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Deerfield Beach Says Goodbye To Marlee's Diner After 17 Years

Marlee's Diner
Caitie Switalski
/
WLRN
Emmy Louvaris co-owns Marlee's with her parents, Steve and Helen Mavromatis. The name Marlee is dedicated to Louvaris' niece.

Marlee's Diner has been a beloved institution in Deerfield Beach for the past 17 years. 

Diners could get all types of homemade pies  - from cherry to peach - and endless combinations of omelettes for breakfast and Greek specialty foods served for lunch. 

But it's closing shop this Sunday. 

 

The Mavromatis family that owns Marlee's is saying goodbye after running the diner since 2001. Co-owner, and daughter, Emmy Louvaris said her parents, Steve and Helen, are getting older and want to retire at 79 and 80 years old. So they sold the property. It's bittersweet.

"You really learn about people's lives and they share with you and you just chat," Louvaris said. "That social part, I'm going to miss a lot."

Read More: Old S&S Diner In South Miami Says Goodbye

Louvaris tried for the past two years and a half to help her family find another local restaurateur who would want to take over the business. But, between trying to sell during Hurricane Irma, and other negotiations that fell through with other restaurateur families, it was time to let go and stop waiting, she said. 

"Things just didn't pan out," she said. "That takes a stressful toll on, my mom who was the one who was really negotiating."

Marlee's Diner
Credit Caitie Switalski / WLRN
/
WLRN
The Friday morning breakfast crowd at Marlee's Diner.

The family sold the day after they were able to find a realtor. It's not clear what the land will be used for next.

Dan Devine was eating breakfast at Marlee's on Friday morning. He's been coming to this spot long before it was Marlee's - for the past 35 years, when there used to be three other diners in the building. But he says Marlee's is the one that's meant the most to him. 

"I used to meet my father here every day for breakfast for years and then he died," Devine said. "I got to know people here that come and go."

Now, Devine and the other regulars don't know where they'll go every day for homemade sausage and company. 

"It becomes a travesty of your life. It's like 'Wow!' Marlee's was a nice place to come and you always had someone to talk to... It's part of Americana that's dying out."

Caitie Muñoz, formerly Switalski, leads the WLRN Newsroom as Director of Daily News & Original Live Programming. Previously she reported on news and stories concerning quality of life in Broward County and its municipalities for WLRN News.
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