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<p>PLAINS TWP. &#8212; Customers again were at the counter, in booths and at tables.</p><p>The place was packed.</p><p>Waitresses hurriedly moved from tables to the kitchen and back again. The aroma of home-cooked meals, fresh-brewed coffee, and bacon frying on the griddle filled the air. Smiles were everywhere, and Christmas carols were playing through the speakers.</p><p>D&#8217;s Diner &#8211; formerly Eddie&#8217;s Place &#8211; on Fox Hill Road, is back in business after being closed for four months.</p><p>Family is the key to the new ownership team. Dan and Denise DeMellier, of Plains Township, and Steve and Danielle Simko, of Laflin, are the new proprietors. Denise DeMellier and Danielle Simko are sisters &#8211; twins in fact.</p><p>And the new owners have a very special waitress on their team: Susan Fisher, who has worked at the diner for 34 years and is Denise and Danielle&#8217;s mother. Her daughters were sure to hire her back.</p><p>&#8220;I am so glad that the diner is open again,&#8221; Fisher said on Thursday. &#8220;And I&#8217;m really happy my daughters and their husbands are the ones who brought it back.&#8221;</p><p>Since the diner reopened on Monday, many of Fisher&#8217;s former customers have been in, and she&#8217;s served a lot of new ones, too, she said.</p><p>&#8220;It&#8217;s been great,&#8221; she said. &#8220;And most of the people who worked here before are back as well.&#8221;</p><p>Dan DeMellier, 41, said 90 percent of the staff that worked at Eddie&#8217;s Diner have returned to their former jobs. &#8220;And right in time for the holidays,&#8221; he said.</p><p>The DeMelliers and Simkos know the former owner, Eddie Biniek, and his family. Dan DeMellier, a general contractor, said he was a frequent customer.</p><p>Biniek had closed the diner four months ago due to health issues.</p><p>&#8220;It was sad to see this place empty,&#8221; Dan DeMellier said. &#8220;This is a landmark that needs to stay open. A lot of people missed it when it was closed.&#8221;</p><p>Dan DeMellier said the diner has been completely remodeled &#8212; all new tile and carpeting, new ceilings, lighting, a new roof, a paint job and a game room for kids. </p><p>&#8220;We still have home-cooked meals,&#8221; he said. &#8220;We have most of the same (menu) items from before, and we have added a few of our own. We will be adding more items as we go forward.&#8221;</p><p>Dan DeMellier said the diner has been busy &#8211; &#8220;it&#8217;s been non-stop&#8221; &#8211; since it opened Monday. Most of the pies offered are homemade, he said, and all the cakes are made on the premises.</p><p>John Morrissey and JoAnn Wolinsky, of Forty Fort, grabbed a booth and ordered breakfast. It was Wolinsky&#8217;s first time at the diner.</p><p>&#8220;We love diners,&#8221; she said. &#8220;Diners are fun. Whenever we travel, we always look for diners to eat at. You always get good food, and these are local owners.&#8221;</p><p>Jerry Yuknavich, 57, of Wilkes-Barre Township, was seated at the counter, waiting for his meal to be served. Yuknavich was a regular customer when it was known as Eddie&#8217;s, he said, and he expects to be a frequent customer of D&#8217;s.</p><p>&#8220;As soon as I found out the diner reopened, I came up,&#8221; Yuknavich said. &#8220;I love the food here, and the service is always outstanding.&#8221;</p><p>At another booth, Wilbur Shaver, a retired mailman from Wilkes-Barre&#8217;s Parsons neighborhood, was seated with Helen Gist, of Wilkes-Barre Township.</p><p>&#8220;Yeah, I&#8217;m an old-timer who&#8217;s been coming here a long time,&#8221; Shaver said. </p><p>&#8220;I always loved the French toast here.&#8221;</p><p>Dan DeMellier already placed Christmas lights outside the diner.</p><p>&#8220;We wanted to light the building up,&#8221; he said. &#8220;We wanted to show we were open for business.&#8221;</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Wilbur Shaver, of Wilkes-Barre, sips his coffee while having breakfast at the newly opened D&#8217;s Diner. &#8216;It&#8217;s good to see (this restaurant) open again.&#8217; </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/web1_diner03-2.jpg</photo0><caption0>Wilbur Shaver, of Wilkes-Barre, sips his coffee while having breakfast at the newly opened D&#8217;s Diner. &#8216;It&#8217;s good to see (this restaurant) open again.&#8217; </caption0><photoCredit0>Pete G. Wilcox | Times Leader </photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/web1_diner02-2.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Dan DeMellier, co-owner of D&#8217;s Diner in Plains Township, talks about the changes he and his business partners made since taking over the former Eddie&#8217;s Place. The building has been remodeled and includes a game room, he said. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/web1_diner02-2.jpg</photo1><caption1>Dan DeMellier, co-owner of D&#8217;s Diner in Plains Township, talks about the changes he and his business partners made since taking over the former Eddie&#8217;s Place. The building has been remodeled and includes a game room, he said. </caption1><photoCredit1>Pete G. Wilcox | Times Leader </photoCredit1></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/web1_diner01-2.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">John Morrissey and JoAnn Wolinsky, both of Forty Fort, experience the new D&#8217;s Diner, formerly Eddie&#8217;s Diner, in Plains Township on Thursday. The popular eating establishment opened under new ownership this week after a four-month closure. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo2>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/web1_diner01-2.jpg</photo2><caption2>John Morrissey and JoAnn Wolinsky, both of Forty Fort, experience the new D&#8217;s Diner, formerly Eddie&#8217;s Diner, in Plains Township on Thursday. The popular eating establishment opened under new ownership this week after a four-month closure. </caption2><photoCredit2>Pete G. Wilcox | Times Leader </photoCredit2></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Bill O&#8217;Boyle</p><p>boboyle@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><factboxMeta><p><strong>About D&#8217;s Diner</strong></p><p>Hours are 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday; open 24 hours Thursday through Sunday.</p><p>For more information, visit D&#8217;s Diner Facebook page. Or call 570-823-1990.</p></factboxMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Bill O&#8217;Boyle at 570-991-6118 or on Twitter @TLBillOBoyle.</p></shirttailMeta></div>

The crowd returns to reopened Plains Township diner