The Catskills: Manhattan’s Storage Shed

The Chelsea diner slated to become a “classy restaurant in a retro location” is now a dilapidated eyesore in a retro location:

An old-school Hell’s Kitchen diner saved from the wrecking ball last year by a promise of relocation, now sits deserted in the Catskills.
It has no operator, customers or clear future.

The Munson Diner, opened in the early 1950s and shuttered in the summer of 2004, moved to upstate Liberty in May 2005. This delighted its owner, a neighbor who wanted to expand, and preservationists.

Its grand reopening was scheduled for this summer.

The relocation was supposed to kick-start Liberty, which has been in a slump since Borscht Belt spots such as Singer’s Deli and Grossinger’s resort closed in the 1980s.

The diner, a famed Andy Warhol haunt and backdrop for episodes of “Law & Order” and “Seinfeld,” sits empty off the main street in Liberty.

The new owner has yet to find an operator, though he said he’s fielded offers from over 20 interested restaurateurs — and two jailhouse inmates.

Construction crews and drilling teams, in the midst of a massive street reconstruction project, surround the forlorn diner.

“Half of the road is ripped up [and] that makes it hard to see the vision,” said Heinrich Strauch, executive director of the Liberty Community Development Corp.

Owner Jeremy Gorelick says, “I can’t tell you how frustrating it’s been that it hasn’t opened on schedule.”

Backstory: A Classy Restaurant in a Retro Location.