The Scotia Diner is holding a contest to name a dead tree, dubbed the alligator for its unique shape.
The tree, just outside of the Scotia Diner, juts up from the ground and appears to have an eye and the open jaws of the gator. The idea for a tree-naming contest came from a patron of the diner.
`One of our customers said, ‘You should name that alligator,’` said Scotia Diner Owner Anita Kyratzis. `It is just the standard joke around here that we have an alligator in our yard.`
The contest started in the beginning of the month and is ending on Friday, July 15. On the diner’s Facebook page, the contest was first advertised and even people from out of state can enter the contest. Anyone from New York will receive a dinner for two, and out of state winners will receive a gift card to a business in their state.
Kyratzis said she wasn’t sure how long the `alligator` has sat next to the diner, but she estimated it has been there for around one and a half years. It wasn’t until a customer pointed it out to her that she noticed the reptilian resemblance.
Once the contest concludes, every name suggestion has the same chance at being selected, because the winner will be chosen randomly.
`At the end of the contest, we are going to cut them up and have someone draw it out,` she said.
The name will also be known by anyone visiting the diner too, because she plans to have a wooden plaque made up with the winning name attached to the tree.
To enter the contest send your name and the city and state you live, along with your name suggestion in an email to [email protected] and include what email you would like to be contacted at if you win.
Holding the contest, said Kyratzis, is also a way to let people know the diner is still open. Ever since media reports about the possible closing of the diner, she said she has lost some regular customers.
`The landlord didn’t tell us to close, so we are staying open,` said Kyratzis.
The Scotia Planning Board started off this year by approving developer Bruce Tanski’s project to demolish the diner, formerly Attanasio’s Restaurant, and three houses along Glen Avenue to develop a three-story apartment complex. The Scotia Diner has severed food for 50 years and Kyratzis has owned the diner for 25 years.
She had a two-year lease on the location, but the owner refused to offer another lease agreement, said Aristotales `Terry` Kyratzis, manager and chef for Scotia Diner. Since then the space has been rented and paid for on a monthly basis. Village Mayor Kris Kastberg previously said there is little the village could do to stop the development.
For now the Scotia Diner is going to keep serving up food as the alligator watches on.
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