Pine Barrens Tribune September 16-September 22, 2023

Iconic Red Lion Diner Abruptly Closes Permanently as Owner Attributes

By D ouglas D. M elegari

Staff Writer

SOUTHAMPTON—There is perhaps no place that has been more familiar and visible to Pinelands natives and the local communities, than the Red Lion Diner, at the intersection of Routes 70 and 206 in Southampton Township, where the state highways are joined together by the Red Lion Circle.

For decades, the landmark diner has been one of the go-to hangout spots for locals to grab a cup of coffee, a bite to eat and their favorite local newspaper, all while making memories and chatting about the news of the day, or the gossip of the area. And for those from out of town, it has been a pit stop of sorts, between the city and the shore.

But the iconic restaurant is no more –

reportedly an ultimate casualty of COVID, inflation and high interest rates, which created a perfect storm.

At 5:34 a.m. on Sept. 9, the five-year owners of the Red Lion Diner, Paul Tsiknakis, along with his father, Sotiris Tsiknakis, and his father-in-law, Andy Linardos, announced its permanent closing.

“With a heavy heart, we must inform you that the Red Lion Diner has sold,” the Facebook posting stated. “We will not be opening again. We appreciate all the support and patronage throughout the years. It was a difficult decision; however, we chose what was best for our families.”

Paul Tsiknakis, who assumed ownership of the Red Lion Diner, along with his family, back in February 2018, told this newspaper on the afternoon of Sept. 9 that it had been a “very emotional day.”

He reportedly broke the news to the diner’s morning shift as they came into work, making their way past the iconic Leo the Lion statue, unbeknownst to them, for the very last time.

“Trust me, this has been a very sad day,” Paul Tsiknakis declared. “My daughter was crying as she was taking her last photo in front of Leo.”

Paul Tsiknakis told this newspaper that the sale of the diner took place on Friday, Sept. 8. He did not want to have to close so suddenly, he said, thinking that the diner could still operate during a “cleanout period,” but legal counsel from both sides advised otherwise.

“We had a cleanout period, and during that cleanout period, we assumed we could operate,” he contended. “But legal counsel from both parties told us we could not continue to operate – that it was solely a cleanout period. And we didn’t know we were closing on the deal until Thursday, and we closed on it Friday.”

The events of recent days, he explained to this newspaper, were set in motion back when the Coronavirus pandemic commenced.

As the diner was forced to shut its doors due to a mandatory lockdown

‘Very Emotional’ Decision to ‘Contractual Obligations’ in Describing How Restaurant Became Casualty of COVID, Inflation, High Interest Rates

File Photo

Edio Barrera and Paul Tsiknakis of the Red Lion Diner.

File Photo Looking out over the traffic circle from the Red Lion Diner.

Iconic Leo the Lion Statue Relocated from Red Lion Diner to Red Lion Metals in Hopes That Its Legacy Will Live on Locally After Restaurant’s Closure

By D ouglas D. M elegari Staff Writer

SOUTHAMPTON—The iconic Leo the Lion’s legacy will reportedly have the opportunity to live on, just in a different place that is down the street from its original home, the Pine Barrens Tribune has learned.

The iconic statue that has long been in front of the now-shuttered Red Lion Diner in Southampton Township, in which tens of thousands of families are estimated to have taken portraits in front of over the last decade, has been relocated to Red Lion Metals at 51 Old Red Lion Road in Southampton, confirmed Paul Tsiknakis, who owned the diner at the Red Lion Circle up until it was sold to a developer on Sept. 8.

The diner, at 1753 Route 206, abruptly closed the following day, with a Facebook announcement to that end having since garnered over 1,100 comments and resulted in 1,200 shares, as of press time.

Leo was transported via a tow truck on Sept. 11 to its new home, Tsiknakis said.

Initially, it was thought by Tsiknakis that a crane might be needed, but crews were able to lift Leo using a combination of chains.

“$2,000 was raised from the proceeds and it all went to the State Troopers,” Tsiknakis told this newspaper on Sept. 13. “We had offers for more money, but we obviously wanted to keep it in town.”

Specifically, Tsiknakis reported that the proceeds have “all been donated to the Troopers United Fund, helping injured Troopers and their families.”

Leo came with the diner when Tsiknakis, along with his father, Sotiris Tsiknakis and

his father-in-law, Andy Linardos, purchased the diner back in February 2018 from Jimmy and Cynthia Lontorfos. The statue had sat outside, by the entryway of the restaurant, and was a major draw.

Cynthia Lontorfos, in an interview at the time of the 2018 transaction, had described to this newspaper that in the early 1990s, Jimmy Haas, a local contractor, worked his contacts to help obtain a marble lion for the diner’s front landscape from the former Lee’s Stone & Supply.

The marble lion was part of a pair at the Cherry Hill store and Cynthia Lontorfos said the owner refused to break up the pair when she passed through on her way to school in Philadelphia.

“Jimmy Haas—if it wasn’t for him, that lion wouldn’t be there,” she said at the time.

Cynthia Lontorfos added that Rodney K. Goettelmann, a frequent patron of the diner, named the lion, “Leo.”

At one point, the diner partnered with the Pine Barrens Tribune for a “Snapshot Challenge,” inviting readers to submit their photos of people standing or sitting beside Leo. The newspaper received hundreds of submissions.

Bruce Tatum, owner of Red Lion Metals, did not return messages left for comment on this story, but Paul Tsiknakis said Leo is now in the care of a “good family” who “appreciates the history of the diner” and that the statue is “special for them.”

According to Paul Tsiknakis, he was advised by Tatum that the plan is to install a concrete slab and “lay it right on top of there.”

“Hopefully, Leo the Lion lives on,” Paul Tsiknakis declared. “And the lion will still be home, with a great family.”

Photos Provided Crews work to transport Leo the Lion

to Red Lion Metals in Southampton Township.

Photo Submitted Leo the Lion was a major draw at the Red Lion Diner, where people of all ages posed next to him for a photograph.

By Douglas D. Melegari Staff Writer

SOUTHAMPTON—Five-year Red Lion

Diner waitress Samantha Trotter says she was charged with opening the landmark restaurant of more than 50 years, along with another server, for breakfast last Saturday morning.

She went through her normal routine in getting ready to perform that task, including that she “got dressed to go to work,” expecting it to be just another normal day to spend with what had become “family.”

However, when she arrived at the Red Lion Diner around 6:30 a.m., she contended, “the doors were closed.”

“On my way to work, I actually got a call from the other opening server, and I didn’t want to believe it,” said Trotter of finding out the landmark diner had been shuttered. “So, I told her to meet me at the diner.”

