ONONDAGA — A new restaurant, called Finally Ours Diner, opened its doors to customers on Sept. 8 at 3788 West Seneca Turnpike on Onondaga Hill.
The eatery — which features a breakfast and lunch menu of traditional American diner food — is the first owned by David and Lisa Laffin, of Baldwinsville, who have been working in the food-service industry together for about 15 years, according to David Laffin.
The pair has previously worked at the Gardenview Diner (650 Old Liverpool Road in Salina) and most recently at The Gem diner (832 Spencer St., Syracuse), says Laffin.
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The couple is leasing a 5,000-square-foot building, with the 87-seat restaurant currently taking up about half that space, says Laffin. The lease is for two years. He declined to provide the financial terms.
Finally Ours Diner is open 6 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday (it is closed Monday) and is staffed by 12 full-time employees, including the owners, says Laffin.
Menu items include a thick, grilled-cheese bacon burger with “Boom Boom” sauce, stackable French toast and pancake dishes, “Dave’s Big Breakfast Burger,” sandwich melts, and Philly-style subs.
Startup costs totaled just over $100,000, according to Laffin, which the couple financed mostly through a pair of $42,000 loans they took out from USAA (the United Services Automobile Association). Texas–based USAA is a group of financial-service companies that offer memberships and services to military veterans and their families. Laffin says he served in the Army.
The couple funded the rest of the startup costs with its own cash.
The owners renovated the interior of the building to ready it for the restaurant, including some new paint, installation of counters, tables and chairs, kitchen equipment, coolers, and freezers, says Laffin. The work was done by family and friends, he adds. No contractors were hired.
Laffin says he would like to see the diner generate $1 million in revenue annually. “I would be happy with that,” he says.
A place of their own
The Laffins opened their own place in order to save up for retirement, David Laffin says, “because working [at] those other restaurants, there’s no retirement.” He is 54, and his wife recently turned 50.
Early in 2015, Laffin says he wasn’t convinced they would launch their own restaurant. But around Father’s Day, he decided, “let’s do something for ourselves,” acknowledging that the couple had been working for others for a long time.
“And financially we can afford it now because the kids are on their own,” he adds.
Based on how busy Finally Ours Diner was in its first couple of weeks of business, the owners plan on expanding its hours to include dinner, but Laffin says they have to find the right crew first.
Finally Ours Diner doesn’t serve alcohol, and Laffin doesn’t plan to change that, even if the diner expands its hours to dinnertime.
“I don’t really think it’s a good idea,” he says. “I have a counter, and I don’t want people sitting here, not eating, and just drinking.” It could also increase the owners’ liability risk and insurance costs, he notes.
The owners are also beginning to draw up plans to expand into the remaining building space. Laffin says an order has been placed for additional tables and chairs, and he is toying with the idea of turning the second half of the building into a buffet area.
The expansion would cost an estimated $20,000, which Laffin says he may need to take out an additional loan to cover. The plans aren’t set in stone, but he would like to see the expansion completed, and the restaurant fully operational, by the start of 2016.
