Niki's Restaurant Closes After 38 Years as Neighborhood Diner

Sad. The friendly neighborhood greasy spoon Niki's Restaurant — which, like any good family-owned Greek diner, had its share of hardcore regulars — has closed after 38 years serving the Buckman/Central Eastside 'hoods.

In 2009, local food scribe Nancy Rommelmann described the restaurant as holdout among the dying breed of ol'-reliable diners "struggl[ing] to survive in a town gone mad for hipster hangouts" (Bunk Sandwiches happens to be right next door). In piece, then-waitress/manager Cathy Belesiotis, whose family opened the restaurant in 1972, described the difficulty of staying afloat as a local lunch counter: "Our customers are closing their businesses... Now our average customer? I couldn’t tell you; he doesn’t exist."

UPDATE: It appears a liquor license has been filed for the space under the trade name "Dig A Pony." (Thanks to WWeek's Ben W. for the assist.)
· Ode to a Greek Diner [Zester Daily]