40 jobless after fire destroys S.J. diner

Christina Peraza and her husband, Milton, lost their jobs Friday when an early morning, two-alarm blaze tore through the Newton Diner in Haddon Township.

She had worked as a waitress at the dinner on White Horse Pike for five years and her husband had worked there as a cook.

"This doesn't feel real," Peraza, 28 of Barrington, who raises a 10-year-old stepson with her husband, 34.

The fire destroyed the popular neighborhood eatery, which had been called the Oaklyn Diner for decades. Employees said about 40 people will be out of work.

The blaze started in the rear of the restaurant about 4:45 a.m., said Camden County Deputy Fire Marshal Paul Sandrock. The fire was brought under control at 7:14 a.m. and firefighters remained at the scene until Friday afternoon hosing down hot spots. The cause of the fire is under investigation.

A Collingswood firefighter was treated for a minor injury and released, Sandrock said.

The diner was closed and scheduled to open at 6 a.m. when the fire broke out. Employees identified the owners at Eleanor and Dennis Hondros. The couple owned the diner in the Oaklyn section for about four years, workers said.

The couple hired Phyllis Dietrich, who said she had been unemployed for two years, as a hostess and cashier three months ago. It was "the perfect job, the perfect bosses, the perfect coworkers," said Dietrich, 63.

The Hondroses bused tables, remembered birthdays and anniversaries. Customers doled extra dollars on top of tips around the holiday season, employees said.

"So many lives are devastated by this," said Tina Brown, 65, a longtime waitress.

Contact staff writer Darran Simon at 856-779-3829 or dsimon@phillynews.com.