When Costa Damaskos moved to New York City from Australia a decade ago, it was his first exposure to the city’s Greek-owned luncheonettes and diners. So when many closed during the pandemic, he and his business partner, Jake Marsiglia, saw an opportunity to preserve an element of local history. At Baby Blues Luncheonette, they serve American classics with a Greek twist, like the HLT sandwich, a play on the BLT that is made with grilled halloumi. The cheese receives a hit of fresh lemon juice before it’s added, along with garlic aioli, crisp arugula tossed in a Greek salad dressing, slices of red onion and juicy heirloom tomatoes. It’s served between two slices of Pullman bread toasted with mayo.

CHRISTINA MORALES

It’s no secret that New York City is running low on old-school diners; they were vanishing even before the pandemic. From 2014 to early 2019, 15 diners were sold, a figure that didn’t include the many owners who lost their leases during that period. These closures signal, to some, the end of old New York as we knew it.

But that hasn’t stopped a new breed of diner from cropping up, ostensibly for the younger set and usually with decent branding and a social media presence.

Baby Blues Luncheonette, in East Williamsburg in Brooklyn ... is a Greek diner for the 21st century. (For a decidedly 20th century Greek diner, try Tina’s Place at Wilson and Flushing Avenues in Bushwick, Brooklyn.) There’s the H.L.T. with grilled halloumi, lettuce and heirloom tomatoes on Pullman bread, with the option to add bacon and avocado. But I think the real play is to order the Plato plate with scrambled eggs, bacon, warm pita, half an avocado and grated halloumi. It’ll cost you $20 before tax and tip — not bad for an increasingly expensive corner of Brooklyn.

WILLIAMSBURG, Brooklyn (WABC) -- Diners have long been a New York City staple.

There's something so comforting about grabbing a warm, hearty meal with friends.

For this week's neighborhood eats we headed to Williamsburg, Brooklyn, where we met up with two friends who have channeled their passion for cooking, love of diners, jazz and blues clubs into a cozy haven filled with Mediterranean flavors.

It's called Baby Blues Luncheonette!

Baby Blues Luncheonette, a new modern Greek diner, opens at 97 Montrose, between Leonard Street and Manhattan Avenue, in East Williamsburg, tomorrow, Saturday, November 5. The charming new hangout comes from first-time restaurant owners Costa Damaskos and Jake Marsiglia, who have several years in New York City food service between them.

The menu features dilly egg sandwiches, an H.L.T. (halloumi, lettuce, and heirloom tomatoes), Greek salad, watermelon-feta salads, the “Zorba plate” (halloumi, tzatziki, Greek potatoes), Greek yogurt bowls, and baklava banana bread. Among drinks, there are banana date shakes and Greek frappes, in addition to tea and coffee. Notably, there’s plenty to find among vegetarian or gluten-free options. Everything is made in-house where possible, while the halloumi and feta are imported, and other ingredients, even down to the maple syrup, are sourced locally.

“We really wanted to use this as a chance to connect with New York state in terms of produce,” says Damaskos. Something you won’t find at most luncheonettes? Bright orange yolks. “Happy hens,” he says.

The luncheonette’s name is a reference to retro jazz and blues clubs and the owners hope to evoke a similar nostalgia. Damaskos’s girlfriend, Leigh Altshuler, is the owner of the Lower East Side’s used bookstore and pickle shop Sweet Pickle Books (he helped design her graphics, and her pickles are proudly featured on the Baby Blues menu). Through Altshuler, Baby Blues connected with Hank O’Neal, an acclaimed photographer and music producer of jazz and blues, who gave the luncheonette several posters that hang around the space, as well as VHS lining the metal blue shelves. Keeping on theme, Baby Blues has a dedicated audio player for playing some old blues and jazz tapes.

Nostalgia carries throughout the room in details like thrifted salt and pepper shakers on each table, as well as the new mugs and t-shirts Damaskos (who operates a design firm) created for the space. Ultimately, the owners wanted to create a dining room that felt “friendly,” provided good service, and high-quality food, with a vibe that doesn’t feel fussy.

“So many old-school spots have been disappearing from the landscape, and we wanted to pay homage to that,” says Damaskos, who is Greek and Australian. He was fascinated to learn about his culture’s ties to diners when he moved to New York City. A love of diners and coffee shops has been a thread throughout the duo’s friendship: “I’ve been working in delis since I was fourteen, I grew up on Long Island and I’ve been making bacon-egg-and-cheese basically my whole life,” says Marsiglia.