Trotter, among numerous other servers who contacted this newspaper wanting “to get their story out” to the public of “how it happened” from their perspective, explained that when she arrived at the restaurant last Saturday morning, she took note that a car belonging to one of the owners was parked in the restaurant’s parking lot.

“I decided to wait for the acting managers, who also had no knowledge we were closing,” she said. “I had to knock on the doors to be let in.”

That is when, according to Trotter, they were all greeted by five-year owner Paul Tsiknakis and “two other owners,” with Tsiknakis purportedly mostly breaking the news to them.

The closure, Trotter declared, “means that co-workers who I developed friendships with – we were like family … it all comes to an end – an abrupt end.”

“We are all devastated,” she added.

Contrary to some initial online reports, according to Trotter, Tsiknakis “wasn’t rude.”

However, Trotter maintained that she “found he lacked sympathy for his employees.”

“He just said that what he was doing was right for his family,” Trotter recounted. “I completely understand that, but I think he should have showed a little more concern for his longtime employees. I stuck by him a lot – I was there through COVID. I stuck by him when times were tough, and I just think he could have been a little more sympathetic.”

In the wake of the diner’s abrupt closure, many employees of the restaurant took issue with the short notice they were given, and in numerous messages and phone calls to this newspaper, initially claimed to have not been offered even so much as the opportunity for employment at Tsiknakis’ other restaurants throughout the Delaware Valley.

Some locals were subsequently quick to criticize the diner’s ownership about those claims.

Trotter, however, acknowledged “things played out in real life a little different” than what had been originally posted by some.

“He did offer all the employees to go fill out applications at his establishment sand that they would be taken under consideration,” she told this newspaper, noting Tsiknakis also notified staff of the possibility to apply for unemployment. “He said he wanted people he can trust, but in reality, why would we trust someone who did that to us, who lied to us for months?”

What Trotter is referring to in that allegation is what several employees for this story maintained was one of the biggest points of contention surrounding the whole matter: how the closure transpired.

Trotter maintained that it was several months back, when suddenly, out of the blue, “customers kept asking us, ‘When are we closing?’”

Around the same time, according to Trotter, “our cooking staff actually refused to do any

By D ouglas D. M elegari Staff Writer Editor’s Note: This is a reflection piece.

SOUTHAMPTON—Transactions at the Red Lion Diner in Southampton Township would only stop on a handful of occasions over the course if its five decades of history as a community staple: Christmas Day … when the power went out … when there was a severe winter storm … when there was a mandatory stay at home edict or when someone close to the diner family would suffer an untimely loss.

And so, when the landmark diner abruptly closed for good on Sept. 9, it was a shock to the system – to say the least – not only for locals, but for those who have stepped through its doors and became part of its long-storied history.

While there has been much grief and angst in the days since the announcement, there are also the “cherished memories” – all that have taken place in a facility that a late local regular once described has represented an unofficial capital building of the Pines of sorts: suggesting it is the most recognized symbol of the local landscape positioned at the area’s primary crossroads, all while it is also a meeting place between the city and shore, in the midst of a rural setting, patronized by locals and out-of-towners alike – only this one served a bite to eat and a cup of coffee over conversation and sometimes debate.

It is hard to find someone from the area who hasn’t ever been – and in many cases, for some families, visits to, and gatherings at, the diner have spanned generations and conjure up memories of childhood.

That is not to mention the service and dedication of the staff, including the restaurant’s waitress of more than four-decades, “Jan,” an institution who in September of last year was recognized for over 600,000 hours put into the job and 1,000,000 tables served. Additionally, there are the decades of philanthropy by the most recent and former ownership.

And while there has been some upset about how it all ended abruptly last Saturday, for many, the diner will be remembered as more than just a restaurant.

“There goes my childhood!” wrote one woman on Facebook underneath the closing announcement. “So many special memories with my Mom and Grandmom when I lived there!”

“This makes me so angry,” added another person. “I am not going to be able to think about Nan and Pop every time we go now. Long live ‘western omelet, home fries EXTRA crispy, and hot sausage BUTTERFLIED.’”

With the establishment at the Red Lion Circle long having the iconic Leo the Lion statue out front, another person wrote, “My granddaughters love your place – they call it ‘The Lion King!’”

“I can’t be any sadder,” one woman declared. “My favorite place ever. I always come when I visit from Florida.”

One man, in also responding to the announcement, asserted, “Aaaw man, this was my absolute favorite diner, bar none.”

“I’d trek out an hour just to get the potato skins and some breakfast food every few weeks,” he added. “Wishing the best to staff; they always provided amazing service without fail.”

As another person put it, “This was our second home!”

“I feel so bad for all the workers, we became like family and we hope they all land on their feet,” that person added. “Thank you for many years of good food and service. We love you all.”

The diner had also often been patronized by those who came back to town on occasion, after having moved out of state.

“I no longer live in Jersey, but every time I came back for a visit, I always made sure to have lunch at the Lion,” wrote one man.

He was not alone.

“Long time Medford residents, now in Florida,” wrote that on “every trip ‘home,’ Red Lion has always been on our must-do list,” adding, “Near or far, you will be missed!”

“Oh man, this hurts!” declared another individual, who recounted her organization having held bi-monthly meetings at the establishment.

An 18-year waitress of the diner recounted “so many happy memories of the diner, customers, staff and owners over the years.”

“I made good money, was proud of what we created and served and enjoyed the customers who were loyal to Red Lion,” she said. “You will be sorely missed.”

Among those sending their regards was a woman who declared, “My last piece of my old home will officially be gone.”

“I used to go there with my family all the time, and I even brought my husband here on dates, even though it is far away from us,” recounted another. “This place meant so much to me growing up.”

In calling the closure “sad news,” it was emphasized by a local, “We neighbors loved it there.”

A fond memory shared by one woman in reacting to the news is “when she won the Mother’s Day Grand Prize” at the diner “and got to see Steve Martin and Martin Short at the Mann (a performing arts center in Philadelphia).”

“Thank you,” she wrote. “Thank you for everything!”

One man called the establishment “one of the best stops” on the way home from the shore, while another said of his stops there that the “most memorable were the mornings after Cub Scout sleepovers at Adventure Aquarium, Battleship New Jersey, The Franklin Institute, Philadelphia Zoo, among others with my boys!”

As such a familiar landmark, often, when one asked for directions to the area, they’d start out by saying, “Do you know where the Red Lion Diner is?”

“It used to be a landmark that identified the circle for out-of-state friends and if you couldn’t figure out what you want to eat, diners had a little bit of everything … and the bakery …” one woman wrote. “But they just keep closing … I know my youth died years ago, but come on man!”

