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<p>WILKES-BARRE &#8212; A packed diner was the scene as a new business opened in the old Lone Star steakhouse near the Wyoming Valley Mall.</p><p>Valley Diner, located at 805 Kidder St., had its grand opening 6 a.m. Monday, and manager Starr Napolitano said it got off to a good start.</p><p>&#8220;We were slammed this morning, &#8221; Napolitano said.</p><p>The new business is owned by Nabil Nazmt, who was behind the grill cooking all morning.</p><p>Lone Star closed in January 2015. BV Belk Properties of Charlotte, N.C., had advertised the property as a freestanding and fully equipped restaurant.</p><p>Long gone is the steakhouse interior, replaced with red and white booths and decor, a nod to the classic American diner style. The hostess stand also houses a cake display with fresh baked goods.</p><p>Napolitano said both breakfast and lunch hours drew big crowds, and they just had a lull in activity in the early afternoon.</p><p>&#8220;We did very, very well,&#8221; she said.</p><p>&#8220;Our breakfast and lunch rush was phenomenal.&#8221;</p><p>Napolitano said Nazmt has been working on the place for seven months, and all of the employees are experienced, having gone through a three-week training period prior to the opening.</p><p>She said, as a New Jersey native, the idea of a diner was so appealing because the area doesn&#8217;t have as many diners as New York and New Jersey do.</p><p>&#8220;This is something new. This is exciting,&#8221; she said.</p><p>She said opening day was going better than expected.</p><p>&#8220;The response has been good,&#8221; she said.</p><p>News of the opening spread quickly on social media too. One of the employees posted about the opening Friday evening and her post has been shared just shy of a thousand times. She said the staff will continue to work out the kinks that come with opening a new restaurant</p><p>The Valley Diner, which is open 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily, serves breakfast, lunch and dinner, with breakfast being served all day.</p><p>&#8220;For opening day, we did very well,&#8221; Napolitano said.</p><p>&#8220;We put a lot of blood sweat and tears into this place.&#8221;</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Employees walk out in the dining room during the lunch rush at the newly opened Valley Diner in Wilkes-Barre. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/web1_Valley-Diner2-1.jpg</photo0><caption0>Employees walk out in the dining room during the lunch rush at the newly opened Valley Diner in Wilkes-Barre. </caption0><photoCredit0>Sean McKeag | Times Leader </photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/web1_Valley-Diner1-1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Food is ready to be taken to customers on opening day of the Valley Diner in Wilkes-Barre. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/web1_Valley-Diner1-1.jpg</photo1><caption1>Food is ready to be taken to customers on opening day of the Valley Diner in Wilkes-Barre. </caption1><photoCredit1>Sean McKeag | Times Leader </photoCredit1></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Brigid Edmunds</p><p>bedmunds@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Brigid Edmunds at 570-991-6113 or on Twitter @brigidedmunds</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Valley Diner opens in old Lone Star steakhouse near Wyoming Valley Mall