The Gotham City Diner on Bergen Boulevard in Ridgefield will close on March 1, owner George Matthews confirmed in a phone call with Daily Voice.
Matthews said the business has been sold to a new company that plans to open a Mediterranean-style restaurant at the site. He said customers have called him crying over the news.
"Generations have grown up here. I understand their feeling,” he said. "For me, I’m a little olde,r I’m just trying to slow down and retire."
Matthews said his family’s diner roots in New Jersey date back decades. His father and brothers have been in the business since the 1960s. They started in Newark in a small luncheonette and they went to Bergenfield in 1967 with Matthews Diner. In 1975, they brought Matthews Diner to Waldwick, "and that was the first generation in the business," Matthews said.
Matthews opened Waterfalls Diner in Ridgefield in 1992, changing the name to Gotham City in 2002. The Fair Lawn location opened in 2008 and will remain in operation.
Matthews said he hopes longtime Ridgefield customers will continue visiting the Fair Lawn diner or order delivery.
“We’re trying to direct our customers from the Ridgefield area to here, whether they want to come out to see us or we can deliver to them," he said, "we want to service our customers as much as we can."
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