Customers would sometimes pull up to fire trucks and ambulances parked outside the facility and come upon the first responders who ate inside.

“It is so sad to hear,” wrote one of those first responders. “I grew up in V-town (Vincentown) and rode EMS. We would always go for coffee after those late night calls. You will be missed!”

Such sentiments have even extended down to the food order delivery drivers.

“I’ve delivered to your diner for years,” one man recounted. “I just made a delivery this past Thursday. Devastating news. From management to cooks, to the staff and servers, it is with a heavy heart that I offer my condolences. When I start my day and see you are on my route, YOU are a highlight of my day. You will be missed.”

In opining about the eatery, a commenter declared. “Red Lion has been a landmark for as long as I can remember.” And in testifying to that was a person who posted a photo of her dad with a takeout container, writing underneath it, “My 85-year-old Daddy has been coming here all his life!”

“Thank-you” after “Thank-you” poured in for the “wonderful memories.”

“Thank you for your services and great food,” one woman declared. “The diner has been a staple for your rural Burlington County residents for many years and will be greatly missed.”

As one person opined, “You can’t leave,” another proclaimed, “Our hearts are broken!”

Those Living Far and Wide Recall Red Lion Diner as ‘Their Second Home’ and ‘Staple,’ Declaring ‘Their Hearts are Broken’ and ‘You Can’t Leave!’ as Five-Decade, Landmark Pinelands Restaurant Closes Its Doors for Good

Red Lion Diner Employees, in Asking to be Heard, Share Detailed Accounts of How Rumors and Indications Establishment Was Set to Close Turned True Despite Claiming to Have Been Reassured Their ‘Happy Place’ Would Remain Proprietor Responds He Had ‘Every Intention of Building the New Red Lion Diner’ But That It Became Apparent Cost Increased from $5 to $7 Million Over Short Time and Emphasizes It Was a Decision to Close That Had Not Been Made Until Last Week

A shot of the Red Lion Diner when it was still open for business.

‘Community Matters’ and ‘Family’ Are Reactions That Friendly Competitors, Locals Have to Red Lion Diner Closure with Memories Spanning Over 50 Years

By D ouglas D. M elegari Staff Writer

SOUTHAMPTON—The iconic Red Lion

Diner in Southampton Township had made the Philadelphia ABC affiliate’s Top Six List of Area Diners back in 2020, ranking number five, 6 ABC assessed.

Local Tom Bauer, a diner regular, at the time told WPVI-TV that its success was “because of the family – the family that owns it.”

And so, when one of the region’s toprated diners shuttered last Saturday, a move that shook the foundation of the region, it generated a reaction from all corners, even friendly competitors.

“We woke up to learn of the closing of the Red Lion Diner,” wrote Dipaolo’s Red Lion Inn, of Southampton, on Facebook. “They have been a fellow business, and a local go-to, for 45 of the 100 years we have been in business. We even worked

together for supplies during the height of COVID. We wish them luck in their new endeavor.”

Later, the Inn, a minute from the diner, took to Facebook to “clarify that **we are still open and operating as we have been for the last 100 years**.” The Italian restaurant then added that to “clear up any confusion, we are offering 15 percent off your total bill today” if one mentions the posting.

By weekend’s end, the Inn, at 101 Red Lion Road in Southampton, wrote that it was an “interesting weekend spent thinking of the changes in our little town and the confusion that occurred.”

The Inn noted it is in the process of continuing to celebrate its 100th anniversary, in inviting the community to come for a meal.

Meanwhile, the Vincentown Diner, about eight minutes north of the Red Lion Diner

See COMMUNITY/ Page 14

From the Archives: Lontorfos Family Retires After Serving Community for 45 Years

To Our Readers: To better understand the historical significance of this moment in time and the diner’s legacy, we bring to you a reader favorite, a 2018 piece from the archives when longtime Red Lion Diner owners Jimmy and Cynthia Lontorfos announced their retirement.

By D ouglas D. M elegari Staff Writer

SOUTHAMPTON—It was the beginning of a new era on Thursday, Feb. 22, 2018, at the Red Lion Diner in Southampton Township.

Jimmy and Cynthia Lontorfos retired shortly after lunchtime and transferred ownership of the famed family-oriented restaurant to Andy Linardos, Paul Tsiknakis and Steve Tsiknakis.

“It has been a privilege to have served the community for four and half decades,” said Cynthia Lontorfos, Jimmy’s wife. “It is only because of our loyal customers and employees that the diner could succeed.”

The diner was built at the Red Lion Circle, where Routes 206 and 70 come together, in 1971 by Lynn Contravo. Contravo, who built a series of diners throughout the state, called the restaurant Red Lion Town & Country Diner when he opened its doors for business.

The diner, like many others built from the 50s to 80s, was constructed on a foundation of diner cars, welded together. The cars already had booths, counters, plumbing and electrical lines in them.

“Since the 50s of the three largest diner car manufacturers in the country, two are in North Jersey,” Cynthia Lontorfos said. “Once the trailers arrived on site, it was like putting a puzzle together.”

Contravo sold the diner to Lontokal Inc. on Sept. 17, 1973. “Lontokal” stood for a combination of partners last names: Jimmy Lontorfos; Nick Lontorfos, Jimmy ’s father; and Alex Kalaitzis, Jimmy’s brother-in-law. John Lontorfos, Jimmy’s brother, became a partner when Nick Lontorfos retired.

“The original diner had less than half

the seats as the one today,” Cynthia Lontorfos said. “The original diner only consisted of a diner front and small, middle dining room.”

The Lontorfos and Kalaitzis families made the first of many changes to the diner in 1978.

They added a second set of restrooms, a 50seat dining room and a 25-seat sit-down bar.

The second change took place in 1990, when the iconic restaurant was completely remodeled for the first time.

During the remodel, the 25-seat sit-down bar was removed to install more seating. Additionally, a service bar was built in the restaurant’s middle dining room, a new vestibule was built for the diner with an arch design up top, walls were built around the restaurant’s upper exterior to hide rooftop equipment, and the building’s stainless-steel exterior design was transformed.

17 years later, in May 2007, a subtle, but notable change was made to the front portion of the diner when one of two coffee counters was replaced with bakery cases.

But, the replacement of the counter was not the only change made to the diner, so far, in the new century.

From November 2014 to April 2015, the diner underwent a second remodeling with an emphasis on modernizing the diner’s interior design.

Mirrors, neon lighting and pastel colors were replaced with warm and inviting colors, including crimson reds, that add personality and interest.

While the changes to the diner’s interior and exterior over the years fascinate Cynthia

See LEGACY/ Page 13

Photo Submitted

One of Cynthia Lontorfos’ favorite photos showing the Red Lion Diner with its mirror and pastel color design in the 90s.