A Greek frappe.Emma Orlow/Eater NY

It’s no secret there are fewer New York City luncheonettes than ever: a “mass-extinction” event that has been “unfolding slowly around us for decades, in plain sight,” wrote then-New York Magazine food critic Adam Platt in 2017. And while that continues to be true a few years onwards, a new wave of operators like Agi’s Counter, Thai Diner, Golden Diner, Soho Diner, S&P, and MeMe’s Diner (the latter which COVID sadly stole from us), has, thankfully, helped fill the void. Their interpretations of the old-school comfort foods, particularly in the “dumpster fire” of the pandemic, took on new meaning.

Of course, these new diners will never be able to replicate the same feeling as those tried-and-true, decades-old spots — just in the same way that a new bar that wants be a dive, needs wear and tear before it becomes one. But it’s exciting to see an emphasis on casual lunch spots that serve nourishing food with no frills — not to mention, food that’s more inclusive of dietary restrictions than your average greasy spoon and is reflective of each owner’s experiences. 

It’s kind of a dream come true, to have a place like the brand-new Baby Blues Luncheonette open in your neighborhood. A restaurant that’s warm and welcoming with chill vibes, a menu that feels familiar yet fresh, and food that really hits the spot. Like a local joint that’s been there forever, but spruced up a bit, featuring less greasy, and more nutritious, fare than all of those Brooklyn diners of yore.

In fact, even if you don’t live right around this patch of East Williamsburg on Montrose Avenue, Baby Blues is so inviting and satisfying that it’s worth traveling from a neighborhood or two over just to check it out.

Owned and operated by first-time restaurateurs Costa Damaskos and Jake Marsiglia (they both are back there cooking in the open kitchen beyond the counter) this brunch-all-day place pays homage to the classic Greek diner with retro decor galore, but without descending into theme park territory.

“I used to run a design agency, and my office was next door,” Damaskos tells Brooklyn Magazine. “Me and Jake have been friends for a long time, and we felt like there was nowhere to eat in the neighborhood in terms of like, healthy food we could eat everyday.”

So last March they signed a lease on this place, and set about creating exactly that.

Nearly every table was filled by late morning on opening day last Saturday: the cafe-style sidewalk seating, the soft-backed stools at the counter, the row of tables before a blue banquette along one wall, and the awesome five- or six-tops jutting out from the other.

These latter face the visual highlight of the place, a trio of industrial floor-to-ceiling metal shelving units packed with old VHS tapes, records from Damaskos and Marsiglia’s own collections, working stereos and vintage mini TVs, plus a bunch of Baby Blues swag.

Most of the eating excitement here resides in the Baby Blues menu’s “Breakfast Corner.” There’s avo toast, sure — Damaskos is Greek, but hails from Sydney, Australia — and a couple of expected egg-based platters, but things like grilled halloumi cheese and homemade tzatziki make multiple appearances as well.

An early favorite for a signature dish is the “Like a Greek Bagel,” a slab of dense, grainy sourdough slathered in a salty whipped feta with a pile of lovely smoked salmon and slices of heirloom tomato on the side for stacking on top. Delicious. It’s worth mentioning that these tomatoes, like all of the produce we had at Baby Blues, were high-quality, farm-stand-style fresh, an important detail in a place filled with such attentive and/or clever touches.

Similarly, the “Zorba Plate” features two eggs, grilled halloumi cheese, Greek potatoes, homemade tzatziki, and heirloom tomatoes.

There are also egg salad, grilled cheese, or bacon-egg-and-cheese sandwiches to be had, three different Greek-leaning salads, and a bunch of fruity bowls and toasts, including homemade banana bread covered in cashew ricotta and a crunchy baklava crumble that made for a first-rate coffee companion.

With old-school diner menus, a wall of colorful VHS tapes, and shades of blue as far as the eye can see, brunch at Baby Blues Luncheonette is all about the vibes. The playful interior is equal parts trendy and nostalgic, providing a fun backdrop for the Greek-influenced diner fare. The menu consists of dishes like Baklava Banana Bread; a Zorba Plate with haloumi, tzatziki, and Greek potatoes; and an H.L.T, the restaurant’s take on a diner classic that swaps bacon for haloumi. So whether you’re in a sweet or savory mood, this buzzy modern diner has you covered.

Costa Damaskos and Jake Marsiglia watched in despair as Covid killed off a string of beloved New York restaurants. But instead of sit- ting on the sidelines, the pals took matters into their own hands. Damaskos, who owns a design company, and Marsiglia, a food-service veteran, decided to open their own eatery—and make it the kind of welcoming spot they always wished for in their own neighborhoods.

The result is Brooklyn’s Baby Blues Luncheonette, which Damaskos calls “a modern take on the Greek diner.” Its airy, compact space is painted blue and white, with eye-catching posters that span rock, jazz, and even views of Greece.

