Off the Avenue: Tina’s Finds Its Place in a Pandemic

Kitty Corner to Flushing and Wilson Avenue, a neighborhood diner sits amidst the burgeoning crowds of young families and twentysomethings. I’m across the street from the Boar’s Head factory, which continues to dole out fresh deli meats and where hungry drivers still stand around the four hefty wooden tables outside the restaurant. I hold the door for a gentleman in a hurry. Inside the dining room are three booths, which indicate plans to return at a later date. Suddenly, Athina “Tina” Skermo emerges from a back room. She hangs up the phone and greets us both with a warm “Hey honey, what can I get you?”