With an average lifespan of five years, the restaurant business is one of the toughest industries in the country — but you wouldn’t know that from stepping into the Laurel Diner, which was added to the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation’s Historic Business Preservation Registry on Dec. 5.

The registry, established in 2020, includes over 230 historic businesses statewide, recognized for their longevity and their impact on their communities.

State Sen. Patricia Canzoneri-Fitzpatrick nominated the Laurel, which was founded in 1932, earlier this year in recognition of its cultural value and its enduring presence in Long Beach.

“The Laurel Diner represents the heart of the Long Beach community — family-run, deeply rooted, and cherished by generations of residents,” Canzoneri-Fitzpatrick stated in a news release. “I’m proud to honor their history, their resilience, and the important role they continue to play in our district.”

The Laurel, on the corner of West Park Avenue and Laurelton Boulevard, is currently owned by Andrew Loucas, a Bronx native turned Rockville Centre resident — but running a diner was something Loucas’s family hadn’t foreseen as their future.

 

Andrew’s father, Chris Loucas, got into the diner business in the 1970s, after emigrating to the United States from his native Cyprus. But Chris wanted Andrew and his brother, Peter, to go to college so they wouldn’t have to join the business.

 

“My brother and I grew up in the business,” Andrew said. “But our father never intended that for us.”

Nonetheless, Andrew, who earned a degree in mechanical engineering, and Peter, a certified public accountant, joined their father in the family business in 2006, when they bought the Laurel.

At the beginning, the hour-plus commute for Andrew, from his home in the Bronx. was the greatest challenge. When it snowed during the workday and the roads were bad, he’d sleep at the diner.

In the years since, the challenges of operating a diner — the cost of goods and the competitive nature of the industry — have proven far more problematic than travel times. Meat prices this year have “skyrocketed” according to Loucas, and the dramatic increase in the price of eggs beginning in 2022, initially driven by an outbreak of avian flu, has driven up costs as well.

“You overcome one thing, another trial follows,” he said.

Loucas said that while the summer is fun and the staff “looks forward to the action and hustle,” that’s not the status quo year-round. The winter months, other stretches of bad weather and the occasional natural disaster have forced the Loucases to adapt. 

When Superstorm Sandy tore through Long Beach in late October 2012, the Laurel remained open, thanks to a generator. In 2020, the business was also tested by the pandemic, when most of the staff had to be let go.

These days, Loucas’s commitment to keeping the Laurel bus is motivated in part by the obligation he has to his employees, whose families depend on them. “As an owner, your staff depends on you,” he said. “You have to get up and put 110 percent in.”

Victor Velasquez, a waiter at the Laurel for over 15 years, is a respected member of the staff. “Working at the Laurel is like family, from the usual customers to my coworkers,” Velasquez said. “Everyone wants what’s best for you.”

And Loucas and his staff are accustomed to working hard. “This place has been around since the Great Depression,” he said. “We’re not going to let things like egg prices and bad weather stop us.”

The mom-and-pop diner has always fostered community, serving as a meeting place for families, business associates, teammates, local school alumni, lifeguards and old friends. Loucas said that the staff is always overhearing stories of diners’ nights out or reminiscences of years past.

The Laurel has enjoyed its fair share of publicity. Thanks to appearances in two episodes of the Netflix series “You” in 2024 and a Cosmopolitan photo shoot featuring actor Taylor Lautner and his wife, Taylor Dome, in October, the eatery is known far beyond Long Beach.

Over the course of 93 years, the Laurel has undergone many changes and survived many renovations. Originally called the Laurel Luncheonette, it was an extension of the Laurel Theater — space now occupied by CVS.

“The Laurel will always be the Laurel, so long as we’re here,” Loucas said. “Being open for more than 90 years is a testament to our food and the strong ties we’ve built with this community. This recognition belongs not only to the Laurel Diner, but to Long Beach and the people of this community.”