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Whether you step into the Lexington Candy Shop, based in 1925 on the Upper East Side, or Thai Diner, a 2020 institution in Lower Manhattan, at any of New York City’s mom-and-pop eating places, you don’t simply get a hearty meal, however an expertise steeped in native historical past and tradition.
With their distinctive interiors, iconic menus and acquainted faces, these family-run diners are gathering grounds — locations the place, for generations, locals and vacationers alike have loved a gradual dialog over a home-cooked meal.
But when certainly one of these historic venues, brimming with tales and reminiscences, closes its doorways for good, what does the neighborhood and, finally, the town, lose?
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(Image credit score: © James T. & Karla L. Murray, 2026)
“I think the whole word diner is just synonymous with a sense of comfort, a belonging,” stated Karla Murray, a photojournalist and inside photographer who, alongside along with her husband James, has been documenting New York’s small companies for over 20 years.
“It’s a place where you can feel comfortable no matter who you are. I mean, oftentimes, if you’re a regular, they know your name, they know your order,” James added.
Longtime residents of Lower Manhattan’s East Village, the Murrays began photographing graffiti in their neighborhood in the 1990s. But as the couple came to explore street art across New York’s five boroughs, a starker realization became clear.
“We noticed that especially, like, these small little shops, when they closed, somehow the neighborhood was losing its character. It was losing the very reason we were attracted to it in the first place – these small little places,” said Karla.
This realization led to Store Front: The Disappearing Face of New York, the couple’s 2008 book, in which they documented their hometown’s beloved, but declining, mom-and-pop restaurants.
And now, almost two decades later, the Murrays have released Counter Culture: New York City’s Greatest Diners and Luncheonettes.
The latest book, which features text from food and culture journalist Emma Orlow, shines a renewed highlight on these cherished institutions, of which many have shut up store for good since Store Front was printed.
According to the National Restaurant Association, common meals prices rose 38% between 2019 and 2025, with the mixed affect of the COVID-19 pandemic and 2022 avian flu outbreak hitting mom-and-pop diners significantly laborious.
In 2023, some eating places in New York noticed the price of 30-dozen eggs – eggs being a vital ingredient in lots of diner dishes — soar to over $100 (approx. £75 / AU$140), up from round $40 pre-pandemic.
For diners, whose attraction is partly rooted in reasonably priced menus, absorbing these type of will increase is troublesome. The Murrays stated many homeowners are reluctant to cross greater prices on to loyal clients, additional squeezing already-thin margins.
“It’s a monumental loss… the whole character of the neighborhood declines when these places are gone,” stated James.
But Counter Culture isn’t only a documentation of the pressures gripping these restaurants. Spread across the book’s pages is a celebration of 30 establishments, including Veselka (‘Rainbow’), a Ukrainian mom-and-pop restaurant in the East Village.
“You go in there and sit at that lunch counter and you can be with, you know, a lawyer, a doctor can be sitting next to an old Ukrainian babushka (‘grandmother’)… But it’s a true melting pot and it’s a place of love,” said Karla.
And then there’s Viand Coffee Shop, on the corner of 61st Street and Madison Avenue. High-profile celebrities, such as fashion designer Tommy Hilfiger, are known to grab a hot cup here, but at Viand everyone is an equal, no matter their status.
“They go there to not be recognized, to just sit there and that’s what their niche is, right?” said Karla. “Have a little meal and just be treated like an ordinary person because they are an ordinary person — they just happen to be famous,” she added.
Customers — celebrities or regular Joes — have played a central role in the stories that have emerged from mom-and-pop diners over the years.
However, for their new book, the couple chose to focus on the unique interiors of each establishment, like its coffee mugs, menu fonts and memorabilia hanging on the walls. “They’re all very, very meaningful but maybe you wouldn’t even notice those kinds of things,” said James.
(Image credit: © James T. & Karla L. Murray, 2026)
Though, trying to photograph large 24-hour joints, like Remedy Diner on the Lower East Side, was no easy feat. “They were so nice as to work with us and actually move and seat people on one side, and then switched and let us take the photos,” said James.
“And honestly, the customers were really happy to oblige. They were just like, ‘Oh, this is going to be for a book.’”
New York small-business martyrs, Karla and James have printed prolifically concerning the metropolis’s unbiased enterprises for the reason that mid-2000s. The new guide is the most recent installment of their distinctive options photojournalism, aimed toward getting extra clients into mom-and-pop diners.
But, as Karla puts it, it’s “a race against time.” The couple explained that between being photographed for Counter Culture and the book going to press, four of the diners included in the project had gone out of business.
One of those closures was Cozy Soup ’N’ Burger on Broadway. The Greek family business, renowned for its nine-ounce specialty burgers and split-pea soup, closed in June 2026, after 54 years.
Steeper operating costs across the board caused the diner’s downfall, with local reporting citing lease hikes as the ultimate nail within the coffin.
“A lot of the places don’t own the building that their business is located in [and they] are really at the mercy of their landlords,” stated James. “It’s so heartbreaking to see some of our choices close,” Karla added. “You know, we wish the book could have come out quicker.”
(Image credit score: © James T. & Karla L. Murray, 2026)
Despite being unable to assist Cozy Soup ’N’ Burger, the husband-wife duo are assured that New York’s mom-and-pop diners won’t ever totally disappear. After all, as youthful generations of households take over the enterprise reins, some diners have tailored to the occasions.
According to the couple, one of many essential causes Lexington Candy Shop now has “lines out the door” is as a result of it is embraced social media.
In reality, movies of how the employees nonetheless make Coca-Cola the standard means, by mixing soda water with the syrup, have gone viral, bringing in hosts of younger clients eager to drink soda the way in which their grandparents did.
But the Murrays know that journalism and creative marketing can only help so much. Government policies, along with a steady return of custom from corporate chains to family-run joints, will ultimately decide whether New York’s mom-and-pop diners will remain at the heart of the city’s community.
“They are more than just a place to eat… They’re a gathering spot and they deserve to be around for many more generations to come,” said Karla.
Counter Culture: New York City’s Greatest Diners and Luncheonettes by James and Karla Murray is now available, published by Prestel.
The 224-page hardcover incorporates 200 shade pictures, accompanied by Emma Orlow’s phrases. The monograph is priced at $45 within the US and £35 within the UK, with all stockist retailers listed on the Prestel web site.
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James and Karla are Canon users. They shot the images for Counter Culture on a Canon EOS 5D Mark IV – check out our linked review for detailed specs on this pro DSLR rig.
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