Late Show

I remember the overwhelming wave of nostalgia I felt back in 1990, when I heard news that a department store restaurant in my hometown had closed after 85 years of serving chicken-velvet soup and ice-cream-pecan balls. “I wish I could have eaten there just one more time,” I wrote in my journal — even though I’d had plenty of opportunities to dine in that tearoom when I’d gone back to visit Indianapolis. I assumed it would be there forever.

Sort of like Nichols Lunch (39th Street and Southwest Trafficway), which closed on September 24, also after 85 years. I had mixed feelings when I heard that news. I loved the greasy old joint because, except for the Town Topic at 2021 Broadway (the only one that stays open 24 hours), Nichols had outlasted practically every other all-night diner of its vintage, including Sidney’s, Sanderson’s Lunch and the Heriford Grill. But the lighting was ghastly, the décor was depressing and, unless you were dining with jovial drunks after the bars closed, the general mood was mostly melancholy.

The food wasn’t so great, but it was cheap. And there was something comforting about the place precisely because it had survived eight decades. You knew you could roll in for a “He-Man” breakfast at any hour of the day (except on Mondays).

But midtown’s loss leaves open a niche for another 24-hour diner downtown. Besides Town Topic and Denny’s (which is so dreary inside, it makes Nichols look like The American), there hasn’t been much diner action since the days of the long-forgotten Frog Grillette on East 10th Street or the Blue Dahlia Coffee Shop on East 15th.

Restaurateur Marc Cantrell, who opened the grilled-cheese-sandwich shop Cheesehead at 1616 Grand last month, plans to open in December a new 24-hour diner at 1515 Grand, the first franchise of the beloved Northland grill Hayes Hamburger & Chili (2502 Northeast Vivion Road).

Cantrell says the downtown Hayes will be a lot bigger. “But inside, it will be as old-school as it gets,” he promises. Cooks will grill cheeseburgers and breakfast dishes all day and night.

For 85 years, one hopes.