“So excited! Can’t wait for you to open. (Hurry! LOL), ” read one signature next to a smiley-face doodle.

“YAAY!! WELCOME BACK!” reads another.

A steady stream of customers have been stopping by Johnny’s Diner’s new location at 10169 University Blvd. since Johnny and Margarita Krasniqi signed the lease, she says. “They’ve been writing on our ‘Coming Soon’ sign because they are happy they found us!”

The Krasniqis hadn’t planned on this move but had no choice.

Last year, the Winter Park plaza they’d called home for 27 years was sold to Oviedo-based developers Hill Gray Seven. Then came a notice to vacate. The family-run operation and their longtime regulars were devastated. One, local optometrist Dennis Wagner, took up their cause, creating a GoFundMe to help them get a fresh start.

Johnny’s Diner is on short time to relocate — customer hopes to help

“We’ve tried a lot of different places,” says Wagner, whose usual is three over-easy eggs with bacon, “but we’ve been anticipating Johnny’s reopening.”

After several months of preparation, the wait is over. At 6 a.m. on Aug. 28, the crew at Johnny’s Diner will be ready to welcome guests into the new space.

“We’re just so excited to start over, to re-open and get back to it to it and see all our old customers. It’s been nice; every time somebody comes by to say hello because they heard about [the new spot], they’ll tell someone else, and then they’ll come by and look at it. It’s been really nice to let them come inside and look at the place. Everybody loves it.”

The space, formerly occupied by Taiwanese restaurant Mei’s Kitchen, was already modern and pretty.

“It’s so beautiful,” says Krasniqi. “The previous owner did such a nice job, but we had to change it up a little and make it into more of a diner.”

The tables and chairs from their original location, along with four booths, made the jump. There’s loads of counter seating, too, in a 2,000-square-foot, 80-seat space that’s basically the same capacity as the original.

“Most of our customers live in this area around University and Dean,” she says. “They’re so happy we’re back.”

Same menu, same from-scratch soups, same specials, rotating daily. Prices will be a little higher across the board, but not much.

“The rent here is double, but the prices aren’t crazy-high. We just figured we’d put more hours in. We know it’s a hard time for everybody. Everything is so expensive right now and we don’t want to do that to our customers.”

They’ll open daily at 6 a.m., she says, 7 a.m. on Sundays. Closing hours will vary. They need to make money after so much time out of the game. But it’ll be a good time, says Krasniqi. “Most of the staff will be coming back to work with us: Monnie (Marian Lucaj), who has cooked at the diner for 17 years, his wife, Sofia (Lucaj), and Martina (Lucaj), too, will be back as a server.”

The Lucaj family are the Krasniqi’s cousins.

Wagner wasn’t surprised about their “new hours” when he found out.

“The whole family is very hardworking,” he says. “Margarita even told me that I didn’t need to give her the GoFundMe money because the renovations were less than they had anticipated.” He chuckles. “I’ll be bringing them a cashier’s check this week.”

At press time, the money raised totaled just over $3,600. Rent in the new spot is over $7,000/month. That’s a lot of over-easy eggs. A humble Krasniqi says the family greatly appreciates the generosity.

“We know everyone else works hard for their money, too,” she says. “It feels like God sent us this little spot where we didn’t have to invest too much.”

Still, seven months closed takes its toll.

“It’s been tough, especially not having a job,” she says. “You can only clean the house so many times! And waiting to see if we could get this place was hard. We’re so happy that we were able to and so glad to be able to see all the familiar faces again.”

Linda’s Winter Park Diner closing after 35 years of ownership

“This is a disappearing mode of doing business,” says Wagner of the small, family-run operation.

Indeed, Orlando has lost many such places in recent months. Most notable, Linda’s Winter Park Diner, which closed its doors last month after 35 years under owner Linda D’Auria.

“It’s so important to support small, local businesses where the profits stay in town,” he says. ” I’m really looking forward to my first breakfast.”

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