Photo Submitted

The establishment when it was known as Red Lion Town & Country Diner.

EMPLOYEES

(Continued from Page 4)

work until they got some answers” and “wanted to know their job was secure.”

Server Allison McGarvey recalled that on a Sunday morning in July, four different line cooks for the restaurant, she maintained, “left and walked out because they had heard the diner was closing.” The establishment, she said, was purportedly unable to open that day at its regular 7:30 a.m. opening time, and instead opened after 9 a.m.

It was at that point, she maintained, one of the owners, Andy Linardos, “came in to reassure all of us we are not closing,” an account also given by Trotter and Server Jessica Blevins.

“Andy even showed us diagrams where the new diner would be,” McGarvey recounted.

McGarvey maintained of the diagrams that they were “rudimentary” with “no official company name or anything like that.” Other servers interviewed for this story called them “blueprints.”

In May 2022, the Pine Barrens Tribune reported that the Southampton Township Committee had approved a redevelopment plan for the Red Lion Diner area.

Tsiknakis, at that time, told this newspaper that somewhere between 15 to 20 developers had approached the diner over the last several years with an interest in developing the approximately 20-acre diner property (consisting of three lots combined, with the diner itself sitting on a lot that is three-acres), which extends from Route 70 to Allentown Road and is not currently being used to its full potential, with plenty of buildable space on what he called an “oversized lot.”

It was at that time that Tsiknakis revealed that a “brand-new, state-of-the-art” Red Lion Diner was a “very preliminary” possibility, along with the potential for other businesses on the 20-acre parcel. He described a plan for there to be a “smooth transition” to “close one restaurant and open the other,” and that the diner would comprise one of those buildable lots.

Then, a few days before a March 2023 Southampton committee meeting, a person posted online that a Super Wawa is going to be built at the circle.

Afterwards, during that committee meeting, a somewhat raucous exchange unfolded between longtime Southampton Committeeman James F. Young, Sr. and Southampton Mayor Mike Mikulski over a proposed traffic pattern for a convenience store on one of the buildable lots next to the diner.

That is when Young quipped, “Wawa is open 24 hours of the day.” Mikulski later tried to maintain that what may be built is a convenience store, but that it may not necessarily be a Wawa.

A concept plan that has since emerged following the diner closure announcement displays that a Wawa is now in the works (see separate story) for one of the buildable lots in the redevelopment area at issue.

Lynn Marie, who served as a manager of the restaurant earlier this year, told this newspaper, in also reaching out, that she believes the rumors that had circulated in the community could be traced back to an occasion in late April when the owners held a meeting in what she contended is the backroom of the restaurant,

in which they were overheard by several people reportedly discussing the potential future of the diner as they reviewed various diagrams.

At some point, she recounted it being overheard, “‘if it will cost this much for electric, payroll and food costs, it is going to be impossible’” to build a new diner.

It was in August 2022, she maintained, that she had been first approached by a general manager of the diner about an opportunity to work for a new seafood restaurant that Tsiknakis had in the works.

“How can you rebuild another diner after putting so much money into a new business?”

is a question that Marie contended had been on her mind, with Tsiknakis having launched another restaurant earlier this year in Westampton, renovating the former Charlie Browns restaurant that had been shuttered.

Marie charged that “once they knew it was the final end over here,” the diner owners’ “time got invested there,” or at the seafood restaurant, and at that point, “the weight and stress of it all pretty much did everybody in.” She left the diner in May, she said, due to the purported situation at hand.

“They were excited – it was new,” she declared. “I think they were just tired of Red Lion, and knew it was coming to an end and wanted a new beginning … a whole new chapter.”

According to McGarvey, when Linardos had been asked about the diner “rumors” back in July, he “told me personally they are going to take the money to build Wawa (from what had been expected to apparently be the sale of that particular portion of the diner property) and use that to build the diner.”

“We were always reassured that the longest we might be out of work at all might be a week,” she maintained. “And that it (the temporary closure) would be just to be able to move things from the new diner. They always shot down any rumors and reassured us, we were secure in our jobs.”

McGarvey noted she “even spoke to one of the managers” of the diner and advised “‘honestly, I’ll stick it out with you until the end, but if you are closing, I just want to know what is going on so I can make plans afterwards.”

Those reassurances, she contended, led to her and others telling customers who would say things such as, ‘It is a shame you guys are closing,’ that ‘We definitely are not closing, just moving.’”

“Ahead of time, I did believe them and thought their intentions were sincere,” McGarvey said. “But it was a complete 180 to meet Paul and have him kind of say, ‘This is what is best for my family.’ He did not even mention our families. There is no accountability and I feel it was a lack of professionalism.”

Tsiknakis, in the wake of the diner having closed, told the Pine Barrens Tribune in an online article that there was a contractual obligation he entered into with a redeveloper, back during the pandemic, to redevelop the property, and that last week’s decision to sell the diner lot to the developer essentially boiled down to him having to build a new diner or close it altogether, and that he came to the determination it just wasn’t something that was financially feasible given both inflation and high interest rates.

“I just don’t think it was ever the plan to build a new diner, if they sold it to Wawa,”

See EMPLOYEES/ Page 14

Two Horses Die When Trailer Detaches from Vehicle, Hits Tree

EVESHAM—The cause of a freak accident involving a horse trailer on the 100 block of Hopewell Road on the morning of Sept. 10 that resulted in the deaths of the two horses it contained was under investigation this past week by the Evesham Township Police Traffic Bureau.

According to Public Information Officer Lt. Daniel Burdette, the trailer somehow

became detached from the vehicle towing it at about 10:30 a.m. when it left the roadway and struck a tree, causing Hopewell Road to be closed for a period of time. Burdette asked anyone who might have information on the mishap to contact the department at 856-983-1116.

No one inside the vehicle towing the trailer was injured, he said.

Evesham Seeking Replacement for Township Manager Corrales

the Position

Hopeful of Finding New CFO Following Resignation of Davidson, Who Has Been Staying on in a Part-Time Capacity

Bass River Ceremony Marks Coming Legislative District Change, Honors Retiring Sen. Connors for 37 Years of Serving Residents

Assemblywoman Gove and Sen. Stanfield, Both Also Leaving Office, Recognized in Observance Attended by Assemblymen Rumpf, Umba

By Bill B onvie Staff Writer

EVESHAM—Evesham Township has begun a search for a new township manager to replace Rob Corrales, who, after occupying the post for slightly over four years, has stepped down in order to pursue “greater opportunities,” according to township Director of Public Information Zane Clark.

