Auburndale Diner Keeps it All in the Family

When people think about Newton, they often dwell on the large, beautiful houses in Waban, the bustling retail district between Newton Upper Falls and Newton Highlands or the various boutiques in Newton Center.

But there is another side of Newton, a homey old-fashioned aspect that is embodied in the village of Auburndale.

And that traditional feel of a bygone era is reflected in the ambiance of .

Owned by brothers Billy and Nick Kourtis, this 39-seat diner has a very specific vibe that differs from the feel when their mom and uncle were the owners.

“We have a younger clientele now,” explains Billy. “And a sports atmosphere. It’s one of those things we pride ourselves in.”

Neither of the Kourtis brothers intended to go into the restaurant business. Like so many restaurateurs in the area, they started off in other lines of work, Billy in finance and Nick in security. But neither felt attached to the career for which he’d trained, so when Billy suggested to Nick that they look into buying a restaurant together the ball got rolling.

Billy first looked at the Arlington Diner, but after a couple weeks of working there he realized that there might be a drawback to buying into that popular location.

“I didn’t want to do nights, I didn’t want to do weekends,” Billy says. “It was seven days a week. This just wasn’t for us.”

That’s not to say that the Kourtises don’t spend most of their time at The Knotty Pine Lunch.

“When we bought it, my dad said, ‘I hate to break it to you, son, but it’s jail for you, until you build it up,’” says Nick with a wry smile. “I’m married to it, that’s it.”

But fate stepped in to help the brothers enter into a happy “marriage,” one which allowed them to balance their work with their personal lives (Nick is married with two school-aged daughters and Billy is getting married this summer).

Their mother, Tula, originally owned The Knotty Pine Lunch with her brother, having started the business in 1987 (there was another diner before that and before that there was an ice cream shop). But after her husband, Billy and Nick’s father, fell into ill health and her brother wanted to retire to Greece, Tula casually mentioned to her boys that she planned to sell. The timing could not have been better, and Billy and Nick bought the restaurant from their mother in 1996.

Tula is proud of her sons and happy to still be working in the restaurant where she has been a fixture for twenty-five years.

“Everyone calls me ‘Mom’ here,” she beams. “And I like that.”

Tula isn’t the only one who feels at home at The Knotty Pine Lunch. Customers are greeted by name and nobody leaves without a warm farewell. Some are even able to sit and eat without the need to order off a menu. 

“We know what they’re going to have before they even come in,” Billy explains. “Most people don’t change (their orders). I don’t know how they do it.”

“People like their routine,” Nick adds. “They know what they want, and we have it right out to them.”

Megan, who waitresses and busses and keeps things running smoothly has worked at The Knotty Pine Lunch for nearly three years (though her boss, Nick, was convinced it was “more like eight or nine!”). But this is more than a job to her.

“They’re like my family away from my family,” Megan says with a warm smile. “They’re the family of my heart.”

This love and familiarity is reflected in the food served at The Knotty Pine Lunch: triple-decker sandwiches, meatloaf with potatoes and veggies, and eggs served with bacon, toast, home fries and coffee (a.k.a. Breakfast Special #1).

The low prices, like the fare and the atmosphere, are reminiscent of days long gone. 

It’s therefore not surprising that, according to Billy, “Ninety percent of our customers are regulars.”

Some of those regulars include Boston Red Sox superstar and local philanthropist Kevin Youkilis and baseball coach Joe Siciliano, who according to Billy comes in every single day.

The Knotty Pine Lunch also gets out-of-towners from the nearby and . These travelers, as well as regulars who couldn’t make it in during the week, led the Kourtis brothers to start a Sunday breakfast two years ago. But this has a hidden advantage

“You can get burnt out,” muses Billy. “Now with Sundays, we each actually get an extra day off. Before, it was all six days. It was just awful, but you get used to it. I can’t do it every day.”

So whenever you go into The Knotty Pine Lunch, you will find one, two or all three members of the Kourtis family. And if you go in frequently enough, you may find yourself feeling like one of the family as well.