Pretty Alright Breakfast Club in Voorheesville won all four Dining categories in which it was a finalist in Best of the Capital Region voting: brunch, diner, hamburger and local restaurant. It was the biggest winner of any Best Of finalist across all categories. The owner, Dylan Longton, 35, and his staff of 25 will celebrate the diner’s second anniversary on July 15. We sat down with him to talk about the Best Of wins.
Q: You’ve been asked to address the honor society of your alma mater, Voorheesville High School, and yet when you were a student there, you didn’t even know what the honor society was. What’s your message for the smart kids?
A: I don’t know yet! I’m not prepared! I do know I’m going to start a scholarship there this year, and the winners will be able to use the money for trade schools. A lot of scholarships are only for four-year colleges, but I wanted this one to be used for a trade school if that’s where they want to go.
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Q: You worked as a cook for basically half your life at one place, since your mid-teens, and then you were fired. But here you are, less than two years later, on the crest of massive success. How does that feel?
A: It feels great. I did not see that it would come to this magnitude of success, but I’m definitely happy to be doing it.
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Q: Did you really spend $4,000 on holiday lights to decorate the building?
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A: I sure did! Wait’ll you see what’s next!
Dylan Longton is pictured with the first two components of a model train that will run on a track hanging from the ceiling of his diner.
Steve Barnes/Times Union
Q: Are you referring to the model train that’s going to run on a track up by the diner’s ceiling, in an homage to the former Smitty’s Tavern in the village, which had a similar train?
A: Yes. It’s a G-Scale model train, the largest there is. I just got the engine. That by itself was $700. I think the whole thing will be about $7,000. I’m going to sell advertising on the sides of the cars.
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Q: What’s the best-selling dish on your menu?
A: The Irish bowl (with corned beef hash and eggs) and country-fried steak.
Q: What’s your favorite — and you can’t say those two, just because they make the most money.
A: I’m still going to have to say the Irish bowl. I really like it.
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Q: You recently had dinner at the high-end Noah’s Italian in Saratoga, where your friend Noah Frese is the namesake chef and a partner.
A: It was amazing. Everything about it.
Q: Did you look around and think, “I wish I had a place like this?”
A: No. I’m really happy in my lane. I couldn’t do what he does — I don’t want to — and he says he could never do what I do.
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Q: Noah’s veal chop costs $75. What would a $75 dish be at Pretty Alright?
A: I don’t know! My surf-n-turf is $25. I don’t know how I’d go higher.
Dylan Longton is chef-owner of Pretty Alright Breakfast Club, a diner in Voorheesville that won all four Dining categories in which it was a finalist in the Times Union’s Best of the Capital Region 2026 readers poll. Pretty Alright won for best brunch, diner, hamburger and local restaurant.
Steve Barnes/Times Union
Q: You’re the face and the name of Pretty Alright Breakfast Club. On TikTok, where you have more than 215,000 followers, the name on the account is yours, Not Pretty Alright’s, and you’re on camera in a livestream from the kitchen every day. Can you take a day off, or does that risk disappointing customers?
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A: Except for vacations, I’ve had one day off since we opened. We do long weekends at Memorial Day and Labor Day, and I take two weeks after New Year’s. I used to use it to go to Europe to play hockey, but now we go on cruises.
Q: You hit 35 years old and now go on cruises instead of playing hockey?
A: Yes! It’s better to lie around in my bathing suit on a cruise with a drinks package than get slammed into the boards by Europeans.