Township officials are also looking for a suitable candidate to fill the position of full-time chief financial officer, from which Alex Davidson recently resigned, although he has continued for the time being on a part-time basis.

The length of Corrales’ service was “in line with that of the last few township managers” in Evesham, Clark told the Pine

Members of the 9th and 8th Legislative Districts mingle with Bass River Township commissioners in a ceremony celebrating the township’s coming move from the 9th to 8th Districts and the retirement of 9th District Sen. Chris Connors and Assemblywoman DiAnne Gove, both of whom were given plaques, as was retiring 8th District Senator and former Burlco Sheriff Jean Stanfield. From left are 9th District Assemblyman Brian Rumpf, Commissioner Nicholas Capriglione and Deputy Mayor Louis Bourguignon, Connors, Mayor Deborah Buzby-Cope, Gove and Stanfield.

By Bill B onvie Staff Writer

BASS RIVER—In an informal ceremony on the evening of Sept. 11, marking what Bass River Township Mayor Deborah Buzby-Cope described as being “kind

of like the changing of the guard,” this rural municipality in Burlington County’s southeastern corner celebrated both its coming changeover from the 9th Legislative District to the 8th and the

Who Has Stepped Down After 4 Years of Serving in

Officials Also

File Photo

Rob Corrales, who has left the position of Evesham Township manager.

Photo by Nick Weissman

RETIRING

pending retirements of two of the 9th District Republican legislators who have been representing it, Senator Chris Connors and Assemblywoman DiAnne Gove.

Both legislators were present for the occasion that began the township commission’s regular monthly meeting, as were 9th District Sen. Jean Stanfield, still a well-known figure in the township from her 11 years as Burlington County sheriff who is also about to retire from her current legislative duties, 9th district Assemblyman Brian Rumpf, the partner of Connors and Gove, and 8th District Assemblyman Brandon Umba, who is planning to run for a second term next year.

Connors, whom Buzby-Cope presented with a plaque to commemorate his 37 years of dedicated service to the township, and Stanfield both delivered rousing speeches befitting the coinciding of the event with the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, in which they called for a return to the kind of patriotic unity among Americans that prevailed in the days and months immediately following the trauma of that day.

“In all the years I’ve served in the Legislature, the partisanship has gotten to an all-time low … as bad as I’ve ever seen it,” Connors lamented. “The degree of collegiality simply is not there as it was once before.”

Contending that “as a divided people, we’re not going to meet the challenges that face our communities going forward,” the senator urged, “let’s reach across the aisle, let’s reach across to one another, and let’s try to create a tone that is more civil and more conducive for the communities that we live in.”

Then, applying the sentiment to Bass River, a community that has not been without its share of controversy lately, he asserted, “we like it because it’s quiet, it’s peaceful, it’s tucked between the beach and the pines.”

“It’s a great place to raise your family and to work and just to live,” Connors added. “We want to keep it that way. But we’ve got to be careful— as Americans, as patriots, we need to stick together.”

Connors also maintained that “one of the benefits of being a representative of the 9th Legislative District” is that it consists of small communities populated by “the greatest constituency of anyplace in the state of New Jersey,” and said it had been an honor to serve them.

Deputy Mayor Louis Bourguignon made a point of crediting Connors and his staff for having “worked very hard” to bring natural gas to the residents of “this little town.” Stanfield, cautioning that Americans can’t afford to let their guard down and think that terrorist activity is no longer a threat, emphasized that “we need to remind our children and our grandchildren of what happened on 9/11 and how our freedoms can’t be taken for granted” and recalled how “at that point in time we all came together.”

“I hope it doesn’t take another tragedy for us to feel that same sense of attachment and community to each other,” she declared.

Stanfield was also thanked by BuzbyCope for the “great programs” she had introduced to local schools during her years of having served as what the mayor called “a phenomenal sheriff.”

On a somewhat lighter note, Connors quipped that, after 37 years, the prospect of leaving the political arena made him feel as though “the weight of the world” was suddenly off his shoulders and while noting he would continue to “be around,” likened his retirement from elected office to having

grandkids in that while one can still attend political events, “when you leave, you leave.”

Gove, who said she loved her constituents and considered it an honor and privilege to have represented them, also introduced a note of levity by recalling that while growing up on Long Beach Island she had always assumed Bass River was a part of Ocean County, “and now you’re going back to Burlington,” where most of the 8th District is located. But she said she still thinks of the township as “a part of Ocean County.”

Rumpf, who has served in the Assembly since 2009, reminded those present that he wasn’t going anywhere and would remain

“just a click north in Little Egg Harbor, if you ever need anything.”

“I’m going to be checking in with Brandon (Umba) on a regular basis to make sure that Bass River remains a jewel right below Ocean County,” he pledged.

Umba, who credited Stanfield for having encouraged him to run for office when he was working on her Senate campaign, gave something more akin to a campaign speech, reminding those present that “the leadership in Trenton doesn’t have one South Jersey representative in it” and contending that “we need to stick up for South Jersey values.”

“Brian (Rumpf) and I will continue to fight for them,” he added.

Photo by Nick Weissman

Current 8th District Assemblyman Brandon Umba and retiring 8th District Senator (and former Burlco Sheriff) Jean Stanfield.

Lontorfos, she said she is grateful for one constant: loyalty.

During the oil crises of the 1970s, the former Red Lion Exxon gas station and its owner Al Capri, she said, helped Jimmy Lontorfos get gasoline for his vehicles, despite rationing.

Diner patron Andy DeMaio, she said, came to the restaurant’s rescue when it snowed heavily just mere days after the partners decided to sell their only snowplow and contract for snow removal.

“He just cleared the parking lot without being asked,” Cynthia Lontorfos said. “You do not see that anymore. It is almost like a little Mayberry here.”

Southampton Mayor James F. Young Sr., she said, made and donated pins and placemats for the restaurant to distribute on special occasions and holidays.

“He has always been supportive,” Cynthia Lontorfos said. “I can’t say enough nice things about him and the township. He has been our greatest supporter.”

Cynthia Lontorfos said in the early 1990s, Jimmy Haas, a local contractor, worked his contacts to help obtain a marble lion for the diner’s front landscape from the former Lee’s Stone & Supply.

The marble lion was part of a pair at the Cherry Hill store and Cynthia Lontorfos said the owner refused to break up the pair when she passed through on her way to school in Philadelphia.

“Jimmy Haas—if it wasn’t for him, that lion wouldn’t be there,” she said.

Cynthia Lontorfos added that Rodney K. Goettelmann, a frequent patron of the diner, named the lion, “Leo.”

