Two lifelong friends reopen Muffins, a 1950s-style diner near King of Prussia

Business partners Steve Sicilia and Paul Salamy have been friends for 24 years, all the way back to Mrs. Smith’s class of 2-year-olds at the Good Shepherd Preschool in King of Prussia.

While seniors in Upper Merion High School, they bought a food truck and named it the Hedgehog Grill, running it during their summers after high school and during college. Then they bought a second truck. (Hedgehog? “We were just in a pinch for a name, honestly,” Salamy said. “Then our friend said something about a hedgehog and that kind of stuck.”)

Now, Sicilia and Salamy have added a brick-and-mortar restaurant, renovating the landmark Muffins, a luncheonette in nearby Bridgeport that closed in late 2019 after more than 40 years with the retirement of Tina and Brian Foley.

Salamy’s uncle bought the building in 2021.

They’ve maintained the ’50s diner look but brightened it up with plenty of white paint. “We tried to take out what they had and then redo it with newer and nicer stuff,” Salamy said. “They had red booths, but not the exact same red. It’s the same counter setup, same [black-and-white] checkered floor.”

They decided to keep the Muffins name to maintain the local lore. They even put out little dishes of mini-muffins as appetizers.

The menu builds on their Hedgehog Grill menu. So far, they said, breakfast has been busy, with lots of pancakes and eggs. There’s a rib-sticking breakfast sandwich of a cheesesteak blended scrambled eggs, with bacon or sausage and a side of hash browns. It’s served on a Conshohocken Bakery roll.

There’s also a lunch menu of sandwiches, plus a soda fountain.

Hours are being tweaked, but are now 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tuesday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. They are planning to offer occasional theme dinners.