Sparta Classic Diner Offers Thanksgiving Special

The Sparta Classic Diner is preparing its very first Thanksgiving since adding its renovations by offering a holiday special.

The restaurant, which reopened in July, is offering a Thanksgiving meal to-go for $120.

The meal serves 10 people and includes a turkey, butternut squash or cream of turkey soup, gravy, cranberry sauce, potatoes, green beans, and stuffing.

Owner Dimitri Kontolios said the diner has already received over 80 orders, and will continue to accept orders until Tuesday. Customers will only be able to get the holiday special by ordering it in.

The diner will be open on Thanksgiving day for breakfast and lunch from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. If customers wish to get a turkey meal in the restaurant that day, they will be able to get the roast turkey dinner with stuffing, potatoes and vegetables on its regular menu.

Kontolios said despite the impacts from Hurricane Sandy that left the diner without power for four days, the restaurant has been back up and running.

The diner got its power back the Friday after the storm, but Kontolios said it took a full day to prepare the kitchen and get everything ready again.

Once the restaurant opened Saturday, Kontolios said it was a steady stream of customers.

"We have a very loyal following, and as soon as we opened, they were here," Kontolios said. "People wanted to get out, they lost power."

Kontolios said that although the restaurant lost about half of their weekly earnings in the week of the storm, the week after made up for it with their increased business.

He said they saw more customers than normal, espcially on the weekends, and it calmed down by Tuesday once residents started going back to work.