Chicopee to get American Diner

By Holly Angelo

05/01/2008- The Republican

CHICOPEE - The empty digs where P.J. Scott's Restaurant once served up meals to hungry customers will not be vacant for much longer.

The Blue Sky Diner is set to open at the 1615 Memorial Drive location within two to three weeks. Cousins Remzi Gok, the owner of the Easthampton Diner on Union Street in that city, and Ahmet Citlak, owner of the Palace Pizza on Page Boulevard, Springfield, are the owners.

"It will be a regular American diner," said Citlak, of Ludlow, seated in one of the new dining booths at the restaurant yesterday. "There will be breakfast, lunch, and dinner."

The cousins are renting the building from Steven P. Abdow, the former owner of P.J. Scott's, which closed about two years ago. City Planner Kate L. Brown said the new business is good news for the city.

"It's great," she said this week. "Empty buildings don't do anything for anyone. It's nice to see an individual business come into town, rather than a chain."

The diner will be open seven days a week. Citlak said there are plans to have the restaurant open 24 hours a day on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays.

The restaurant will have a full bar.

Asked why he and Gok, who lives in Easthampton, chose Chicopee to open an eatery, Citlak said, "It's a busy road."

The restaurant seats 180, and there are 70 parking spaces. The restaurant is being painted and is undergoing minor improvements.

New booths and tables are in place.

Rose M. Whelihan, who will be the dining room manager, was busy interviewing people yesterday. The restaurant will employ about three dozen people, including 20 waiters.

"I think with all the business that's been building up on the street, it should be busy," said Whelihan, who lives in Chicopee and is a former bartender and waitress at P.J. Scott's.