The Voorhees Diner on Route 73 closed abruptly last week. While the future status is still unclear, evidence points to this being a more permanent closure.
I stopped by yesterday afternoon to find the diner still closed with a very simple “Sorry We’re Closed” sign on the front door.
Over the weekend popular Facebook page “A View From Evesham” more widely publicized the closing which seems to have actually taken place last Wednesday on June 5th. (Facebook Post)
There are reports that workers showed up that day (June 5th) to a notice which informed them the Voorhees Diner was closing at 2:00 PM, and to clean out their workstations and dispose of trash.
Verified reports say that as part of the closing all of the remaining food items were donated to a local food pantry.
Additionally the Voorhees Diner website has been turned off.
Looking at the Internet Archives Wayback Machine site which captures snapshots of webpages, the most recent capture ahead of the June closure shows that on April 15th they did have a fully functional “1990s style” website.
So the fact that it now shows “404 Page Not Found” error would seem to indicate that it was an intentional action to turn off the website… and also lends evidence to the diner not reopening any time soon.
But there still is much doubt and uncertainty on the status.
Keep in mind this is the second time in the last 18 months that the Voorhees Diner closed abruptly.
Back in September of 2022 a similar situation took place when they Closed the diner unannounced… so fast in fact that they only had time to handwrite a very basic “Closed – Sorry for the inconvenience” note for the front glass door. They of course then did reopen for the next 18-months.
While I’ve been unable to track down ownership/management for the diner, several contacts within the diner industry tell me that the diner was actually being operated by the bank… and it was the bank who decided this time around they would close the diner for good. This is unconfirmed but reported by multiple sources.
At one time somewhat recently the diner was listed for sale online, but that listing was previously removed.
The undated listing offered a $1.2 million sales price for the Diner, which seems a fair price but in reading the marketing brochure you learn that price only included the building and business sale. The ground the building sits on is part of the hotel property and has a separate ground-lease payment agreement. A liquor license is also available for use at the diner as part of the special hotel liquor license, but likely at a separate cost also.
But again that is an older listing and at this time the diner has not reappeared online as For Sale.
It’s likely been a rough five years for the Voorhees Diner. Back in 2019 they were involved in several publicized legal cases brought against them.
One was a $400,000 Federal lawsuit filed by the US Labor Department regarding the owners violating federal wage laws… Not paid for working we’re given overtime pay. This was their second violation in four years (Courier / Walsh)
Two different worker harassment claims were also filed.
A waitress contend that she faced unwanted touching misogynistic comics and vile behavior for years. A gay server reached a settlement with the diner owners that restaurant and police repeatedly used anti-gay slurs against him. (Courier/Berkery)
Then in 2020 the entire restaurant industry was impacted by the pandemic.
As I learn more on the Voorhees Diner status I will share with readers.
Links and Locations
Voorhees Diner – Closed
320 NJ-73
Voorhees Township, NJ 08043