Historic Park Street Diner Sold to Local Pizzeria Owner
 The landmark Miss Adams Diner has been sold. |
ADAMS, Mass. — The iconic Miss Adams Diner was purchased last Friday by a local restaurant owner and is slated for reopening.
Constructed as Worcester Lunch Car No. 82, the charming eatery located at 53 Park St. was purchased by Rick "Izzy" Solomon for $155,000, according to Jennifer Segala, owner of Steepleview Realty, which previously possessed the property.
Solomon, who operates Izzy's Pizza & Deli located at 85 Commercial St. with Annmarie Belmonte, is staying mum on exactly what he plans to do with the space.
"The only statement that I’m making is that I purchased the business, the building and that I have intentions in the future of doing something with it," Solomon said on Tuesday.
Belmonte, who was manager of an earlier incarnation of the diner, said in a well-shared post to the Izzy's Facebook page that it would reopen as a pizzeria and diner in the next month or so.
The last business in the dining car closed on Aug. 15.
Steepleview Realty previously leased the property to Philomene and Ric Belair for about three years until the summer, when Segala and her husband, Paul Segala, decided to put the property up for sale.
“We gave [Philomene and Ric Belair] the first opportunity to buy it. Unfortunately, they were not financially capable of buying it. After we exhausted all avenues to help them buy it, then we were actually approached by Izzy’s ourselves, so it really never hit the market,” Jennifer Segala said.
When the Segalas bought it from Berkshire Bank in a foreclosure auction in 2009, the lunch car was intended to be sold immediately. But the Belairs issued a proposition to operate a diner within the space as part of a lease-to-own agreement, and the Segalas were swayed to postpone their plans to sell the building.
“We set the whole stage when we bought it and leased it to [the Belairs] three years ago,” Segala said. “They were good tenants for three years. We hoped that they could have bought it, but they couldn’t.”
According to Segala, there was a three-year benchmark agreed upon by both parties after which time they would reassess the status of the ownership. When the Belairs gave notice that they were unable to afford the price of its purchase in August, the property was placed for sale.
Despite several other potential buyers, Izzy’s presented the best terms and conditions.
"I think Izzy’s is really interested in the charm of the old Worcester car, so I don’t think that they’re going to change much," Jennifer Segala said.
The diner went into foreclosure under then-owner Jae Chung. The Segalas bought the property for about $95,000, including some back taxes and other expenses.
After its purchase, Segala subdivided the land, which abuts Steepleview Realty offices at 63 Park St., which she said was crucial to her measured value of the land. The division was made primarily to allow for the equitable distribution of parking spaces between her offices and the would-be diner.
The diner has had many different monikers and menus over its 60 or 70-year history, including as Pier 53 and more recently as Captain’s Tavern and Miss Adams Diner.
Tags: historical building, Park Street, restaurants,