“If we got a quarter for every picture that is taken in front of the lion, we would have

been able to retire a decade ago,” Cynthia Lontorfos said. “But—in all seriousness—it would have been impossible to have survived without our customer’s loyalty.”

The 8-year co-owner of the diner said the restaurant survived several challenges over the past 45 years.

During the oil crises of the 1970s, due to the fuel rationing, customers who were otherwise likely to patronize the restaurant, stayed home.

In the early 80s, nightlife that helped keep the diner open 24-hours, stopped bustling after liquor liability laws were passed.

“We used to get a lot of traffic at the diner, at night, after people came from local bars such as the former Villa-D, where the (former) Tabernacle Inn is now, for something to eat,” Cynthia Lontorfos said. “But, when they passed the liquor liability laws, it doubled insurance costs for serving alcohol and many of the bars closed, which had an adverse effect on our business.”

Eventually, the diner had to close at night.

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McGarvey declared.

It was a viewpoint that “a business doesn’t just close its doors in a night” shared by Server Christian Blanco, who in an email to the Pine Barrens Tribune, wrote, in part, that “while we were constantly reassured that our positions were secure,” as “time went on” and the other restaurant opened, he took note that supplies dwindled and orders went unfilled (something that Marie also described to this newspaper).

McGarvey noted that she and others just “find it hard to believe that, a year ago, they (the ownership) didn’t realize the price is going

LEGACY

(Continued from Page 13)

“The first time the diner closed at night was in the early 80s and as they (the original partners) were getting ready to close the doors for the night, they realized the front doors didn’t have locks,” Cynthia Lontorfos said. “So, they had to hurry up and find locks for them.”

She said the liquor liability laws were also the reason behind the diner removing its sit-down bar and creating a family restaurant atmosphere.

In 2012, after Superstorm Sandy ravaged the Jersey Shore, the diner, at

COMMUNITY

(Continued from Page 7)

on Route 206, wrote “farewell to the Red Lion Diner” on Facebook.

“Today, we bid a fond farewell to our friends at the Red Lion Diner, who have been a cherished part of our local dining scene for many years,” wrote the Vincentown Diner on Facebook. “We want to celebrate the wonderful moments they’ve created for the Southampton community. They are loved by so many and will be sorely missed!”

Community matters, the Vincentown Diner added, with the establishment offering to “lend a helping hand” to those who lost their employment with the Red Lion Diner.

Murphy’s Fresh Markets in nearby Tabernacle Township, while not mentioning the Red Lion Diner or its closure by name, just hours after the announcement, wrote, it too was hiring and that, “All you need is a passion for people and flair for food. We can show you the rest.”

While area friendly competitors reacted to the news, so did area residents, many of whom

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to be more a year later.”

“You would think they would have had project managers who would have projections for them, and I would think they would produce how much it would be a year later,” McGarvey maintained.

When the increasing and high interest rates were pointed out as something that Tskinakis had cited, McGarvey responded, “I don’t know how anyone could not see it coming.”

“They had to know the then-price would increase on the new lot,” McGarvey maintained. “That would have been time to let us know what was really going on. Personally, after working there for five years, I would have stayed, even if I knew the diner was closing, until the last day. A lot of the other girls would have too. We would have made plans to go afterwards.”

the crossroads of two major shore routes, saw a drop in traffic until the rebuilding process moved forward.

Cynthia Lontorfos said the diner’s employees over the last four and half decades, who took pride in their work and showed loyalty to their customers, helped preserve the diner through the most difficult of times.

“That (the employees and their loyalty) has been our biggest asset,” she said. “It is not the real estate or equipment, it is the employees themselves—their loyalty.”

Cynthia Lontorfos named some of the diner’s most loyal staff members in its history, past and present.

“Dottie Ruble was here for 40 years, before retiring four years ago,” she said.

wrote into the Pine Barrens Tribune, sharing their favorite memories of the Red Lion Diner.

Local Brian Gellis told this newspaper he has had “many memories growing up in Tabernacle, and now living in Tabernacle with my wife and two boys.”

He has been married for 20 years now, he said, and recounted that every time he walked into the diner in neighboring Southampton, and took a glance of the corner table, he “remembered having breakfast with my parents and siblings the morning of my wedding.”

Fast forward more than 20 years later, and Gellis provided pictures to this newspaper “spending dinner there with my two boys often,” ones that included celebrations of their achievements in basketball or soccer.

“I just enjoyed sitting there with my kids,” he declared, watching them drinking their chocolate milks or eating their cheeseburgers.

Reader Joshua Pxv wrote on this newspaper’s Facebook page that “when I’d come home from college, my grandmother and I would go eat there.”

“I have a lot of good memories of us just sitting in a booth talking,” he said. “It is sad

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Trotter, in expressing similar sentiments, maintained, “I feel … and am sure a lot of longtime servers feel the same way … this was long-planned,” and that, “just like I said, in July, they pulled out plans for the building, showed us on a piece of paper where the diner will be, and that it will have square footage and a new road.

“That was just in July,” said Trotter of having seen the diner plan. “If they were just honest about it, and just told us the truth, I believe a lot of the loyal servers who have been there would have stuck it out till the end. I don’t believe they had to close suddenly without warning.”

Blevins’ greatest disappointment, she told this newspaper, is that upon first hearing about a possible closure, she “personally told them, ‘I will stick it out until the end if you are going

“Jan Lovenduski has been here for 37 years. Kathy McIntire was here for 25 years and just retired. Carol Cayakar has been here for 23 years.”

Shirley Matlack has been here for over 20 years. Eleanor Golden has been here for over 18 years. Debbie Lynch is going on her 17th year here — and of course Raju Amin has been here for 28 years.”

She also said some of the diner’s cooks have been in place for more than 20 years.

“It is not just the loyalty, it is the institutional knowledge they bring to the table,” she said. “No job is as easy as it looks, but they help make it look easy.”

Cynthia Lontorfos said a former waitress’ injury helped shed light on the loyalty seen

to see the diner go, but I guess that is life.”

Reader Vernetia Taylor described that the diner was a “great place to go back in the 70s when nothing was open except the diner, and we were starving after a night of partying!”

Local Craig Ford also recalled the “many of late night stops on our way home from concerts in Philly.”

Cidnie Richards, another loyal reader in reacting to the news, recounted that the Red Lion Diner has been “my Virginia grandson’s favorite diner.”

Local Mimi Carr shared a picture with this newspaper of her “son’s first Holy Communion grub and gifts” from back in 2016, as taken at the diner.

Colleen Marie, whose brother is Jimmy Konopka, owner of Jimmy Jims car dealership in Tabernacle, pointed out to this newspaper that her brother met his wife at the diner.

