The Green Kitchen restaurant in New York City was known as a place open to everyone — from celebrities, to businessmen and young singles, to presidential families, and even to people experiencing homelessness.
Open since 1931, Nikolaos Karadimas, now living in La Center, described the Green Kitchen as the first 24-hour diner in New York City. When the bars, clubs and restaurants closed, the actors and actresses, comedians, athletes and members of America’s most famous families would make their way to the Green Kitchen.
Nikolaos Karadimas
“All the celebrities, they used to come after 2, 3 o’clock at night when all of the bars and clubs they closed,” Karadimas said. “The whole family of Kennedy. All the actors and actresses, Brooke Shields… all the football players… President [Richard] Nixon used to come, 4:30 in the morning to 5. Was working alone with one security — one guy security! I was surprised! Stop by, have a cup of coffee with us over there, talking, every day, 4:30 to 5 in the morning.”
Karadimas joined the restaurant in 1975, at age 20, moving to the U.S. from Greece to pursue his education. Working at the restaurant helped him pay for school — he eventually earned two master’s degrees in electrical and mechanical engineering.
A Greek flag displayed at the Bluegrass Restaurant in La Center, Kentucky.
The restaurant employee’s early experiences helped him relate to some patrons more than others.
“When I came from Greece, I didn’t have any money,” he said. “You know, my father, our family was poor, and I was working. I started working in the restaurant. I got involved with the restaurant.”
Even having served celebrities, businessmen and politicians, Karadimas recalled feeling a sense of pride and community in serving homeless patrons.
He recalls seeing a homeless man he had served on the local television news.
“We feed a lot of homeless,” he said. “Four o’clock in the morning, 5 o’clock, we wouldn’t throw the food away, so fed all of them. And I was so proud when I saw one of the homeless, he said his story on the NBC or CBS… He was sleeping in the train station with a cup of coffee, and he says to the news, ‘Look at this coffee. That’s Nick’s name on it. I’m going every day over there in the morning. They feed me.'”
He described the time before Sept. 11, 2001, as New York City’s “golden years.” The pleasant, prosperous time of opportunity for residents was also a busy time for the Green Kitchen, which served as a place where people from all walks of life could interact.
“I think at that time before was the golden years in New York,” he said. “1980-90, until 2001. It was a lot of people. Friendly. It was the golden years, you know. Everybody enjoyed.”
On Sept. 11, 2001, that reputation of service for all went a step further for Karadimas and the employees at the Green Kitchen.
The Green Kitchen on First Avenue in Manhattan.
He arrived at the restaurant — which sat on First Avenue, close to the East Side, less than a mile from the World Trade Center — at 6 a.m.
“That morning, when that first plane did that, we hear and we came out of the store,” he said. “So we saw the second and the third plane — we saw that. And then a lot of smoke and dust coming up. You see the people around, running, crying.”
Right away, he called his wife to confirm she and their children were safe. For the next three to four days, his daughter and son — then 10 and 6 — watched the events unfold on TV as their father worked to help in the moments that followed.
In the aftermath of the attacks, Karadimas said the restaurant employees didn’t think about shutting down. Instead, the Green Kitchen remained open, with staff preparing food in a show of support for the first responders.
“Our employees, we keep them for three days over there,” he said. “We used to sleep in the basement for a couple hours, and we try to support, and we feed about 2,500 to [3,000] police officers, firemen, EMS. We feed them free. All of them. I was happy to help them.”
The Green Kitchen’s commitment to service later got Karadimas recognized by then-Mayor Rudy Giuliani and his successor, Mayor Mike Bloomberg.
“We stayed open 24 hours,” he said. “And for three days, four days, we tried to support all the police officers, firemen, and EMS. We make food for them. They came, they pick it up, and we help them.”
Former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg honors Nikolaos Karadimas for his work in the days following the 9/11 attacks.
After the attacks and three to four days on constant duty at the restaurant, Karadimas finally returned home to his family’s hugs and tears.
“I missed them too, [but] it’s worth it. Yes, it’s worth it,” he said. “I felt so proud for myself and for my place to help.”
He recalled making a special connection with the police chief following the attacks — but despite the support and sense of community felt in the restaurant, Karadimas noted the fear and uncertainty in the city and among his patrons.
He also noted the once-regular customers who did not return.
“I got a couple of customers over there,” Karadimas said. “They used to clean the windows [at the Twin Towers] up to the last floor, and [on Sept. 11] was over there. Three brothers. They used to come for breakfast, or night time, and then they used to go down and clean all the windows. And this day, all of three brothers was at the top of the twins. They passed away.”
Karadimas felt the weight of the grief and memories from customers who lost loved ones and patrons who didn’t come back, and the tension and exhaustion from first responders who saw the worst of the attacks.
“I feel depressed. I do feel depressed,” Karadimas said. “It took me a while to be happy again. You know, took me a while. And every year it comes — not every year. Once in a while it comes. Memories. You never forget this.”
In the months and years following the attacks, the restaurant hosted people from across the nation traveling to New York to pay their respects, learn and reflect.
“They used to come [to New York] to see what happened,” he said. “And they used to come to the store from Oregon, California, Arizona, even from Kentucky over here, to come to see that and to praise, to respect, you know, pay respect to them.”
By 2006, Karadimas’ lease on the Green Kitchen expired, and rent was set to increase from $10,000 a month to $40,000. After leaving the Green Kitchen and spending some time in Greece, his cousin invited him to take over the Bluegrass Restaurant in La Center, Kentucky, in 2014, which specializes in country food and catfish.
The Bluegrass Restaurant in La Center, Kentucky.
“The foods are almost the same, but different climate, different people,” Karadimas said, comparing the two restaurants. “Over here [in Kentucky], it’s very good people. We are so happy to come over here, me and my family. Me, everybody, like, we’re like a family… I’m proud of this place.”
He’s seen his daughter become a doctor and his son graduate with a master’s degree in the time since 9/11. He’s since taken a trip with his son back to Ground Zero to reflect — both on the event itself and on the changes to New York and the nation in the last 25 years.
“I think [the attacks] changed everything,” he said. “They changed how the people live in New York, going to work, not happy like used to. Was scared, but it took time.”
The Bluegrass Restaurant exterior in La Center, Kentucky.
Whether after the terrorist attacks in New York or by helping the local schools and sports teams in La Center, Karadimas said through his restaurants, he works to continue the sense of community support and positive impacts on people around him.
He hopes sharing his 9/11 story can help shape the values of the community’s youth and instill a sense of responsibility, service and resilience.
“I feel happy,” he said of his role after the attacks and now in La Center. “Some of the people, young generation, to know what happened, it shows that we have to help.”
Dining and Cooking