After 35 Years, Fort Greene's Academy Diner Is Shutting Down

Academy Restaurant, a classic diner that has been a Fort Greene staple for 35 years, closed its doors last Saturday, Patch reports. 

The family-run diner at the corner of Lafayette Avenue and Saint Elliot Place was first opened in 1984 by two brothers of the Koutroumanos family. Aside from Academy Restaurant, they owned several other eateries throughout Brooklyn, including locations in Flatbush and Canarsie.

"My dad always had good ideas about where places would do well," Dimitrios Koutroumanos, the son and nephew of the diner's founders, told the Fulton Business Alliance earlier this year. "And then he found this spot right down the street from BAM and Brooklyn Tech — this corner in particular. And he knew it would be a good spot."

Locals appreciated — and will miss — the neighborhood spot for its affordable, all-day breakfast menu and welcoming service.

"By far the best, friendliest little diner in Fort Greene," one Yelp reviewer attested online. "In what is otherwise a ridiculously gentrified neighborhood, this place always feels like a slice of old Brooklyn charm. Their split pea soup, egg salad sandwiches and blueberry muffins have gotten me through some tough times. Please come back Academy, we miss you!"

After 35 years in business, the diner's lease expired, Koutroumanos said, and the family simply decided not to renew it.