We All Work

2400 Diner, Fredericksburg

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Jeff Greenough

A sign at 2400 Diner in Fredericksburg

Like a lot of restaurant owners, Harry Yiasemides, owner of 2400 Diner, is a no-nonsense guy. He doesn’t have a lot of time for chitchat, what with a steady stream of loyal customers from morning until night, mostly older locals. They come first with Harry, as he prefers to be called. “I know people who have been coming here for 50 years,” he says. “They know you, and I know them. You create friendships. It’s not, ‘Here’s a hamburger, now get out.’ They are customers and have names.”

The 2400 Diner, located on one of Fredericksburg’s main thoroughfares, was first opened in the early 1950s. Yiasemides bought it in 1986. He says that his wife, Maria, sometimes works at the eatery, and so do his three older children. “Everybody works,” quips Harry.

He says that the little restaurant, which has seven tables and serves a variety of Greek food, has an “excellent reputation” for breakfast but gets lots of people for lunch too. “Customers like the fact that the food is “made from scratch, the prices are moderate and we don’t have loud music or TV. And I’m proud that we use very good ingredients—only U.S. Choice beef, and the souvlaki is made from pork tenderloin. It’s more expensive but a better product.”

The 2400 is open every day, and Harry is almost always there—not just to make a living, but also because of his relationship with his customers. “People appreciate you—and that’s why you stay in business for so many years.”

2400 Princess Anne Street, 540-373-9049

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