Emmaus Diner Will Reopen as East Penn Diner

Special to Lower Macungie Patch By Christina Cilento, Emmaus High School Senior

It may not look like anything more than a construction site now, but in a few months what used to be the Emmaus Diner will reopen under new owners as the brand-spankin’ new East Penn Diner.

As a second location of Queen City Diner -- whose first and currently only site is 1801 Lehigh St., Allentown -- the East Penn Diner will be open 24/7 to provide the entire East Penn community with eats from cheeseburgers to chops and everything in between. 

After nearly 17 years of being in business, Queen City Diner co-owners and brothers George and Odiseas Draklellis and their families decided they wanted to expand their successful business to another location. Emmaus proved to be the perfect spot -- it’s situated close to Queen City and it’s right in the middle of the community the families live in and love.

With the brothers’ children going to school in East Penn and working at the diner, this business is truly a family undertaking. George and Odiseas’s father owned a restaurant in the late 80’s where both boys worked as teenagers, so when they grew up it seemed natural to carry on the legacy. You might also suppose owning diners is part of their heritage -- George’s daughter Effe says: “I guess you can say it’s the Greek thing to do!”

The Draklellis family is excited for the opening of this new diner, hoping to keep true to the classic diner feel. They're prepared to build a home for not just the Emmaus community, but the entire East Penn area.

Unfortunately, we’ll have to wait a couple more months to experience all that’s in store for this restaurant. It’s anticipated to open by the end of January 2013, so make sure you leave some room after the holidays to give your taste buds a flavor of the East Penn Diner!

Chrissy Cilento, a senior at Emmaus High School, plans to study journalism in college. She is a periodic contributor to Patch.