May 12, 2015
Elisa Lala/for PhillyVoice
Signs posted on the doors of Darling's Diner in Northern Liberties say "Business Closed."
Darling’s Diner in Northern Liberties appears to have closed.
On Tuesday, the usually lively and well-lit restaurant, which operates 24/7, was dark, and signs plastered on its doors read “Business Closed.”
According to Philly.com, the diner was being cleared out midday Monday following a robust Mother’s Day on Sunday.
A Reddit message chain, titled “RIP Darlings Diner,” also formed Monday, with commenters complaining about the former restaurant’s higher-than-average prices and subpar service and applauding its exodus.
As one customer said, "I can go over the bridge to any random diner in Jersey and get food that tastes [10 times] better for [half] the price." Another added, "...even with the $5 toll."
The diner is situated on the ground floor of the northern corner of the Piazza at Schmidt’s at North 2nd Street and Germantown Avenue.
It opened in 2009 and was designed as an old-time-diner-meets-hipster-haven, the latter a nod to the area's demographics and made apparent by its menu items (Note: Hipster Paradise pancakes). Or, as co-owner Harry Darling put it in an article on its opening, a "diner-plus."
The interior of the apparently shuttered Darling's Diner in Northern Liberties. (Google Maps)
