A once-popular diner in downtown Huntington that served locals for decades permanently closed last week, following a protracted legal fight with its landlord and severe backlash over the restaurant owner explicitly supporting Israel. Peter Tsadilas, who is not Jewish and took over the former Golden Dolphin Diner in January 2020, shut the doors of the Golden Globe diner after facing an eviction threat and spending over 250,000 dollars in legal fees. The closure comes after Tsadilas prominently displayed several posters of the hostages taken by Hamas in the October 7 attack on southern Israel, along with Israeli flags and a banner that read Greek diners stand with Israel.
The displays did not sit well with some community members, leading to a loss of longtime customers and hecklers shouting at the diner that Tsadilas is supporting genocide in Gaza. The harassment culminated in vandalism during the early morning hours of July 12, when the front window of the eatery was shattered. Suffolk County police launched an investigation into the window shattering as a hate crime.
Following the boycott and vandalism, Jewish customers and supporters of Israel rallied around the diner to help keep it afloat. Peter Klein, a 37-year-old resident of nearby Plainview, learned about the shattered window through social media and set up a GoFundMe campaign titled Stand Behind Peter and the Golden Globe Diner. The campaign aimed to raise 7,500 dollars to replace the window, enhance security, and fix tables damaged in a previous incident of vandalism. The initiative quickly raised more than 13,600 dollars from over 300 donors.
Customers traveled from outside the immediate area to demonstrate their solidarity with the embattled business. One couple drove nearly an hour from Queens to dine at the restaurant right after learning about the shattered glass. The husband expressed his shock at the boundless nature of such animosity and emphasized the absolute necessity of backing anyone who stands with Israel during difficult times. Another regular patron, who had visited the eatery repeatedly since the conflict began and contributed to the repair fund, voiced her disgust while sitting at a table that vandals had previously damaged. She noted that the owner was merely exercising his freedom of speech and facing unjust retaliation for his stance.
The diner also became a regular spot for Ronen and Orna Neutra, whose 22-year-old son Omer was raised on Long Island and is currently a hostage in Gaza. The parents have been frequent visitors since Tsadilas put a picture of their son and the other hostages in the front window. They had lunch at the diner with a dozen friends two days before flying to Milwaukee to address the Republican National Convention. Tsadilas detailed their interaction. "I made them promise that when their son comes back safe and sound, they will all come to the diner and we’ll take down all the posters together in one shot," Tsadilas said.
While customers sympathetic to the cause rallied around the diner, Tsadilas also spent the last several years embroiled in a long-running dispute with the landlord, Great Neck-based Tolou Realty Associates. Tsadilas, who previously worked in the commercial printing industry making menus for diners, had no restaurant experience when he became a partner in the establishment in 2017. The restaurant had been closed for nearly two years after it was shuttered by New York State because of unpaid sales taxes by previous owners. Following a blow up with his partner in 2018, Tsadilas shut the diner for four months and reopened it in April 2019 as the Golden Globe.
Tsadilas said the former owners had doubled the size of the restaurant from 2,000 to 4,000 square feet, but an expansion into an adjacent space occupied by H and R Block never happened. Tsadilas said the landlord raised the monthly rent from around 14,000 dollars in 2017 to 23,000 dollars, including the unoccupied space in the amended lease. In 2021, a court-ordered agreement reduced the rent to 8,000 dollars for the first year and extended the lease for an additional 12 years. Counting on the new deal, Tsadilas invested another 75,000 dollars in the business. He then took the landlord back to court because agreed-upon repairs were never done, but the case was thrown out.
Tsadilas said he stopped paying rent on the diner last August. Fed up that he could not get a fair shake in court and facing eviction, he closed the doors for good. "I’ve spent over a quarter of a million dollars in legal fees," Tsadilas said. "They squeezed me out," he said. Today, Tsadilas operates a Kings Park restaurant called Diner Dash, which he opened with a partner in January 2025, but he still laments the Huntington eatery. "I’ve been going to that Huntington diner with my father since I was nine," Tsadilas said. "When it became available, it became my dream to continue its legacy. Unfortunately, it became my nightmare". Tolou Realty Associates did not respond to a request for comment.
The targeted harassment mirrors other recent incidents facing Jewish and pro-Israel establishments. The Second Avenue Deli in New York City also faced vandalism, with a swastika drawn outside the restaurant. Owner Josh Lebewohl noted a severe impact on the business, stating that DoorDash delivery drivers systematically canceled orders, resulting in a 30 percent decline in delivery operations. "We are a Jewish restaurant, and people are afraid to come," Lebewohl said, highlighting the severe challenges facing business owners in the current climate.