Whiskey Down Diner Of Farmingdale Celebrates 1-Year Anniversary

FARMINGDALE, NY — Friday will be a special day for Alyson and John Kanaras, as the sister-brother duo behind Farmingdale's Whiskey Down Diner will celebrate their one-year business anniversary.

The siblings learned a lot in their first year as members of the Daler community, as they've had to not only adapt to the everyday demands of owning a restaurant but also a few months of a global pandemic that's rocked the food industry.

"There are a lot of emotions, especially at a time like this," John, 30, told Patch. "We’re incredibly proud, even though it’s only a year, and we have goals to be around a lot longer than that. Making it for a year in any business, let alone a restaurant is a difficult thing to do."

Last summer's opening marked the culmination of a two-year journey that included concept planning, menu development and construction. Alyson and John both agreed it was a long, but invaluable, learning experience. Frustration and bills were offset by a growing excitement towards their vision of the diner becoming reality.

"When you’re putting in a lot of your own savings and building up debt, it’s difficult, but it’s all worth it in the end, of course," John said. "That’s the way you have to look at it."

One year into business, and Whiskey Down Diner is rolling along. A quality over quantity-focused breakfast through dinner menu is complemented by creative cocktails and desserts rich enough to satisfy even the sweetest tooth. A year ago, Alyson said the hope was that the diner would offer a classic ambiance and be a satisfying experience for people of all ages.

Even with successful goals come lessons, and both siblings said the biggest one they learned is: You can't predict anything.

"You have to adjust and adapt," Alyson, 35, said. "We really learned to count on each other and work as a team. It’s the most important part of our success, I feel."

The unpredictability was amplified by the coronavirus outbreak, which has impacted Long Island businesses since mid-March when a New York State executive order prohibited in-store diningamong other things. The mandate forced the Kanarases to think on the fly. There was some concern over the diner's future at the start of the virus-fueled shut down, Alyson said. The eatery closed for nearly two weeks while ownership mulled over what its next move would be.

"[We closed] just to regroup and figure out what our plan was," she said. "It was very scary in the beginning. This is family business with family money put into it. We had no idea if everything we put into our business was going to be gone."

When the diner reopened, the business model saw a shift from primarily in-store service to curbside pick-up and delivery. Demands of the "new norm" had to be met, Alyson said, and the staff turned its focus to developing creative family meal packages for takeout. The usual menu is still available, of course.

Other than that of making adjustments, the Kanaras' key message was one of gratitude to the village and its residents for embracing them.

"Thank you," Alyson said. "We had a ton of support in the beginning, and everyone’s kept it...I’m really, really grateful for everything. We’re two young adults just trying to do our best every day here."

John echoed his sister's sentiment.

"We’ve gotten a lot of support and a lot of people who’ve said great things," he said. "They came and gave us whatever business and whatever help that they could. It means the world to us. We just hope we can keep delivering and turn this around."

Whiskey Down Diner was founded by not only the siblings, but also their father, Peter. While Peter, 67, is still involved with the Farmingdale restaurant, he recently took back ownership of Deer Park's Olympic Diner, which he owned for 40 years.

When deciding on a locale for their new diner, Farmingdale was selected over other communities due to the lively downtown and the growth it's seen, John said.

"We went through our first summer where we had our first Music On Mains — our first four big events, which were exhilarating, exhausting and awesome," John said. "We’ve gotten a lot of good support, and it’s a friendly neighborhood. We still have a ways to go, but we definitely feel as though the first year has gone as well as it can."

There's still a lot to learn, Alyson said.

"In a year, we’ve made a lot of regular customers, which is great. We look forward to learning more about the Farmingdale people and making our customers become friends and family."

Whiskey Down Diner can be found at 252 Main St., Farmingdale and reached at 516-927-8265. Food can also be ordered through delivery services Seamless, Door Dash, Grubhub and UberEats.