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It all started with an Easy Bake Oven Scott received for Christmas in 1970, despite the objections of his dad! He started "helping" in his aunt's restaurant which fueled his love of the food business and set the direction for the next 39 years of his life.
Scott attended Culinary Arts School in Quincy MA and at the age of 16 became the weekend manager/cook of a little diner in North Quincy, MA (which is still open today). In 1991, Scott and Kim bought our first restaurant in California. This restaurant grew into a successful chain of diners. We owned and operated these diners for 17 years while raising our four children and becoming very active community members.
In 2003, we decided to relocate to upstate New York, opting for a quieter and simpler lifestyle. We quietly determined that we were never going to do another restaurant. Every time we drove through Herkimer, the Empire Diner was under new management/new ownership, but the diner always stayed in its sad state of disrepair. Finally, when the Empire Diner became available for purchase in 2006, we knew it was calling our name. Scott immediately went to work doing what he does best and the results are evident. His first step was to completely gut the kitchen and start all over. Please take a moment to look around the walls and see some of Herkimer's history including this famous old diner.
Scott has become a Certified ServSafe Instructor and Registered ServSafe Proctor for the National Restaurant Association. This prestigious designation allows Scott to teach food safety, proper food handling and sanitary practices and to administer the extensive ServSafe examination. Further, Scott has long been sought as a consultant/mentor for his vast restaurant knowledge and expertise. Now we are pleased to offer these services to others. He is now also a published author and writes a food column entitled "Cooking Class." Check out our other website at www.DinerWizard.com.
Scott and Kim (and their crews) broke the World Record Omelet twice while still in California, in 1993 and in 2002. On July 10, 2010, we did it AGAIN right here in Herkimer and became a three time world record holder. We created the World's Largest Omelet Pool Table an astonishing 2,2128.75 square feet in the street right in front of the diner. It was an exciting event with lots of community support and participation. Photos are on display all over the diner. |
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Thanks for visiting our site!
So much going on in the world of our diner.
We are very humbled to have been voted Best Burger for Region 4 of the New York State Best Burger contest. Final judging of all 10 regions will be held by a panel of judges the last week of April and the first week of May. You can see more information on this great news video! http://cnyhomepage.com/fulltext-news?nxd_id=149262
Scott is the host of CNY Flavor, the only cooking show about Central New York, airing on Time Warner Cable Channel CW 11 every Tuesday at 1:30. Episodes are also available on the website www.CNYFlavor.com as well as recipes and some great Quick Tips..
We really appreciate when our customers take the time to leave us a review. Lets us how happy folks are. Thanks so much!
Check this out... We have NEW HOURS! Wednesday through Saturday nights we are open for dinner until 9:00 p.m. Sunday, Monday and Tuesday we close at our normal time, 4:00 p.m. Of course we open every day at 5:00 a.m.
We are ServSafe certified and even have a ServSafe Instructor/Proctor on our staff!
Be sure to stop in and see the Diner Wizard! He is amazing and creates some awesome daily specials. He has written 8 cookbooks which are available in the diner, at his website (www.dinerwizard.com) as well as amazon.com and google.com.
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