History

In 1994, our flagship location was opened on the corner of Piedmont and Roswell Roads. Tom Lambrou set out to introduce Atlanta to the New York Diner and it was a hit from the beginning. Today the Landmark Diner name is well known and respected in Atlanta, but that success did not come easy.

Tom Lambrou, founder of Landmark Diner, came to America in the late 1960’s. It was a time when his home country, Greece, had just gone through two wars, World War II and then it’s own civil war. At the age of 13, looking for opportunity, Tom Lambrou set out on his journey, which began on Greek ships. He started out as a cook on the ships, traveling all around Europe, Africa and even Asia. But when he arrived in America he made the decision that this was the place he wanted to work – New York. In the beginning, he had to work low-level positions such as dishwasher, cook and busboy, but the hard work paid off. Tom Lambrou had saved up enough money and experience by the age of 23 to buy his first diner. The name of the Diner was the Blauvelt Diner in New City, New York.

But why a diner? Tom Lambrou decided on the diner concept because that was part of the Greek tradition and culture. Many Greek immigrants who had come to America had opened diners and were very successful, especially in New York and New Jersey. Diners were part of the Greek-American lifestyle. And all Greek diner owners knew each other and visited each other from time to time at each others diners. When they got together, it was a party.

Over the next ten to fifteen years, Tom Lambrou opened several other diners in New York. His flagship diner in Peekskill, New York was the By Pass Diner on Albany Post Road. Another diner he opened was the Briarcliff Diner in Ossining, New York – which is currently a Landmark Diner now owned by another family member.

In 1994, Tom Lambrou made the big move to Atlanta to open his Landmark Diner in Buckhead. The main reason behind the move was that Atlanta was growing and the Olympics were on the way. Over the next seventeen years Tom Lambrou reaped the rewards of his hard work and was able to open several other Landmark Diners in Atlanta, including the Georgia State University “Downtown” location in 2003 and then the Cheshire Bridge “Jr.” location in 2006.

Along with his son, Niko J. Lambrou - Chef Niko, and three nephews Niko G. Lambrou, Ari Thanos and George Saris, this team is building the Landmark Diner empire bigger and stronger.

There are currently five locations that Landmark Diner, Inc. operates in Atlanta.