“The cutest hostess the diner ever had –Stacey Konopka!” she wrote. “My mom and I knew they were a match made in Heaven!”

All while reader Roseann Schomberg submitted a picture of “three generations gathered together” in front of Leo the Lion.

Reader Rich Hess wrote in an email to the Pine Barrens Tribune that when his aunt was

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to sell,’” but ‘“I would just like a heads up, so I am not blindsided.”’

That initial conversation, the 10-year employee maintained, happened around six months ago.

Instead, according to Blevins, last Saturday’s news ultimately came as a “big shock,” and is something, she maintained, she had not been told about from the ownership, but learned about from Trotter, as well as through Facebook.

“I was a server there for 10 years,” she declared. “I was there when they switched to the new owners. I was there for pandemic. So, to wake up, to go to work, and find out there is no work, it was very, very shocking to me.”

“I am very disappointed in the way things were handled,” Blevins declared. “I understand

daily at the Red Lion Diner.

“Kathleen Cummings injured her shoulder to the point she couldn’t return and many customers wanted to send her cards, but she didn’t want to give out her address,” Cynthia Lontorfos said. “All of a sudden, customers started bringing ‘Get Well’ cards to the diner for us to forward to her.”

Cynthia Lontorfos said its these examples of loyalty that make her family sad to retire from the diner; but preserving their life work all the more important.

“You get to see that next generation of families when you work here,” she said. “You get to see people coming in yearly from the shore and share their memories. It has been great.”

in college she used to work as a hostess at the Red Lion Diner, before it was remodeled and still called The Town & Country Diner.

“While working there she met the architect who re-designed the diner to the Red Lion Diner,” he said. “They would talk regularly, and eventually began dating, and then some years later they got married.”

Hess called the previous diner owners, Jimmy and Cynthia Lontorfos, “very good people,” asserting they were “always very kind to my aunt and grandparents.”

“They even attended my aunt’s wedding years after she no longer worked at the diner,” Hess recounted.

“Our family would regularly have breakfast at the diner and were always greeted warmly by them. After my aunt moved away from the area, they would regularly ask about her, and whenever she visited, she would make sure to visit them. When my grandfather passed away, they let our family know we didn’t need to worry about food for his service because they would supply it all and wouldn’t hear about accepting a dime for it.”

The Red Lion Diner, he said, “will always hold a special place in our families’ history.”

DINER

(Continued from Page 2)

order back in 2020, and there became substantial unpredictability about the future, Paul Tsiknakis said he turned to A&B Development Group, entering into a contract with them, in hopes that the parcel would be redeveloped.

Paul Tsiknakis had plans, as he previously told the Pine Barrens Tribune , to build a “brand-new, state-of-the-art” diner through that arrangement, replacing the current structure built in 1971 by Lynn Contravo, who built a series of diners throughout the state, and originally called the establishment Red Lion Town & Country Diner when it opened for business.

“It was not financially feasible for us to move forward and build a new diner because of rising construction costs and interest rates,” declared Paul Tsiknakis Sept. 9.

Yet, according to Paul Tsiknakis, he was “contractually obligated” to do one of two things: either proceed with building the new restaurant or not, and “to build didn’t really make sense to us” given inflation and those high interest rates.

“Inflation and interest rates have skyrocketed to the point where the project, for us, didn’t meet the financial criteria, basically,” Paul Tsiknakis said. “These diners are very expensive to operate, and you have to keep your costs low and the

EMPLOYEES

(Continued from Page 14)

business is business, but we should have been notified differently, with a phone call … something,” she maintained. “I didn’t even get a phone call, but had to find out from Facebook after I have been there as long as I have been.”

Ultimately, Blevins said, Tsiknakis had informed the servers to “put in an application” and that the owners “would consider the application,” but that she was “personally never offered employment” or “guaranteed a job.” It wasn’t until Sunday afternoon, she added, that she heard from the ownership personally about applying, adding she felt like it was only because of the initial blowback.

Tsiknakis, when asked if he would like to respond to the employees, first gave the following statement:

“All the employees were encouraged to apply at other locations. Everyone who has applied and has reached out with interest for jobs has been given jobs. We have even reached out to many and have made offers to them.

“If an employee has a file full of write ups and tardiness, we will only consider their application. Just like any other business in town. Everyone who has showed interest thus far has been a great employee and has been hired, no questions asked.

“We are no large chain or people looking to hurt anyone. We are all small business owners who wake up, work hard and try to provide for our families every day. If anyone knows of an employee who needs a job, please message me.”

Tsiknakis, in also agreeing to an interview

MANAGER

(Continued from Page 10)

Barrens Tribune, adding, “It takes a highly skilled, unique individual to be a township administrator, and those skills are highly sought after.”

“I will say that we wish him the best,” Clark said. “He will be missed.”

According to a recruitment ad posted by the Evesham Office of Human Resources, the job of the township manager is to direct

money that would be needed to build the diner would have been astronomical with the way the construction costs are.”

Paul Tsiknakis maintained that “had COVID never hit,” he and his family would have never “even entertained any offers like this,” or the arrangement with A&B Development Group. However, in entering into an agreement with the developer (to reportedly build a convenience store along with a brand-new diner as well as possibly some stores), it had “created a sense of relief for us.”

“In the end, we really needed to do what was financially feasible for my family,” Paul Tsiknakis declared.

Paul Tsiknakis declined to share the agreed to purchase price of the Red Lion Diner parcel, but surmised it would be public knowledge shortly. He confirmed the parcel is now owned by A&B Development Group, asserting, “It is a developer that is obviously Wawa-driven.”

“It is all over,” he said of the developer’s future intention for the property. “A Wawa is going in on the corner.”

He pointed to a proposed project rendering recently posted online by the developer, as well as a marketing packet. Online readers can view it here: https://www. ab-development.com/pads/southampton_nj. He contended plans are also on file with Southampton Township.

When asked about whether the current diner would be demolished, Paul Tsiknakis replied, “that is up to the developer.” As for

for this story, maintained that he and the owners of the diner “invited everybody to the diner and said everybody can come talk to us.”

“Whoever showed up, we talked to,” Tsiknakis declared. “We also posted something at the door to email us, if you have any questions.”

He emphasized to this newspaper that “everybody was told that they were able to apply,” asserting “we would have hired everybody if they chose to take a position –everybody was offered that opportunity.”

As of the evening of Sept. 13, Tsiknakis told this newspaper eight now-former diner staffers have accepted positions with his restaurants, “and many more are considering.”

Several of the diner servers interviewed for this story confirmed that they were quickly offered jobs throughout the area on the very day the diner closed, and have since accepted those offers.

