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The Gem Diner

Here’s a dare: go to The Gem’s website, take a look at the meals displayed, and see if you don’t feel immediately hungry!

Or better yet, step inside the famous stainless steel doors, take a whiff of the delightful aromas of the best breakfasts, lunches, and Friday dinners your imagination can create, and then see if you’re not immediately in the mood for some hash and eggs, or a big plate of fretatta, or a home-cooked burger and fries.

If it’s good food, a relaxed, family-friendly atmosphere, and the real possibility of running into someone you know – The Gem is your destination of choice.

Generous portions, cozy booths, counter service and that famous view of your meal being prepared, are all trademarks of a restaurant that has been serving the Syracuse and Central New York public since 1950. It was opened in that year as Doc’s Little Gem Diner, and was eventually purchased in 2011 by Montreal Construction. Anthony’s dad, Doug LaLone and his wife Tammy operated the business – and Anthony learned it from the ground up, working all aspects of the business until he and his wife eventually took it over.

While it has moved through the generations of the family, all the most important aspects of The Gem have clung happily to its roots: the food, atmosphere, friendly service and one of the best cups of coffee anywhere in town!

The LaLone family can actually claim yet another generation in the restaurant business, as Tammy’s mother – Anthony’s grandmother – was the proprietor of Mama Nancy’s – another name sure to conjure up memories of all-day, all-night service, and really delicious pizza!

Anthony let us know that you can order a take-out meal from The Gem via GrubHub, so when you absolutely positively have to have something delicious delivered you’ve got an option, and that has opened the business up to a new customer, and a new means of delivering its famous brand of “delicious.”

But there’s nothing quite like stopping in a place like The Gem, saying hi to the friendly staff – most of whom you’ll know after a visit or two – and pouring over a full and enticing menu while watching heaping plates of food fly by on their way to another table. You enter for the food, soak up the atmosphere, and are already making plans for your next visit before you’re halfway done with breakfast!

“There’s something special,” LaLone said, “about going out and meeting with people, visiting a local business, the mom and pop location, supporting the community. We never imagined we’d spend as much time as we do online and in the virtual world. A place like The Gem is a reminder that you can have the best of both.”

And, he adds, they like to see both new visitors and their regulars come through the shiny doors, and find their way to one of the trademark booths, or a seat at the counter.

“It’s a family business,” LaLone said. “The LaLone family, our staff, and especially our customers.”