A free program Nov. 14 at the Geneva History Museum will explore the restoration of the former Patti’s Lakeview Diner and efforts to bring it back to Geneva.
“New Life for an Historic Geneva Diner” begins at 2 p.m. Saturday at the museum, 543 S. Main St. The Antiques Club of the Finger Lakes is sponsoring the public program in cooperation with Historic Geneva, according to the program announcement.
Gerry Collins, the Tompkins County resident who purchased and restored the diner, will present the program with commentary by Lowell Dewey.
From a roadside diner to a restoration project
Built around 1932 or 1933, the diner originally operated beside a Texaco gas station on Routes 5 and 20. Last known as Patti’s Lakeview Diner, it served the community for more than 70 years at its original location before closing in 2004.
The site eventually became a hotel parking lot. The old dining car was moved behind a local sewage treatment plant, where it sat abandoned for 15 years before Collins purchased and restored it.
Collins wants to return the restored diner to Geneva near its original Lake Street site and is working with officials toward that goal. Dewey, a retired professional engineer and Industrial Development Agency board member, will discuss the process for bringing it back.
A career in diners and the food business
Collins’ experience in the food business began after college, when he worked in his father-in-law’s diner in Connecticut and learned the operation. After a few years in other pursuits, he worked as a sous chef and a central kitchen manager.
He opened a small diner in Connecticut in the late 1980s. After moving to the Finger Lakes, he and his wife owned a bed-and-breakfast for 15 years.
Collins also ran “The World’s Smallest Diner” in Watkins Glen from 2014 to 2024. Two years ago, he opened Stubby’s next to the Station Bar in Geneva.
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