

“It’s something all of us will really miss,” he said.

What’s next?

“They probably just got a little worn out,” said Pokorny. He was speaking from his own experience as a former owner of the Knox Country Store. “It takes a lot of energy to get people to come to a small-town venue.”

“I think if somebody else went in there with new energy, they could bring it to life. I still think it’s a real possibility to make it work,” he said.

New Scotland’s assessment roll lists the property’s full-market value at $110,900.

Conway said that one of the things that came out when the village did community outreach for its comprehensive plan, unveiled last week, was that almost all people’s wish lists contained some type of restaurant.

Smith’s Tavern, in the heart of Voorheesville, closed this year, having sold to Stewart’s Shops. Meaning there is no longer a restaurant in Voorheesville.

“I’m pretty confident that we will see something in the near future,” Conway said. “It’s something that the community desires and supports.”

Conway said the village can do things to make itself more desirable or appealing for somebody who is looking to open a restaurant.  

“We can certainly make the streetscape more appealing; we can improve the village amenities,” he said.  

“On Main Street in the village, we have a sewer study that looks at extending the sewer system,” Conway said.  

Currently, the village doesn’t have public sewer going to Main Street businesses, they each have their own septic system, which can be limiting and not conducive to any type of restaurant.

“If we move ahead with that [installing sewers], that would certainly enticing to somebody who is going to open up a restaurant,” Conway said.