Business Profile: Somers Diner
Mahopac resident Maria Lluka knew what she wanted to do for a living as a youngster working in family’s restaurant in Albania.
“I love it. I just love talking to people. I love making them happy,” Lluka said last week.
Lluka is sharing her passion for people and the restaurant business at the Somers Diner. Lluka opened her establishment, the first business she has owned, about two years ago at the site of a former deli and hair salon. The refurbishment took about two months, she recalled.
One of the reasons she chose to open her restaurant in the Village Plaza shopping center on Route 202 in the Lincolndale section of town was because it was close to where she lives and “There is no diner is Somers,” she added “I guess I was just lucky because it’s hard to find a location.”
“I couldn’t ask for any better location,” Lluka said.
Lluka said she came from her native country of Albania to Mahopac in 2000. “It’s a better country” with more opportunities, she said, adding that she has never regretted her decision to move. But Lluka said it was difficult at first to adjust to her new country, “because I didn’t speak English.”
Lluka said one of the reasons for the popularity of her restaurant is basic. “We make fresh food,” she said. “Everything is homemade.”
Another reason for her establishment’s success is its family atmosphere, Lluka said. “I treat them like a guest,” she said.
Some of Somers Diner’s specialties include omelets, panini’s, burgers, fish dishes and Chicken Marsala, Lluka said. She receives deliveries of fresh food twice a week and she purchases the items in small portions to assure freshness, Lluka said. Her personal favorite dish is spinach pie, which she prepares herself.
The diner is open daily. The busiest day of the week is Sunday for breakfast, Lluka said
Lluka not only owns the Somers Diner, she also serves her customers. “I love it. I want to make sure that everyone is happy,” she said. Lluka said she particularly like to cheer a customer up after he or she has had a bad day.
“I have the best customers I could ever ask for,” Lluka said.
The Somers Diner is located at 155 Route 202 in the Village Plaza shopping center. For more information, call 914-617-8550 or visit somersdiner.com.
