Thomas's Ham 'n' Eggery in Carle Place to reopen after fire

Precisely five weeks after it was shuttered by an electrical fire, Thomas’s Ham ‘n’ Eggery will reopen on Saturday. “Even if I have to sell coffee and bagels from the curb, we will be open,” said Tom Koukoulas, owner of the 76-year-old Carle Place diner.

The morning of Aug. 30, Thomas’s lights flickered and the restaurant lost power. When Koukoulas went downstairs, he saw that the electric meter was on fire. He put out the fire with the extinguisher but the meter kept sparking until PSEG got there, about 45 minutes later. The Carle Place and Mineola fire departments also responded. Customers and staff left the building and there were no injuries.

The restaurant sustained virtually no fire damage and minimal smoke damage, but it required all new electrical service.  Once all the relevant departments signed off on the building’s safety, earlier this week, the kitchen crew started prepping — ordering, chopping, blanching, etc. — since all the food on hand had been lost.

Koukoulas was disappointed, of course, to lose five weeks of revenue during the busy back-to-school season, but said he was grateful that the fire happened while the restaurant was open. “If this had happened at two in the morning,” he said, “I could have woken up to a hole in the ground.”

One of Long Island’s best bets for breakfast (lunch and dinner are also excellent), Thomas’s was established in 1946 and was bought by the Koukoulas family in 1973. 

Thomas’s Ham ‘’n’ Eggery is at 325 Old Country Rd., Carle Place. Hours are 7 a.m.-9 p.m. Monday-Saturday and 7 a.m.-4 p.m. Sunday; 516-333-3060, hamandeggery.com