{"id":119023,"date":"2026-02-01T14:14:09","date_gmt":"2026-02-01T14:14:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/119023\/"},"modified":"2026-02-01T14:14:09","modified_gmt":"2026-02-01T14:14:09","slug":"you-never-know-who-you-will-run-into-at-beloved-staten-island-diner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/119023\/","title":{"rendered":"You never know who you will run into at beloved Staten Island diner"},"content":{"rendered":"

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y.\u2014In my travels around the snowy borough\u2014and while negotiating piles of snow in potential parking spots\u2014the cleared lot at the King\u2019s Arms proved particularly appealing last week. A scheduled restaurant canceled an interview at the last minute, so I kept the faith and figured the universe had a plan.<\/p>\n

And it did. I bumped into broadcaster and show host Mickey Burns, a man who can film in a professional studio with a celebrity one day and settle into a booth at the King\u2019s Arms the next. His pal had missed the ferry, so Mickey had a little time\u2014enough for a quick catch-up at the diner and a profile of the profiler himself as he wrapped up pancakes with a side of nostalgia.<\/p>\n

\"FilmTelevision host Mickey Burns stops by the Kings Arms, the West Brighton diner known for its warm hospitality and ample parking, despite the snow.(Advance\/SILive.com | Pamela Silvestri)Profiles in Real Life<\/p>\n

If you\u2019ve ever wondered where Staten Island\u2019s familiar faces refuel between interviews, filming days, and trips to warmer places, the answer\u2014at least for one of them\u2014is the King\u2019s Arms Diner in West Brighton. That\u2019s where I ran into Burns, longtime host<\/a> of NYC Media Network\u2019s award-winning Profiles, now entering its 23rd year on the air. He wasn\u2019t just grabbing breakfast; he offered a full table-side catch-up on his show, his affection for the diner, and his many projects that seem to multiply by the week.<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re inching closer to 800 episodes,\u201d he said with a grin. \u201cWe love what we do.\u201d The show airs three times a week\u2014Saturday at 11 p.m., Sunday at 7:30 p.m., and late night on Thursday\u2014and reaches nearly 20 million viewers across New Jersey, Long Island, the five boroughs and parts of upstate New York.<\/p>\n

Commenters chiming in during our live broadcast illustrated that broad reach as they tuned in from around the Big Apple and beyond.<\/p>\n

\"AlikiEstablished in the ’50s, the Kings Arms remains one of the borough\u2019s longest\u2011running dining institutions, celebrated for its classic charcoal\u2011broiled burgers and classic diner look.(Advance\/SILive.com | Pamela Silvestri)Breakfast with a Broadcaster<\/p>\n

Burns is taking Profiles on the road through a new partnership with the Salem Speakers Bureau, following his well\u2011received live retrospective at the St. George Theatre in January 2025.<\/a> His next TV guest is musician Gary U.S. Bonds.<\/p>\n

\"Vito\"A warm moment in the spotlight with friends: From left, Al Lambert stands alongside Vito Picone, celebrated here with the prestigious Legends in Entertainment Award, followed by radio favorite Joe Causi and television host Mickey Burns, all gathered in good spirits for the occasion. Staten Island Advance<\/p>\n

He and Al Lambert also co-founded the Vito Capone Award, honoring performing\u2011arts legends. This year\u2019s honorees include Joe Causi, Wayne Miller, and the late Johnny Maestro. The second annual ceremony will be held in May at the Hilton; last year\u2019s debut sold out in 10 days.<\/p>\n

\"AlikiThe Kings Arms’ familiar faces includes co-owner Aliki Koutsovasilis.(Advance\/SILive.com | Pamela Silvestri)The Staten Island Story<\/p>\n

Burns\u2019 life story is pure Staten Island. He grew up in Rosebank, moved to the South Beach Houses in fourth grade, and now lives near Clove Lake. He even wrote a book about that journey, From the Projects to Profiles. And despite the national reach of his show, he remains fiercely loyal to King\u2019s Arms.<\/p>\n

\u201cI love their pancakes,\u201d he declared. \u201cFluffy, delicious. Same with the French toast. And the coffee\u2014always good.\u201d He\u2019s there so often he can point out \u201chis\u201d booth\u2014and the one belonging to Lambert, who can often be found scribbling in notebooks and lost in thought in that very booth.<\/p>\n

And when he\u2019s not at King\u2019s Arms, he\u2019s elsewhere around the Island supporting other restaurants. Among his favorites: the Casa Belvedere supper club on Grymes Hill; Real Madrid, where the same chef has worked for 30 years; and Jimmy Max, his go\u2011to for pizza and neighborhood comfort. His next stop\u2014before returning to Staten Island at the end of February\u2014is a warm\u2011weather escape to Cartagena, Colombia.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, back at King\u2019s Arms, the place was buzzing. Char\u2011broiled burgers<\/a> sizzled, and the stainless\u2011steel d\u00e9cor picked up sunlight from the snow, casting a wavering shimmer across the diner\u2019s ceiling. Slices of the house-made cheesecake beckoned in the display case. Guests dug into lunch specials around $15.95, and the happy abundance of parking only sweetened the visit.<\/p>\n

\"AlikiKings Arms amps up for lunch on a wintry afternoon.(Advance\/SILive.com | Pamela Silvestri)<\/p>\n

Mickey\u2019s visit rolled right into a Facebook Live where we filled viewers in on restaurant updates\u2014from the debut of Vesuvio Trattoria in Tottenville to the collective heartbreak over Jay\u2019s on the Bay closing Feb. 1, 2026.<\/p>\n

Running into Mickey Burns at King\u2019s Arms felt like classic Staten Island\u2014a diner, a familiar face, and a breakfast that turned into a story. \u201cIt\u2019s like family here,\u201d he said, and he wasn\u2019t wrong.<\/p>\n

The Facebook Live that followed stayed just as lively, thanks to everyone who jumped into the chat to talk food and weather. Good crowd.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"STATEN ISLAND, N.Y.\u2014In my travels around the snowy borough\u2014and while negotiating piles of snow in potential parking spots\u2014the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":119024,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[39],"tags":[9,24,63,134,136,135],"class_list":{"0":"post-119023","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-staten-island","8":"tag-new-york","9":"tag-new-york-city","10":"tag-nyc","11":"tag-staten-island","12":"tag-staten-island-headlines","13":"tag-staten-island-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/119023","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=119023"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/119023\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/119024"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=119023"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=119023"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=119023"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}