Forest Hills Diner Closes Due To Coronavirus Pandemic

FOREST HILLS, QUEENS — New ownership and a benevolent landlord weren't enough to rescue Forest Hills Diner on Austin Street from joining the thousands of small businesses shuttering across the city due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The diner at 68-60 Austin St. closed Friday after 10 years in business, according to a sign posted on its front door.

Adriana Morote, who runs the neighboring restaurant Amar Peruvian Kitchen, told Patch she took over the diner about a month ago, after the previous owner called it quits during the pandemic and the landlord offered her the diner.

Business was so slow that soon she realized she had to choose between the two eateries, Morote said in a phone interview: She is making $200 a day off takeout and delivery orders — a far cry from the $1,000 daily profit she needs to afford her $10,000 monthly rent and thousands of dollars in additional costs.

Plus, she said, her application for a federal Paycheck Protection Program loan had been rejected.

So, she closed the diner but managed to find jobs for its workers.

"I don’t want to risk both," Morote said. "The only thing I could do is give jobs to the people that used to work there and try to help them as much as I can.”

Morote previously worked at Biu Bella on Queens Boulevard and co-founded the now-closed Ayahuasca Express Peruvian Cuisine, also at 68-60 Austin St.

Asked how Forest Hills residents can help, Morote said what matters most is that the many immigrants who work in the restaurant industry find ways to support each other.

“If we don’t support each other, how can you live?” she said.