{"id":797719,"date":"2026-05-15T07:58:20","date_gmt":"2026-05-15T07:58:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/797719\/"},"modified":"2026-05-15T07:58:20","modified_gmt":"2026-05-15T07:58:20","slug":"irenes-finer-diner-reopens-two-years-after-grease-fire-closed-doors","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/797719\/","title":{"rendered":"Irene’s Finer Diner reopens two years after grease fire closed doors"},"content":{"rendered":"

Petros Papatheofanis fondly remembers stealing bacon off the griddle and being handed orange juice by the doting wait staff of his father\u2019s North Center restaurant, Alps East.<\/p>\n

Tuesday morning, he got to walk back through the same door with his mom \u2014 the namesake of the current space, Irene\u2019s Finer Diner, and one of the many family members he worked alongside when Alps East was open, from 1986 to 2012.<\/p>\n

Customers from the former restaurant greeted them both before ordering.<\/p>\n

It came nearly two years to the day after the diner, at 2012 W. Irving Park Rd., was closed after a grease fire gutted the inside, though luckily no one was injured.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy entire life essentially was in that restaurant,\u201d Papatheofanis said. \u201cIt was a special place for us, so to get to open something in the same building my dad and mom and uncles worked, it was really cool. There\u2019s a lot of nostalgia for me walking through the doors.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"Dough<\/p>\n

Co-Owner and Chef Noah Zamler kneads dough in the kitchen at the newly reopened Irene\u2019s Finer Diner in North Center on Thursday.<\/p>\n

Candace Dane Chambers\/Sun-Times<\/p>\n

The diner soft launched again May 2, closing once last week to catch up after a busy first weekend. A full reopen is still to come. In the meantime, the restaurateurs hope to introduce some signature alcoholic brunch drinks, including mimosas, as well as a potential brunch beer once their liquor license is cleared.<\/p>\n

The current iteration of the North Center diner is open daily from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.<\/p>\n

It started four years ago through the efforts of Papatheofanis and co-owners Cristian Mendoza and Noah Zamler.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"Co-Owners<\/p>\n

Co-Owners Cristian Mendoza (left) and Noah Zamler in the dining room at the newly reopened Irene\u2019s Finer Diner in North Center.<\/p>\n

Candace Dane Chambers\/Sun-Times<\/p>\n

He said it was a \u201cno-brainer\u201d when the building his father had worked out of opened up again, though the COVID-19 pandemic put things on pause. Two years after opening, the fire put them out again, and navigating insurance and city permits took time.<\/p>\n

But now with the doors open again, Zamler said they are focused on fine-tuning the menu<\/a>. As they experiment and and introduce customers to some new tastes, he said they\u2019re leaning on the trust they\u2019ve built with the neighborhood through making many of their breads and sauces themselves, with locally sourced ingredients.<\/p>\n

Among the new items is shakshuka, a North African tomato stew with two poached eggs, feta and a radish, alongside their in-house sourdough.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt makes them try something they wouldn\u2019t normally try, so why not get them out of their comfort zone?\u201d Zamler said.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

The shakshuka is a popular items at Irene\u2019s Finer Diner in North Center on the North Side, Thursday, May 14, 2026. <\/p>\n

|
\n Candace Dane Chambers\/Sun-Times<\/p>\n

The chorizo breakfast burrito is a popular items at Irene\u2019s Finer Diner in North Center on the North Side, Thursday, May 14, 2026.<\/p>\n

|
\n Candace Dane Chambers\/Sun-Times<\/p>\n

The Athens omelette is a popular items at Irene\u2019s Finer Diner in North Center on the North Side, Thursday, May 14, 2026. <\/p>\n

|
\n Candace Dane Chambers\/Sun-Times<\/p>\n

Of course the diner\u2019s biscuits and gravy will return; Mendoza knows some regulars who would cause a fuss if they hadn\u2019t.<\/p>\n

The two-year construction gap was mostly filled with the bagel shop<\/a> \u2014 Irene\u2019s Bagels \u2014 the team opened at 1942 W. Montrose Ave. It\u2019s also part of their future plan, as the trio want to open more bagel shops to bring local competition to the \u201cbagel boom\u201d they say the city has been seeing.<\/p>\n

But ultimately, they said, they\u2019re glad to be back at the diner, with their regulars in the diner where they say they can better connect with the neighborhood.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe try our best to have connections there [at the bagel shop] but it\u2019s more challenging,\u201d Mendoza said. \u201cThe diner allows us to really connect with people in the community. \u2026 It brings joy and happiness to our hearts.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"Co-Owner<\/p>\n

Co-Owner and Chef Noah Zamler takes a loaf of bread out of the oven at Irene\u2019s Finer Diner in North Center.<\/p>\n

Candace Dane Chambers\/Sun-Times<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Petros Papatheofanis fondly remembers stealing bacon off the griddle and being handed orange juice by the doting wait…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":797720,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5124],"tags":[960,5386,1818],"class_list":{"0":"post-797719","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-chicago","8":"tag-chicago","9":"tag-il","10":"tag-illinois"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/116577534862423949","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/797719","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=797719"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/797719\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/797720"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=797719"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=797719"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=797719"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}