Red Robin Diner - a fixture in the heart of the Johnson City business district - has ceased operations.

A village official said the restaurant at the corner of Main and Broad streets closed its doors on January 26. A sign posted on the diner's front door indicates the business was not going to be open on February 1 and 2 but there was no explanation.

The old-fashioned diner building had operated in its current location since November 1959. Prior to that, the eatery was located for several years on Conklin Avenue in Binghamton, near the Washington Street bridge.

Red Robin Diner was quiet on March 11, 2021. Photo: Bob Joseph/WNBF News
Red Robin Diner was quiet on March 11, 2021. (Photo: Bob Joseph/WNBF News)
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Johnson City officials say Jon Bowie had been the operator of the restaurant for over a decade. Efforts to contact Bowie were unsuccessful.

People familiar with the situation said they had heard the business was struggling because of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Johnson City officials say Red Robin Diner has not opened over the past several weeks. Photo: Bob Joseph/WNBF News
Johnson City officials say Red Robin Diner has not opened over the past several weeks. Photo: Bob Joseph/WNBF News
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One person said he believed Bowie had been running the diner under a type of rent-to-own arrangement.

The current owner of the property could not be reached to comment on possible future plans for the iconic diner.

Red Robin Diner as it was being moved from Binghamton to Johnson City on June 30, 1959. Photo: Broome County Historical Society
Red Robin Diner as it was being moved from Binghamton to Johnson City on June 30, 1959. (Photo: Broome County Historical Society)
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Contact WNBF News reporter Bob Joseph: bob@wnbf.com or (607) 772-8400 extension 233.

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