One of Hoboken’s beloved landmarks looks like it won’t be re-emerging as planned as the former Malibu Diner space could soon be home to a medical office.
Jersey Digs broke the news back in 2019 about a planned redevelopment of the Malibu Diner. The property, at 251 14th Street, acted for decades as an unofficial welcome to visitors entering Hoboken from the city’s north end.
The development now completed at the site is called The Constantine and includes 20 parking spaces, 23 rental apartments, and a ground floor retail space. The owners of the diner had publicly stated their intention to “reinstall” the Malibu Diner inside a 3,200-square-foot restaurant space when the development was completed.
But an application slated to be heard by the city’s Planning Board this month looks to be the final nail in the coffin for those hoping for a Malibu Diner renaissance. Per an application set to be heard on October 20, One Medical is looking to open inside the entire ground floor retail component of the building.
That reality would spell the end for the restaurant, which originally opened as the 14th Street Diner back in 1941 before getting rebranded to Malibu Diner. Perhaps the diner’s infamous incident revolved around former Hoboken Mayor Peter Cammarano, who was indicted back in 2009 after allegedly taking a bribe from an undercover FBI informant at the restaurant.
Malibu not returning leaves a shocking void in Hoboken’s culinary landscape, as the city amazingly lacks a diner. Both Schnackenberg’s Luncheonette and the Spa Diner have long left the city, with the latter also being replaced with a medical office in a coincidental twist of fate.
