New diner opens

An old-fashioned diner opened in Kirksville on Monday.

Diner 54, owned by Tony Alimi, is located on the south end of Kirksville in the building that formerly housed the Mexican restaurant El Agave Azul. The diner's namesake comes from the original Diner 54 in Fulton, Mo., which is located on Highway 54. 

Alimi said his expanding diner business is family run.

"I'm a third generation, my grandfather started first," Alimi said. "They've all opened restaurants in the Chicago area and we moved to Missouri and this is our thing."

Alimi said he likes the town of Kirksville and said it doesn't have the type of restaurant he can provide. Alimi said he selected the location for his second restaurant because there was an open property in Kirksville and he knew he could compete with the other restaurants. 

After purchasing the property a month ago, Alimi said there have been no real challenges in renovating it. Alimi said all he needed to do was move in the new equipment, clean the place and do some minor construction. 

Because renovations were so minor, Alimi's biggest challenge is getting customers to his new restaurant, he said. 

Junior Eric Terschak, said he is not impressed with the idea of Diner 54.

"Personally, El Agave Azul, which is the restaurant it is replacing, was my favorite restaurant in Kirksville, which was a fun place to go to and had an enjoyable environment and delicious food," Terschak said. "And I was extremely disappointed when it closed down. Diner 54 has a lot of expectations to live up to."

Terschak said Diner 54 might not have a lot of competition in that part of town and could probably grow and eventually succeed. However, Terschak said that many of his friends have not heard of Diner 54 yet or know its location.

Although only a few people might have heard of Diner 54, other family restaurants in Kirksville are aware of their business rivals. 

Junior Natalie Green, a waitress at Rosie's Northtown Cafe, said she doesn't fear the competition Diner 54 offers.

"I feel like the environment at Rosie's is so homey and great that we might lose a few people," Green said. "But we have a clientele of regulars and people that come in all the time because of who we are and the environment."

Alimi said that although some see the restaurant as nothing special, job seekers have been eager to apply for positions at the new restaurant. Alimi said he has received more applications than he could count and has filled more than 30 positions at Diner 54.

Alimi said Diner 54 serves breakfast, lunch and dinner seven days a week.