Whether you step into the Lexington Candy Shop, founded in 1925 on the Upper East Side, or Thai Diner, a 2020 establishment in Lower Manhattan, at any of New York City’s mom-and-pop restaurants, you don’t just get a hearty meal, but an experience steeped in local history and culture.
With their unique interiors, iconic menus and familiar faces, these family-run diners are gathering grounds — places where, for generations, locals and tourists alike have enjoyed a slow conversation over a home-cooked meal.
But when one of these historic venues, brimming with stories and memories, closes its doors for good, what does the neighborhood and, ultimately, the city, lose?
“I think the whole word diner is just synonymous with a sense of comfort, a belonging,” said Karla Murray, a photojournalist and interior photographer who, along with her husband James, has been documenting New York’s small businesses for over two decades.
“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 spotlight on these cherished establishments, of which many have shut up shop for good since Store Front was published.
According to the National Restaurant Association, average food costs rose 38% between 2019 and 2025, with the combined impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and 2022 avian flu outbreak hitting mom-and-pop diners particularly hard.
In 2023, some restaurants in New York saw the cost of 30-dozen eggs – eggs being an essential ingredient in many diner dishes — soar to over $100 (approx. £75 / AU$140), up from around $40 pre-pandemic.
For diners, whose appeal is partly rooted in affordable menus, absorbing those kind of increases is difficult. The Murrays said many owners are reluctant to pass higher costs on to loyal customers, further squeezing already-thin margins.
“It’s a monumental loss... the whole character of the neighborhood declines when these places are gone,” said 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.
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 published prolifically about the city’s independent enterprises since the mid-2000s. The new book is the latest installment of their unique solutions photojournalism, aimed at getting more customers 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 rent hikes as the final nail in 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,” said 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.”
Despite being unable to help Cozy Soup ’N’ Burger, the husband-wife duo are confident that New York’s mom-and-pop diners will never fully disappear. After all, as younger generations of families take over the business reins, some diners have adapted to the times.
According to the couple, one of the main reasons Lexington Candy Shop now has “lines out the door” is because it's embraced social media.
In fact, videos of how the staff still make Coca-Cola the traditional way, by mixing soda water with the syrup, have gone viral, bringing in hosts of young customers wanting to drink soda the way 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 contains 200 color photographs, accompanied by Emma Orlow’s words. The monograph is priced at $45 in the US and £35 in the UK, with all stockist retailers listed on the Prestel website.
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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.
