![\"W44](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/IMG_0595-W44-Diner.jpg\")
The applicants wanted to create a 24-hour diner at the former La Pulperia location at the corner of 9th Avenue and W44th Street. Photo: Phil O\u2019Brien<\/p>\nOn Tuesday night at a Manhattan Community Board 4 committee meeting, a very New York story played out. Two seasoned Hell\u2019s Kitchen restaurateurs arrived with a dream \u2014 and left watching it slip away.<\/p>\n
The applicants wanted to create a 24-hour diner at the former La Pulperia location at the corner of 9th Avenue and W44th Street. Photo: Phil O\u2019Brien<\/p>\n
The dream was a 24-hour, 1950s-style diner on the corner of 9th Avenue and W44th Street, replacing La Pulperia, which closed earlier this year and migrated to Restaurant Row. The LLC was registered simply as W44 Diner. The concept, however, was anything but simple.<\/p>\n
Stephane Bibeau \u2014 who has lived on W47th Street and 9th Avenue for 33 years \u2014 and his business partner, chef Adam Schop, arrived with a fully imagined plan. They described a classic American diner with theatrical lighting, stainless-steel counters bolted to the ground, blueberry pie, bagels, desserts, milkshakes, and a full kitchen helmed by Schop\u2019s culinary reputation. They planned to invest $800,000 into a refit designed by the United Scenic Artists union member who created Local 42<\/a>. They talked about their commitment to the neighborhood with their other locations Steak Frites<\/a> and Lovely\u2019s Old Fashioned<\/a> \u2014 also on 9th Avenue<\/p>\n They were applying to CB4\u2019s Business Licensing and Permits committee for a full liquor license until 4am every night, the legal latest in New York. Bars can begin serving as early as 6am, but the pair said they\u2019d voluntarily delay service until 8am \u2014 \u201cfor folks who want mimosas with their brunch,\u201d Bibeau said.<\/p>\n \u201cDiners were 24 hours forever,\u201d Bibeau told the committee. \u201cEvery time one closes, people get sad. We\u2019re trying to bring that back.\u201d He added that they had secured the corner because the landlord\u2019s only other interested tenant was Taco Bell. \u201cWe don\u2019t think Taco Bell should be on that corner,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n The mood in the room was cautiously optimistic \u2014 until it wasn\u2019t.<\/p>\n Susan Ameel, president of the West 44th Street Block Association stood with the operators, first calling the concept \u201cfantastic\u201d and noting that the block was genuinely excited about a diner returning to the neighborhood. But then she shifted to concerns that have haunted this corner for years: the late-night crowds at Rudy\u2019s, smoking, loitering, noise and the unpredictable behavior that often spills onto W44th Street. She said the block supported 24-hour food service, but their preference was a 10am to 2am liquor license.<\/p>\n Her position was backed by committee co-chair Frank Holozubiec, who has lived on the block for two decades. He reminded the room that nothing on that corner \u2014 not Marseille, not La Pulperia, not the pizza spot \u2014 had ever stayed open past midnight.<\/p>\n Committee member Ted Arenas \u2014 who owns Rise Bar on 9th Avenue, with a liquor license that runs until 2am Sunday through Thursday and 4am on Fridays and Saturdays \u2014 added a dose of practical experience. \u201cI don\u2019t think it would be that great a loss if you cut liquor at 2am,\u201d he said. \u201cMost people coming in that late are already tipsy.\u201d<\/p>\n Schop countered that every hour of liquor revenue matters in a business with razor-thin margins. \u201cEvery dollar we get from liquor is much more profitable than French fries or scrambled eggs,\u201d he explained. A member of the public speaking in support of the diner, longtime resident Chris Wilford, echoed him: \u201cThe liquor license is incredibly important\u2026 with rents and every other cost, the margins are tight.\u201d<\/p>\n But security concerns were growing. Committee member Christine Berthet warned that sidewalks have \u201ca life of their own,\u201d and that intentions don\u2019t always match late-night reality. Schop and Bibeau insisted they could manage it: 180-degree security cameras, lit windows, clean sidewalks, no open doors, tightly controlled entrances. They pointed to their work transforming the once-difficult block around Local 42 on 9th Avenue between W41st and W42nd Street.<\/p>\n Even so, the committee remained uneasy. They weren\u2019t asking the diner to fix the corner \u2014 but they didn\u2019t want to worsen it.<\/p>\n After nearly an hour of debate, the committee circled to the only point on which a majority could agree: they would approve 24-hour food service, but liquor would end at 2am on all nights, with the option for the diner to return after several months to request extended hours based on proven performance.<\/p>\n The motion passed with a clear majority.<\/p>\n Bibeau and Schop were asked to step out and decide whether they would proceed with the reduced hours. Twenty-five minutes later, Bibeau returned.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ll pass,\u201d he said \u2014 visibly frustrated.<\/p>\n Bibeau spoke after the meeting about feeling blindsided, convinced that the tone of the previous night\u2019s block meeting had shifted by the time it reached the committee. On the other side, block association leader Ameel insisted they had been clear all along: they supported the diner, not the late-night liquor hours. What followed didn\u2019t need a transcript \u2014 tempers were frayed, feelings were bruised and everyone walked away believing they had tried to do right by the neighborhood.<\/p>\n What lingered most was the line Bibeau repeated throughout the night: \u201cIf we don\u2019t take the corner, Taco Bell is ready to come in.\u201d<\/p>\n Every Hell\u2019s Kitchen local mourns the death of a diner. But at this corner of 9th Avenue, the community now waits to see whether it gets a Taco Bell, another vacant storefront, or \u2014 a more New York ending to the story of a diner that died before the first cup of coffee was ever poured.<\/p>\n The full Manhattan Community Board 4 Business Licenses and Permits Committee meeting for November is available to watch on YouTube<\/a>. The section about the diner starts at 1:19:10.<\/p>\n MCB4\u2019s Full Board will meet on December 3 at 6:30pm at the Hotel Trades Council, 305 W44th Street, to approve sending a letter reflecting the BLP committee\u2019s decision to the State Liquor Authority. The meeting will also be held on Zoom, with public comment allowed. More details here\u2026<\/a><\/p>\n![\"Bibeau,](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/DSC_2247-W44-Diner-Meeting.jpg\")
Stephane Bibeau (left) with Susan Ameel and Adam Schop at the CB4 committee meeting on Tuesday evening. Photo: Phil O\u2019Brien<\/p>\n![\"Ted](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/DSC_2257-Ted-Arenas-CB4JPG.jpg\")
Committee member Ted Arenas (left) watched by co-chair Frank Holozubiec. Photo: Phil O\u2019Brien<\/p>\n![\"CB4](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/IMG_0671-W44-Diner-Meeting.jpg\")
Manhattan Community Board 4\u2019s Business Licensing and Permits committee votes to give the diner concept a 2am license. Photo: Phil O\u2019Brien<\/p>\n![\"YouTube](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/1763669409_294_hqdefault.jpg\")
<\/p>\n