METHUEN - It's the place where Al Silva made a career and met his wife. But soon, the small 77-year-old building that has been home to Al's Family Diner since 1993 will be torn down.
While the diner, tucked away off Swan Street behind Korbani's Bakery, won't be there much longer, Silva will still be cooking his popular egg sandwiches and homefries. Al's Family Diner is moving to 500 Merrimack St. at the Whirlaway driving range.
The diner will close Oct. 14. Then the family will move the business 3 miles away and the new Al's Family Diner will open Nov. 5.
Silva took over the business - it had been a diner with numerous owners for decades - at age 21.
"I had never flipped an egg," he said.
Fourteen years later, Silva runs the grill while his wife, Kelly, waits tables. The two never miss a beat. They know their customers' names and how they take their coffee.
When he started, Silva said, he could leave early on Sundays to play football because the diner was empty. Today, an hour wait for a table is typical on the weekends.
Alan Tisbert comes to Al's Family Diner every day.
"It's like the old way," Tisbert said. "Al's good. You get to talk to him. The food is always good. I'm happy for them (for the new place). I'll still go every day."
Tisbert takes three of Silva's famous egg sandwiches to go every day for the guys who work for his masonry business.
"You can't do an egg like Al does," said Steve Leone, a Lawrence native who now lives in Salem, N.H., and always gets dropped eggs and toast.
"I've been all over this area. I've tried them all and I settled here," he added. "I'm sorry to see Al move, but we'll have to adapt."
A family affair
Silva was at a wedding when he met someone looking to lease a restaurant. His parents ran a hotel and a restaurant in Northern New Hampshire and he was eager to run his own place, though he was only 21.
Three years after he started running the diner, a woman walked in to apply to be a waitress.
"I didn't have any waitressing experience," Kelly Silva said. "I lied on my application. I was just looking for a job."
"I didn't read the application," Al Silva jokes.
The two started dating and were married in 2002. They have a 4-year-old daughter, Shae.
While the diner, tucked away off Swan Street behind Korbani's Bakery, won't be there much longer, Silva will still be cooking his popular egg sandwiches and homefries. Al's Family Diner is moving to 500 Merrimack St. at the Whirlaway driving range.
The diner will close Oct. 14. Then the family will move the business 3 miles away and the new Al's Family Diner will open Nov. 5.
Silva took over the business - it had been a diner with numerous owners for decades - at age 21.
"I had never flipped an egg," he said.
Fourteen years later, Silva runs the grill while his wife, Kelly, waits tables. The two never miss a beat. They know their customers' names and how they take their coffee.
When he started, Silva said, he could leave early on Sundays to play football because the diner was empty. Today, an hour wait for a table is typical on the weekends.
Alan Tisbert comes to Al's Family Diner every day.
"It's like the old way," Tisbert said. "Al's good. You get to talk to him. The food is always good. I'm happy for them (for the new place). I'll still go every day."
Tisbert takes three of Silva's famous egg sandwiches to go every day for the guys who work for his masonry business.
"You can't do an egg like Al does," said Steve Leone, a Lawrence native who now lives in Salem, N.H., and always gets dropped eggs and toast.
"I've been all over this area. I've tried them all and I settled here," he added. "I'm sorry to see Al move, but we'll have to adapt."
A family affair
Silva was at a wedding when he met someone looking to lease a restaurant. His parents ran a hotel and a restaurant in Northern New Hampshire and he was eager to run his own place, though he was only 21.
Three years after he started running the diner, a woman walked in to apply to be a waitress.
"I didn't have any waitressing experience," Kelly Silva said. "I lied on my application. I was just looking for a job."
"I didn't read the application," Al Silva jokes.
The two started dating and were married in 2002. They have a 4-year-old daughter, Shae.
"That's the stuff we've been talking about lately - how I met her here, growing up in this place, and seeing customers' kids growing up here," Al Silva said. "I couldn't do it without her."
Customers love the couple's romantic story.
"Al and Kelly met here and fell in love and got married. It's great," Tisbert said.
Pat Jankowski said Al and Kelly are like family.
"I come here every weekend. It's like home," said Jankowski of Methuen. "I'm glad they're expanding. It's a great diner. They make you feel comfortable."
The diner is being torn down to make room for an expansion of Korbani's Bakery. Nemer Korbani owns the diner and has been planning for years to build a new bakery and expand his store, which sells homemade breads, meat pies and Lebanese specialties.
Silva said Korbani has been a great landlord and he is looking forward to moving to the new space at Whirlaway.
The new Al's Family Dinner will be double the size, with a bar that seats 22 and big, comfy booths. The diner will have more parking and a visible location on Route 110. Eventually, Silva hopes to start serving lunch or hosting functions.
Still, he plans to continue the diner's tradition of a low-key family atmosphere.
"We want people to feel like family when they come in here," Silva said.
One thing customers will miss in the new place is Silva. Instead of cooking right behind the counter, where customers watch him make omelettes, eggs and bacon with precision, Silva will be out of sight in the kitchen.
He'll be sure to come out to greet his customers, though, he said.
Joe Sousa and Bob Cory, eating breakfast last week, aren't sure what they are going to do when Al's moves across town.
"We've been coming here for 22 years and these are the best owners," said Joe Sousa, who walks to Al's from his Lawrence home. "We'll go sometimes, but probably not all the time."
