Lexington Candy Shop on Manhattan’s wealthy Upper East Side has proudly stood in the same location for (almost) 100 years.
The traditional luncheonette has been owned and run by three generations of the same family for the last century.
Speaking exclusively to DailyMail.com, current owner John Philis shared his story from the Roaring 20s, a World War, his emotional connection to 9/11 and to the height of TikTok fame.
Lexington Candy Shop is a beloved institution among its immediate neighbors, and at least one family has dined there over four generations, Philis explains.
But it’s also a favorite spot for A-list celebrities, with Paul McCartney visiting frequently for the past 55 years.
Owner John Philis now runs the business his Greek immigrant grandfather started in 1925.
When the Beatles legend was courting his future wife Linda, who lived on the same block of Park Avenue, the couple would meet for discreet dates at the restaurant, Philis recalled.
Other frequent diners include Bruce Springsteen (discreet and generously polite according to Philis) and blonde bombshell actress Sydney Sweeney.
Philis’s grandfather immigrated to New York from Epirus, in northwestern Greece, in the early 1920s and founded a handmade candy and soft drink shop on the premises in 1925.
When he passed the business on to his son in the 1940s, he converted it into a luncheonette restaurant and the layout as seen today has been the same since 1948.
Philis, who now runs the establishment with his partner Bob Karcher, has worked there for 44 years.
“There used to be diners everywhere, one on every block,” Philis explained, “but now we’re pretty much the last ones standing.”
“We are part of the history of New York City.”
“We’ve seen a lot of things with the Depression and World War II, all the other wars, riots of different kinds over the years and, of course, Covid,” he said of business challenges.
So what’s the secret to such business longevity in a city where restaurants come and go year after year?
“We were able to adapt on the fly,” Philis says proudly.
‘A good example of that recently is when the government shut us down that Friday in 2020 during the pandemic.
“We talked to our owner, reduced expenses and greatly expanded our food delivery area,” he explained.
‘We started delivering to the doctors at NYU Hospital on 30th Street. There was no traffic, so we could be there and back in twenty minutes.
“Then during the last restrictions we put fourteen tables outside.”
Lexington Candy Shop is located at Lexington Avenue and 83rd Street on the Upper East Side.
The restaurant’s historic walls are filled with memorabilia from important moments in the business.
Customers love the restaurant’s classic atmosphere, complete with bar seating and intimate booths.
The restaurant is known for its Coca-Cola floats, which are loved by tourists and loyal customers alike.
Other significant moments for the business can be found in the photographs on its historic walls.
Among them is an emotional image of Paul McCartney with a group of firefighters from the Pawtucket Fire Department after the 9/11 memorial concert at Madison Square Gardens in October 2001.
McCartney organized the concert to commemorate the victims and honor first responders. The Beetles star headed to the restaurant once it was finished, as did some of the firefighters who had attended the concert, remembering their late colleagues.
‘We all thank you for this opportunity to take a photo at your establishment with such a wonderful man,’ reads a message from the Department.
“It had made our day on an otherwise dreary weekend.”
After going viral, with a video of the establishment viewed 58 million times in 2022, lines have continued to form outside the door throughout the year.
Loyal customers who have been coming for years, if not decades, are happy with the business and will always be called ahead of the crowd if Philis sees them waiting.
New fans and tourists from all over the world, attracted by the delicious Instagram photos of the restaurant’s coke floats. and Lexington Club Sandwiches, they usually don’t care about this.
They like the idea of an old-fashioned business, Philis said.
Paul McCartney photographed in restaurant with firefighters after 9/11 memorial concert
The current interior is the same since 1948.
Recent celebrity guests include blonde bombshell Sydney Sweeney.
Coca-Cola is another secret to Lexington Candy Shop’s success.
The diner takes the sugary syrup of the Coca-Cola aside, you pump it into a glass and then add soda water while mixing it with a large spoon, the same way it was done in the 1910s.
Lexington Candy Shop is now the only place in the city that makes its Coca-Cola this way, a fact that has caught the attention of the company’s headquarters.
Executives flock to the restaurant to marvel at the method still in use and have used it as a location for high-profile press events, such as a collaboration with Puma sneakers.
Philis said he thinks his grandfather would be “very proud” to see the business not only still standing but thriving.
So what happens now with the business that turns 100 years old?
“We will soon be 100 years old and we will remain strong as we are,” Philis said.
“Who knows about the future, but we will be here, let’s put it that way.”