Broad Street Diner to be torn down, replaced by apartment building with a restaurant

The Broad Street Diner, now operating at Broad and Ellsworth Streets in South Philadelphia, is destined to be demolished in favor of a five-story apartment building and what is believed to be a new version of the neon-trimmed diner on the ground floor.

A zoning permit submitted to the city on Wednesday included plans for low-income housing and a green roof, open only to tenants, that will allow the developers, the Petrogiannis family, the ability to build 31 units instead of the 18 allowed under its current zoning. The apartments’ front door will be on Broad Street, while the restaurant’s entrance will be on Ellsworth Street.

The project, by Plato Studio, sits by the Broad Street Line stop and does not call for parking. Plans call for a small yard on the south side of the property, to the right of the front door.

It’s not clear when the diner, which was serving customers Friday, has a date with the wrecking ball. Employees directed inquiries to diner operator Michael Petrogiannis, who was in Greece and did not reply to messages seeking comment. Petrogiannis took over the long-shuttered diner in 2011.

Petrogiannis filed for a demolition permit in early July. He told The Inquirer at the time that he wanted to preserve the restaurant while building above it and had no intention of leasing it to another operator.

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At the time, Petrogiannis also filed a demolition permit to raze the nearby Melrose Diner at 15th Street and Snyder Avenue, which he said at the time he planned to rebuild with apartments above it, in a similar move.

But the Melrose has been closed since a kitchen fire later that month. In November, Petrogiannis told The Inquirer that repairs to the Melrose were pending and that he intended to reopen it.