The real twist comes on the menu. Unlike Greek diners of yore, with their sprawling menus of American RESTAURANT SPOTLIGHT food, much of the fare at Baby Blues Luncheonette actually skews Greek.

The dishes draw on Damaskos’ heritage and Marsiglia’s kitchen experience. “I’ve been making tzatziki since I was seven years old,” says Damaskos, laughing. “It’s second nature. We had so many ideas, we had to pare back.”

Among the offerings: H.L.T. (halloumi, lettuce, and heirloom tomatoes), Greek salad, watermelon-feta salads, the “Zorba plate” (halloumi, tzatziki, Greek potatoes), Greek yogurt bowls, and baklava banana bread. Nearly all of it’s made in-house; except for imported feta and halloumi, most provisions are locally sourced.

“My dad’s side of the family is from Greece, and my mother’s side from Cyprus,” says the Australian-born Damaskos, who emigrated to New York five years ago. “Being Greek was very much a part of my upbringing. I learned to cook from my dad and my yiayia, who was an amazing cook. She would measure everything by hand, and she was so swift with everything. I remember being really small, and just peeking over to see what she was doing.”

Damaskos also found it curious “that Greek diners were never that Greek-heavy. I wanted to put that emphasis back in, and put the culture up front. There’s a bit of Australian influence in some of the breakfast-forward items, but it’s more about finding another way to be modern with some Greek classics.” That also translates as “healthier options with higher- quality produce, something you may not get traditionally from the diner experience,” he says.

Damaskos is not a complete restaurant novice. “When I moved to New York and was trying to get a job in design, I ended up working in a kitchen—ironically, it was Two Hands, an Australian restaurant. And I loved it,” Damaskos said. While he and Marsiglia had always talked about opening a restaurant, Covid provided the spark.

“So many New York places disappeared. We wanted to open a New York spot, and a Greek diner seemed perfect,” Damaskos says. “When I first moved here, I learned Greeks had traditionally opened the diners, and it felt like the right thing to try and continue.” Watching Seinfeld – and seeing Tom’s Restaurant, which played the show’s Monk’s Café—also had an impact, he says. “I was obsessed with that show as a seven-year-old. I wanted to create a spot that felt like somewhere you’ve been, but focus on the quality of the food and the aesthetic.”

Their first, “ideal” space got away from them – the Classic Coffee Shop on Manhattan’s Lower East Side, whose owner was retiring. “The owner would play classic rock. He had a few bagels, and egg sandwich, and black coffee. We saw that spot and realized we wanted to help preserve this way of eating, with classic, good-quality food,” Damaskos says. But another party snagged the lease, and the duo kept searching.

The pair happened on their East Williamsburg space, the onetime home of a gallery/café, and Baby Blues Luncheonette took off. Damaskos applied his design chops to the space, with a retro-sleek menu, classic salt-and- pepper shakers on tables, and a clean aesthetic somewhere between New York diner and midcentury modern. “We want it to look like the local neighborhood luncheonette,” Damaskos says. “We also wanted to offer hospitality at a time when it’s impossible to get a table anywhere to sit down for food. We don’t take reservations. We want people to feel excited, try our food, and just enjoy themselves.”

As others have reported, there are fewer New York City luncheonettes than ever: a “mass-extinction” event that has been “unfolding slowly around us for decades, in plain sight,” wrote then-New York magazine food critic Adam Platt in 2017. And while that continues to be true a few years onward, there is a new wave of operators, like Agi’s Counter, Thai Diner, Golden Diner, Soho Diner, and S&P.

Damaskos continues to run Virtually Real, a two-year-old internet design company with clients in music, food, and hospitality. He designed the restaurant’s merchandise—a growing line of revenue—including T-shirts and mugs. He and Marsiglia are also set to launch an exclusive line of Baby Blues Luncheonette coffee, produced exclusively for them by a Brooklyn roaster.

For the first-time restaurateurs, running their own food business has been “mentally challenging,” Damaskos says. “It’s financially challenging. Luckily, we never had problems with hiring. Our friends work with us, and that’s what makes it special. Customers pick up on that energy. We’re a group of people who like hanging out, who happen to be working in a restaurant.”

A major learning has been the importance of communication, Damaskos says. “You need to be really good at communicating when you’re in the kitchen. You need to be good at communicating when you’re building out a restaurant. We’re pretty lucky. We got through it pretty unscathed.”

Next for the business partners: “Well, Jake is Italian,” says Damaskos. “So we like to joke that the next spot will be Italian.” In the meantime, he says, “I feel lucky that I’m able to contribute to New York, which has given me a lot. I’m proud to be Greek, and it’s amazing I get to do that and cook, which is how I started in New York. It feels like it’s come full circle.”