If New Jersey is the diner capital of the nation, Pat’s Original Diner in Trenton is its White House.
Located on the corner of South Broad and Stanton streets, Pat’s has been fueling up city residents and visitors with coffee and dishing out comfort food for nearly a century.
And just like the metaphoric White House referenced above, new residents periodically arrive to govern a community establishment whose winning recipe involves a mixture of change and continuity.
Just ask Enriqueta Carabajo — aka Lala — who along with her brother, Pablo Carabajo, and nephew Marco Narvaez purchased the business in November from John Mastoris — of the regionally famous diner family — for an undisclosed price.
“It was an opportunity to have a business,” says Lala one recent morning at one of the diner’s side-room deuces — as opposed to the counter and booths that greet customers as they enter.
A South Trenton-area resident, Lala says the acquisition was both familial and familiar.
In addition to her brother-in-law, Jorge Narvaez, working at the diner since 1992, she says she had friends who worked there for “a very long time. And 14 or 15 years ago, I worked here as a cashier. I worked for (previous owners) George and Gus.
“When my brother worked here, they asked for help. They gave me an opportunity to work, and I worked Saturdays and Sundays. I worked for John for a few months, but it was when he was taking over this place.”
She says they learned about Mastoris’s decision to sell when she was surfing the internet for regional property sales and business opportunities and saw a notice about the diner.
After Narvaez verified Mastoris’s intent to sell, the family got cooking.
“My nephew was looking to get the diner, so we stopped by and talked to John. And we started from there” and pooled family savings to make the investment.
And while Marco is a mechanical engineer branching out into food hospitality, the others already have been part of operating Pat’s, or, as in the case of Lala, have 20 years of business management experience.
“I used to run a franchise for Golden Eagle Food. It runs Denny’s in Bordentown,” she says.
She says there were several reasons that purchasing the business appealing. One was social. “It was a way to bring something to the community, providing opportunities for jobs, and to insure that people in the community don’t lose their jobs “
After all, she adds, “If someone else bought the business, they may tear it down.
Another is personal. “We always thought at some point that we needed to own something to make our dreams come true. I’m Spanish, and sometimes we get pushed to the side.”
Speaking about her background, Lala says, she was born in Ecuador and was raised by a father who worked in the maintenance department of a public school and a stay-at-home mother.
She says she came to Trenton in 2001 because “I was looking for my American dream. My sister was here.”
Today both her sisters, her brother, and her widowed mother are Trentonians.
After graduating from Trenton Central High School, Lala tried a variety of careers. “I got a job with the franchise as a cook and then management. I went back to school for cosmetology.”
Her new business venture also has a personal history.
First, George Kohlmayer opened a corner hot dog and hamburger shop in 1926 and operated the shop named after his daughter into the 1950s. Angelo Fruscione bought the spot, added the diner train car, and allegedly added pasta to the menu.
Gus Panajitou and Jimmy Ydreos took over in the 1970s. After Ydreos left, Gus’s brothers Kosta and George took his place. They Panaijtous are responsible for the window seating expansion in the 1980s.
Like Lala and her family, previous owner John Mastoris was an immigrant — from Greece — who was familiar with restaurants and had family business ties. He was related to the Panaijtous and took over the diner in 2008.
Over the years, Pat’s has become a cultural crossroads in Trenton where people from all walks of life stop by to meet, great, and eat hefty meals accompanied by slender checks.
In a pre-COVID interview Mastoris said the 114-seat venue yielded “thousands of receipts per week” to support the 20 full- and part-time employees and high energy costs to operate the 24-hour venue.
During the height of the pandemic and the ongoing recovery, Mastoris had to make changes in hours and staffing to keep the doors open, now on limited hours. The most notable staffing change from the pandemic was Mastoris, who is on the record saying he was exhausted.
Assessing her new venture, Lala says, “I wasn’t here before COVID, but from the day we took over I see an increase. I see new faces” — and perhaps Trenton’s changing demographics. “A new generation is coming, more Hispanic people, more African American. Before it was mostly white, now it’s more even. It is good. Everyone is getting along with everyone.”
In order to update Pat’s marketing, Lala says they have created a web and Instagram presence to help people know “we are still here.”
Part of her business plan is to let the past guide the future. “I’m not going to touch the original menu because it has been working for so many years. We are keeping the original recipes. If I change the product, people will get mad at me. To make better, yes. To change, no.
Instead, she says they’re putting their focus on “service quality, being a humble restaurant that feels like your home. Little touches here and there. Play soft music, trying to decorate a little for holidays. We like to provide a clean environment. Later on, we may try to do a little renewing. Not major changes, but keep the same layout, but maybe paint, get new tables, and new coffee machines.”
Yet right now she is attempting to provide continuity during an uncertain economic climate. “Everything is so expensive, and we are trying to keep the same prices. Eggs, milk, the prices are up.”
Interesting, Lala says Pat’s has been spared a problem that has plagued other businesses. “There’s no problem filling positions.”
And while some employees decided to make a change and others were let go after the sale, she adds she has “a few names and phone numbers who are people who know the new management and were looking for something and new employees are saying it would be nice to do for them because of the family. We take care of our people and they take care of us.”
Taking a broad look at what she and her family are doing, Lala says, “This establishment is something historical. We are proud to own this and want to keep continuing it as long as it as possible — and not let it go down.
Pat’s Original Diner, 1300 South Broad Street, Trenton. Open 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. Wednesdays through Mondays; 7:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. Tuesdays. 609-392-2024.
