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It’s Long Island’s star-spangled diner.
A Nassau County man has turned his popular Bethpage eatery into a patriot’s paradise and welcoming haven for first responders, proudly etching “Home of the Brave” on its exterior and filling just about every open space with troves of USA, police, fire, EMS and rescue decor.
“I love America. We should all be grateful that we live here,” Embassy Diner owner Gus Tsiorvas, 44, told The Post. “And the customer reaction? Ninety-nine percent say they love it.”
When Tsiorvas bought the diner off Hempstead Turnpike in spring 2022, his father, Peter Tsiorvas, owner of the well-known Oconee Diner in Islip, passed along this advice: “Overdoing” it is key to success in the business.
So the patriotic Tsiorvas took his dad’s advice and ran with it.
He placed dozens of flags, photos, a football jersey and other tribute dedicated to emergency responders in the vestibule of the Embassy, which was built in 1962.
And as if that wasn’t enough, he has recently been handing out 6,000 custom “Embassy Diner USA” baseball caps to eaters for free.
“That’s what makes this place so special,” regular John Gatto, guitarist for the Long Island band The Good Rats, told The Post while waiting for his dinner. “We owe [first responders] a lot. So I’m behind this 100%.”
For Tsiorvas, a father of three from nearby Wantagh, his connection to emergency personnel runs deeper than most.
“My brother is an NYPD cop, one of my sisters is a Nassau County cop, the other one is an MTA police officer, and my brother-in-law is a Westbury police officer. We’re big behind the blue,” he said.
“‘Home of the Brave’ is even my corporation’s name, so that’s what my employees see on their paychecks.”
The owner has seen firsthand the sacrifices his family regularly makes and the dangers they put themselves in to keep others safe.
Tsiorvas said he wants all first responders to know they can rest comfortably in his establishment.
“When they come in, I say, ‘Welcome home.’ It should be like that everywhere,” said the diner boss, who gives out turkeys on Thanksgiving to a local hospital and police precinct.
The kind sentiments are more than appreciated, and patrons affiliated with police and fire departments began handing Tsiorvas stickers of their organizations.
He has plastered all 76 of them on the diner’s front door.
“It’s nice to see that there are people who have the same values as we do,” said Pete Conklin, a retired law enforcement member who eats at the Embassy twice a week, to The Post.
“You really are at home when you come here.”
Joseph Bonomo, a retired member of the NYPD Highway Patrol, said, “Knowing that we have the support of Gus makes us want to come here and support him.
“Plus, I’ve been to a lot of diners on the job, and this one just takes the cake.”
Tsiorvas said, “The biggest thing for me is to give a sense of atmosphere to the diner — and a sense of love.”
Even Maryann Petrarca, who works at a competing diner in the area, can’t get enough of the restaurant.
“How could you not love it here?” she told The Post while recently having dinner at the Embassy. “I love Gus and the staff — they’re really the best.”
