Historic Hudson Valley Diner Listed For Sale After 40 Years

The owner of the Hudson Valley's most famous diner has decided to move on and has listed the historic restaurant for sale.

The future of several Hudson Valley diners has been up in the air over the past few years. After the Tabletalk Diner in Poughkeepsie closed for good during the pandemic, we learned that the New Windsor Coach was being put on the market after 30 years. Most recently, the Odyssey Diner on Route 9 in Wappingers Falls listed its business for sale. It's unclear why all of these diners have suddenly started to disappear from the Hudson Valley, but it has now turned into an unfortunate trend.

This week we learned the sad news that the Hudson Valley's most celebrated diner is now for sale after its owner has decided to leave the business. A listing for the Historic Village Diner in Red Hook appeared on the Houlahan Lawrence website announcing that the restaurant at 7550 North Broadway in Red Hook was officially for sale.

The Village Diner is the first diner to be placed on the National Register of Historic Places in New York State and the fourth in the country. Built in the 1920s by the Paterson Vehicle Company in New Jersey, the diner was moved several times before it finally landed in Red Hook in the 1950s.

For the past 40 years, the Historic Village Diner has been run by Sam and Arleen Harkins. Arleen, who is also the executive chef of the Village Diner, may look familiar. She appeared on an episode of Chopped back in 2017. The episode, titled Blue Plate Special, tasked contestants of the Food Network game show with turning random ingredients into blue plate specials.

Sadly, Arleen's husband Sam passed away in 2021 leaving the diner in the hands of his family. According to Arleen, the business just hasn't been the same without him.

Since the death of my husband the Diner is not the same for us (Missy and I). We need to move on and discover new things. That’s why after nearly 40 years at the Diner, we would like to give someone else the opportunity that the Diner has given to us! We have created a wonderful family within our place and it’s time for the next generation to do the same!

The Diner has been listed for $2.7 million and is currently being represented by Karen Volino from Houlihan Lawrence.