The Empire Diner
As far as I can tell, the Empire’s original principal owner was Archie Kyriacou, an immigrant from Cyprus who actively promoted his business. In the late 1940s, when Hicksville resumed organized community sports after a hiatus during the war years, the Empire Diner softball team was often the best in the league. The diner earned praise from the Hicksville Sportsmen’s Club for its ongoing support.
Kyriacou decided to upgrade his Empire in 1951. That May, newspapers announced that the diner would soon be getting a new “wagon” (i.e., pre-fabricated diner), which would be set down between Jerusalem Avenue and Broadway. The Triangle had seen many changes since that old Aero-View illustration was drawn in 1925. The big house at 12 Broadway was gone, as was the adjacent house at 20 Broadway. A Sunoco gas station now occupied the “point” at John Street, and behind it was a vacant lot. Come September, a new Empire Diner would open on that lot.
I remember seeing the Empire at that location in 1954 or 1955, and I thought it looked great (of course, I was only about 8 at the time). Although I think that Archie Kyriacou would have agreed with me, I also think that he was more concerned with its location than its looks. The new Empire offered easy access and parking to motorists. It was visible at a distance to drivers coming south on North Broadway. Just to make certain they noticed it, the illuminated words EMPIRE DINER “hovered” above the gas station, supported by a thin, graceful framework that was firmly planted on the diner property (see below). The Empire’s future at its new address seemed guaranteed.
A reminder: If you click on this ad from the 1957 Comet Yearbook, a larger image will pop open on your screen. Note the Hicksville Professional Building in the background, across Broadway and to the south of the diner. Immediately behind the diner is 24 Broadway, an older house by then subdivided into multiple living quarters.
