New Jersey diners we said goodbye to in 2025

I’ve certainly written about it before. The slow shift our culture seems to be making away from diners in a state known as the diner capital of the world.

Read More: Miss America Diner closes after 85 years. End of an era?

In recent years, some very famous ones closed.

The Penn Queen. The Cherry Hill Diner. The Country Club Diner. The Galaxy. Marlton Diner. The Bendix.

Running a restaurant requires very long days. Diners were traditionally family-owned businesses, and as more young people started going to college than in the past, their career pursuits led them away from the grueling hours of keeping a family business going to skilled jobs that offered a better life-work balance.

Another thing working against diners is the graying of their customer base. It’s too heavy on the older end, and simply through attrition, fewer fans will be left to continue to have diners thrive.

There are three recent examples from the calendar year we just turned a page on.

The Collingswood Diner

Closed in August after being around since 1974. They lasted over half a century. What’s replacing it? Just like The Galaxy Diner in Rahway that closed during the pandemic and never came back, it’s being taken over by a marijuana dispensary.

Miss America Diner

Holding court even longer was Miss America Diner in Jersey City. Opened in 1940, they served their last dish on November 3. After 85 years, it’s becoming an Italian deli.

A relative rookie in Jersey’s diner scene, the Americana Diner in West Orange, closed abruptly in March after only 12 years. No word was given for the shuttering.

Will 2026 take down even more? Stay tuned, as they say.