New Paltz area residents and others who miss the College Diner — conveniently located close to Thruway Exit 18 and shuttered for more than a year — may be heartened to hear that there has been some movement toward reuse of the site, if not reopening of the restaurant. Rumors circulating in the community that a contract for sale of the building was pending have turned out to be a little behind the times: “It’s already been sold,” Justin Phillips, associate real estate broker at Century 21 Alliance, confirmed last week.
Unfortunately, more details about the purchasers’ intentions are not yet available. “There are new owners who have some plans, but I’m not at liberty to discuss that,” Phillips told the New Paltz Times. He said that more information might be forthcoming after the holidays, if the new owners approve of its release.
The College Diner and the 2.14-acre property on which it stands were previously owned by Joseph Tantillo, Jr., who inherited the building upon the death of his father about a decade ago. The building was leased and the restaurant operation managed for more than 40 years by the Vlamis family. Tantillo evicted Demetrios and Theodore Vlamis in November 2018, claiming that they were several months delinquent in their rent payments and not maintaining the business up to the high standards set by their brother Andreas since his death in 2014.
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