Tsiknakis, when asked about the alleged July incident and purported meeting that followed, responded “the blueprints were visible at the township and readily available through marketing,” but otherwise he “cannot speak on what was initially shown” as he doesn’t recall having been part of that employee meeting.

As for what changed since July, he responded, “obviously, the construction costs and feasibility of building a new diner changed our mind” and that “basically happened as we got closer to the close.”

“Basically, it came down to financial feasibility,” Tsiknakis declared.

He also noted that while he “explained what was going on, on the back end,” he had to maintain “confidentiality during the process” leading up to that point.

Tsiknakis, in the immediate aftermath of the

the day-to-day operations of the 30-square mile municipality, which has a $45 million annual budget, in addition to a $2.5 million municipal golf course budget, and more than 300 employees.

With a population of 46,826, as chronicled in the 2020 Census, Evesham also has the largest number of residents of any Burlington County municipality.

Requirements for the job include a Bachelor’s degree (and preferably a Master’s degree) in Public Administration or a related field, a minimum of five years’

there being any chance that the diner could somehow be reopened under new ownership, he responded, “So, the pad we were looking at is fully-approved for restaurant use.”

“I am just not sure,” he declared. “It is what the developer chooses – he can basically do whatever seems feasible for himself.”

The transaction technically includes multiple parcels, Paul Tsiknakis confirmed.

The diner, according to Paul Tsiknakis, “employed about 40 people towards the end.”

Since the abrupt closure of the diner on Saturday morning, many employees of the restaurant have taken issue with the short notice they were given, and sent in numerous messages to this newspaper.

Paul Tsiknakis has contended, in response, “they were offered to apply to our other restaurants.”

“We are hoping to have them apply to our other restaurants,” he maintained. “We told them a process. We have welcomed them to apply.”

When asked about the kitchen staff that the diner reportedly has long provided employment, Tsiknakis repeated, “They were offered to apply to our other restaurants.”

Paul Tsiknakis and the employees respond further to this issue in a separate story.

Some other area restaurants quickly announced that they would be willing to entertain the hiring of the now-former diner’s employees, with reports that some have since made hires. Additionally, Paul Tsiknakis reported eight people from the diner have already joined his team at other

diner’s closing, pointed to a “cleanout period” in which he thought the restaurant could continue to operate, but that legal counsel on both sides informed him he couldn’t continue to operate.

He reiterated on Sept. 13 “I had intentions to keep the diner open for an additional 30 days, and at closing, our counsel told us it was not possible.” He is “beyond upset” about that, he declared.

As for the charges that Tsiknakis and his family had never had any intention of opening a new diner in Southampton, he declared, “We had every intention of building the new Red Lion Diner, however, it went from a $5 million project to a $7 million project within three years.

“And, so, the diner would not be able to sustain an overhead with that cost,” Tsiknakis said.

As for those who have pointed to Tsiknakis’ new operation, he responded that it is common in business that when you open an additional establishment, you realize sometimes that you need to reposition staffing to meet the demand.

Tsiknakis emphasized repeatedly that the decision to close the diner was not made until last week, and it is because of “financial reasons,” though he noted the decision to sell the diner also “gave them (his father and father-in-law) an opportunity to have one less responsibility as well,” pointing out “they are getting older.”

One other point Tskinakis spoke of in the interview is his family’s philanthropy and support of the local community. Typically, Red Lion Diner hosts a Dine and Donate event “to support local EMTs in town.” Given the Southampton restaurant is now closed, and therefore, the event would not have had an

senior-level experience in a municipal operation of similar size, with three years’ proven successful experience as a township administrator or manager; and demonstrated performance in organizational management, strategic planning, and developing and implementing projects, as well as experience in budgeting and finance, labor relations, and communications.

A “strong commitment to customer service” is also listed as a “must.”

Candidates for the job have been asked to submit a letter of interest, resume and

restaurants he operates, and more are currently considering the opportunity.

Reaction to the diner’s announcement has been swift – heartache, heartbreak, anger and sadness (see separate stories).

As for the famed Leo the Lion’s future, according to Paul Tsiknakis, the statue that “weighs a few thousand pounds” has been transported to another Southampton-based business, Red Lion Metals (see separate story).

“It is very difficult,” said Paul Tsiknakis of the decision to sell the diner and close shop, a place he once told this reporter is a restauranter’s dream to own and a destination when his family purchased it from Jimmy and Cynthia Lontorfos in 2018. “It is very emotional. It has literally taken up my life for the last two days. I have not slept; I have not eaten. It takes a lot of blood, sweat and tears to run these operations, and with what we went through to get this to pre-COVID numbers with takeout, deliveries – that stuff really built up an emotional thing for me in leaving the place to somebody else. But in the end, I always have to think of my family.”

This is the second closing of a restaurant in Southampton in recent weeks, with Keisys Pizza and Family Restaurant, just down the street from the diner, also closing abruptly just days after its one-year anniversary. Rent affordability was the reason for its closure, the Pine Barrens Tribune confirmed with the owner of that establishment.

opportunity to be held, the diner ownership has “just handed over what we actually make in Dine and Donate to the EMT squad.”

It is all in addition to the owners having held blood drives, food collections, and collections for Toys for Tots, in addition to providing turkey dinners to veterans and feeding a less fortunate family for a week.

Marie, however, contended that what hurts “everybody more than anything else” is what she maintained is a lack of “recognition of the diner and particularly its staff.”

“I wish somebody recognized that somehow, someway, that the staff is what made the diner,” she declared. “I couldn’t run that diner, as a manager, without the people I had at that time. I may have had some words with someone here or there, but at the end of the day, the staff there means more to me than anything. There was no appreciation for them at the time that it closed, and I think that is what is hurting everybody. We sacrificed a lot to be at the Red Lion. And the staff needs to be recognized in some way.”

Blevins also called the Red Lion Diner her “happy place.”

“I just had a good time there overall,” said the 10-year employee. “It was my happy place – my second home. My co-workers were not just coworkers, they were my family. And my customers were my family. I looked forward to going to work every day. I woke up with a smile, and knew I was going to work with people who I loved.”

Attempts to reach the diner’s two longest serving employees for this story, waitress “Jan,” a 40-year employee who became an institution of the landmark, and Shirley Matlack, a hostess and management team member, were unsuccessful as of press time.

salary requirements to the township HR office by Friday, Sept. 22. According to Clark, the township had already received a few resumes prior to Sept. 13, Corrales’ last day on the job, and is expected to get more.

“Once the period is closed, I’m sure council will begin conducting interviews,” he said.

In response to a question, Clark said the township manager and CFO positions are the only two main positions Evesham is now seeking to fill.

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