East Shore Diner, a veritable institution of the Harrisburg community known for fostering a Cheers-like, homey atmosphere, packed up its trailer and moved some 12 miles west to its new home along Waterford Dr in Silver Spring Township, where it will reopen mid-2023 as Silver Scoop, an ice cream, coffee, and dessert shop.
“What we’re shooting for is a 1950s, mid-century, Atomic Era-type vibe,” co-owner Stavros Katsifis – who runs the business with his mom and dad, Dorothy and Bill, as well as sister Vaso – tells What Now Philadelphia.
“Obviously it’s a 1950s building, it’s original and historic,” Stavros says of the structure they quite literally put on a trailer and moved earlier this week. “So we want to play that up as much as we can.”
While the family is working with a Philadelphia-based design firm to help bring their retro aesthetic to life, Stavros says the new location will also feature a sizable patio with outdoor seating, making it easier for them to “pull people outside.”
“I think the challenge with this area is that we have too many places where you just sit inside,” Stavros says, “and not any space to go outside to sit and kind of enjoy each other’s company, meet people walking by, bring your dog.”
It’s an ethos that harkens back to the Katsifis family’s Greek roots and a European culture that relishes outdoor dining on balmy evenings while bringing together a tight-knit community.
In fact, building community is something that East Shore Diner and the Katsifis family are known for. What’s more, opening a new business in Silver Spring Township represents something of a homecoming, as Stavros himself attended Cumberland Valley High School which sits but a stone’s throw away.
Nevertheless, leaving behind Harrisburg is still “bittersweet.”
“We had a nice community, a nice group of customers that were elevated to friends and a lot of time like family,” says Stavros. “We fostered a place like Cheers at the diner. Literally, there were times when my dad would make people’s food before they even stepped foot inside – like he would see them pulling in, he would know what they get, the regulars, and by the time they sat down it was like 30 seconds before it was done.”
Stavros continues, “He was always really good at getting people to chat with one another. It’s kind of hilarious watching it, where he’ll start a conversation here, bring in somebody else, and they don’t know each other when they first step in there, but after coming two or three times, they all start to know each other.”
Every end, however, is also a new beginning, and Stavros says the family is “really excited to bring that mentality to Mechanicsburg, to Silver Spring Township, and create something that’s not so corporate, it’s not so distant, but a place that brings people together, where you can make new friends and chat with my family, my dad and mom, and other customers.
“I think that’s his goal,” Stavros says of his dad. “And if there’s one person that can complete that it’s going to be him.”
