Disappearing diners in New York City

NEW YORK (WABC) -- You used to see them everywhere, but it seems more and more diners are disappearing from the five boroughs.

"It's sad," said Visilios Plakias, a diner manager.

Plakias can barely say the words. The beloved diner he manages is closing in less than a week. The Market Diner has sat on the edge of Hell's Kitchen at 43rd and 11th since 1962. From cabbies to cops, everyone was welcome.

"We expected probably this to happen but not soon. We thought were going to be here at least a few more years," Plakias said.

But the developer, already building across the street, wants to put up a multi-story property where the diner now sits, much to the disappointment of loyal customers.

"This is like my kitchen. Where else are you going to get a homemade meal, matzo ball soup?" said Joel Rosenberg, a regular customer.

The Market is not the only New York diner that's become a casualty of a shifting economy, including rising rents and food costs. Soup Burg on the Upper East Side and the El Greco diner in Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn closed their doors last year.

"Some change is not good," said Susan Maxwell, a regular customer.

Maxwell and Nancy York have been coming to the Market Diner since they were children.

"We had our communion here. We had our graduation party here. So, it's a little sad that it's closing," Maxwell said.

"We came with our parents when we were small, so I came in for a last meal," York said.