HELL’S KITCHEN — The Westway Diner on Ninth Avenue has reopened for business — four days after the city’s Health Department closed the eatery after finding evidence of mice in the building.
The diner, where the idea for "Seinfeld" was reportedly born, passed its reopening inspection Tuesday afternoon after addressing “health hazards that were putting customers at risk,” including food storage temperatures and “conditions conducive to vermin and pest activity,” a spokeswoman for the city’s Department of Health and Mental Hygiene said.
Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld reportedly came up with the idea for “a show with two comedians walking around during the day, with no story” while eating at the diner between West 43rd and West 44th streets.
Manager Pete D., 28, who declined to give his last name, said customers had already returned to the diner Wednesday after it remedied concerns raised by the Health Department.
“That’s the only way [we] could reopen,” he said. “We are very, very busy.”
Westway Diner manager Alex Plaitakis previously told DNAinfo New York he felt the Health Department focused its inspections on small businesses while letting franchises off the hook for health violations.
A Health Department spokeswoman on Wednesday countered that the diner, “like other restaurants… was given the opportunity to correct the health hazards that were putting customers at risk.
“The department closes a restaurant only as a temporary, emergency measure when necessary to protect the public, and lets the restaurant operator know what’s needed to correct the hazardous condition and reopen,” the spokewoman added.
