Ike Ketzer, 2012. Clearly violating the no shirt, no service rule.

When our boys were toddlers, there were few restaurants that would happily tolerate the hard wake of egg yolk, ketchup and jelly we would leave from entrance to exit when we visited. Our oldest was prone to tantrums and the other was simply bombastic in his zeal for food – even though he freely distributed most of it anywhere but into his mouth. We had them late in life and were woefully unprepared for the moxie required to get them through each day. Even the most basic act of parenting young boys – preventing them from accidentally killing themselves, essentially – was exhausting.

John “Johnny B” Behiri, July 2020

Mercifully, there was Johnny B’s Glenmont Diner.  John Behiri’s Mid-Century roadside eatery is hard to miss on the 9W corridor into Bethlehem from Albany’s South End, where it has stood since 1962.  There, we were welcomed by the owner and his family with huge smiles, open arms and lots of chocolate-chip pancakes.  He’d scoop up the lads and let them grab his nose as he bounced them on his knee, demanding they tell him everything.  It was like Christmas every weekend.  Waitresses laughed and swooned and coddled, making sure there were cupcakes for every birthday, and John’s father Nick would always be there with lollipops at checkout.  Best of all was Johnny’s golden rule of “No crying at Johnny B’s,” which was, to our amazement, steadfastly obeyed.

These memories are still fresh in mind but suddenly became bittersweet this spring, when Behiri announced that Johnny B’s would be closing its doors for good.  The COVID-19 pandemic hit many local businesses hard, and the popular diner was no exception.

“We had some very costly, unforeseen expenses in 2019, and we were only serving breakfast and lunch with 12 tables, six days a week,” Behiri explained.  “Being forced to close during the COVID outbreak was just the final nail in the coffin, so it’s time for a new chapter. I’m so thankful to my family, staff and all the friends we made along the way. Almost 16 years.”

For us, Behiri’s decision to sell the diner hurt even more because we loved how he honored the diner’s legacy, and his passion for keeping it alive into the 21st Century was obvious, from the vinyl 45s on the walls to his keen interest in the history of the place.  He was always glad to share his knowledge of the diner’s humble beginnings.

Bassett Diner No. 2, opposite side of Route 9W, Corning Hill

“The first diner was actually on the other side of (Route 9W) and was called Bassett Diner, one of two owned by the Vaughn family,” Beheri said.  “It was one of two in the area and opened around 1950.”

Indeed, in May 1949, John and Marjorie Vaughn formed a corporation to operate “a diner at 80 Bassett Street in South Albany” (which was formerly one of several Miss Albany diners in city proper) and “open a new diner on Route 9W, near Corning Hill, town of Bethlehem,” according to a Times Union article announcing the deal. The earliest mention in local papers comes in February 1957, when the Albany County DA raided “Bassett Diner No. 2 in Glenmont” and removed its pinball machine as part of a county-wide raid because children were “playing the machine for prizes.”

Miss Glenmont, 1950s. prior to purchase of Silk City dining car.

It is not clear when the diner was relocated across 9W to its present location next to Hannay Lane, but sometime before 1961 the site was prepared, and the business renamed Miss Glenmont Diner. That was the year new owner Dick Clark from Selkirk purchased a Silk City dining car from the Paterson Vehicle Company in New Jersey, and its iconic stainless-steel façade was a beacon to travelers heading both north into the city and southbound toward Bethlehem Center and beyond.  Only about 1,500 Silk City diners were built over a 40-year span until 1966, and today less than 100 remain.  Most of these can be found in New York, Pennsylvania and New Jersey, but others are as far-flung as France and the Netherlands.

The first “Silk City” Miss Glenmont, 1961. Prefabricated and hand-delivered to the current JOhnny B’s location near Hannay Lane.

Unfortunately, that dining car was destroyed by a fire in its first year of service.  It was a massive blaze, started by a broken gas valve, and 50 firefighters from Elsmere, South Bethlehem, Glenmont, Selkirk and Delmar companies responded to put it out.  While the damage was estimated at $125,000 (about $1 million in today’s dollars), Clark was up and running in March 1962 with Silk City Diner #3671, a near-replica of the former that he operated as a 24-hour establishment for 30 years.  This is the structure that remains at roadside today. The all-night format served Clark well in an era before convenience stores, when there weren’t as many dining options and people were generally less mobile.

Second, near-identical Silk City replacement of Miss Glenmont in Spring 1962.

Many a longtime Bethlehem resident speak fondly of those times. Dale Hilchie, whose father Alan owned Hilchie’s Terminal Hardware at Four Corners for many years, recalls going there regularly in the 1970s, during early morning hours after seeing bands or being out with friends on weekends. “I always got a cheese omelet with home fries,” she said. “Breakfast of champions at 4 AM!”

Original Miss Glenmont owner Dick Clark, date unknown.

Well-known area musician Rick Bedrosian – whose NYC food tours are also the stuff of local legend – would frequent Miss Glenmont in the wee hours, after gigs with his band.  “We were usually at least a couple sheets to the wind and I was the polite wise guy, ordering, ‘two farm fresh eggs any style’ because that’s exactly how they were described on the menu,” he recalled. “Hilarity often ensued. The food wasn’t gourmet, but they were always open!”

Similar view, July 2020

In 1992, Milton Pappas took over the establishment and ran it as Uncle Milty’s Diner until 2004, when Behiri took over without closing for a single day.  “On November 16, 2004 we became Johnny B’s Glenmont Diner,” Behiri said.  “The day before, it was still Uncle Milty’s.”

Over time, upgrades were made – custom-built booths installed, countertops and tables resurfaced – but to see the diner both inside and out today is to see it in the 1960s.  All that stainless steel, the Mid-Century aesthetics, the reassuring, Rockwellian row of Art Deco counter stools. Beheri’s family adopted anyone who ventured in as one of their own.

Bedrosian never stopped venturing in, and regularly brought his elderly dad along. “My Armenian father and the restaurant’s Greek patriarch (Nick) hit it off right away.” He explains. “He said, ‘Do you know what the Greeks and the Armenians have in common?’  ‘Democracy?’ my dad asked, and he said, ‘No. We both hate the Turks!’”

Elvis and M&Ms. July 2020.

Moving forward, however, Bethlehem’s post-game and after-church crowds will look elsewhere for that throwback vibe (and my son, for those chocolate chip pancakes).  While it is no secret that several prospectors have long coveted the Johnny B’s footprint, Behiri explained that he wasn’t ready to disclose the buyer’s identity.  He did however confide that a separate offer is on the table, from a different buyer, for the vintage diner itself.

“Let’s just say we’re working out the details,” Behiri said with a smile. “If things go as planned, a part of Johnny B’s will live on, even with a new name, in a new place.”