The ArtCliff Diner in Vineyard Haven, a Beach Road fixture since 1943, is set to reopen next week after a nearly two-year renovation.

“It’s 80 years old this year, so there was a lot of stuff that needed taking care of,” chef-owner Gina Stanley told the Tisbury select board Wednesday, during a public hearing on her application for an eatery license.

The diner has new windows, tile flooring, air-handling systems and a second-floor bathroom, while the customer bathroom has been expanded and the patio improved, Ms. Stanley told the board.

Construction of the diner last year.

Ray Ewing

Construction of the diner last year.

Ray Ewing

She’s also added a take-out window for order pick-ups, which formerly took place inside, she said.

The iconic ArtCliff counter and stools remain in place and will be there when the diner reopens its doors on Sept. 21, Ms. Stanley said.

“The counter is in the same exact spot, and the same exact seven stools are still there,” she said.

The kitchen is now about four feet wider, and newly visible to customers, Ms. Stanley told the board.

“You can look straight into the kitchen. I got rid of the wall,” she said.

Ms. Stanley intends to be open year-round. Diner hours will be 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. to start with, she said, citing the need to train her kitchen and wait staff. 

“Once I get everybody trained in, we’re playing around with the idea of maybe doing breakfast for dinner, or perhaps a dinner special and maybe staying open to 7 or 7:30,” she said.

“I’m just trying to figure it out.”

The menu will be largely the same as in earlier seasons, Ms. Stanley said, with one big change to come: She’s just applied for a liquor license.

“I never really wanted to … but I have a big nut to crack,” she told the board, adding that she’ll likely offer beer and wine.

“I’m kind of in no rush,” Ms. Stanley said.

As the ArtCliff renovation has wound to its end this year, Ms. Stanley said she’s had numerous visitors stop by to take a look.

“Everybody said it still feels like a diner,” she said.

Visitors have also regaled her with their personal memories of the ArtCliff in years gone by, said Ms. Stanley, who has owned the business for more than 20 years.

“Who proposed to who on what stool, whose father took them to what stool, who had their first grilled cheese there — It’s sweet, you know, to see people in their 70s and 80s come in [and] they tear up when they see it,” she said.

The town received two letters in support of Ms. Stanley’s application and no opposition, select board chair Roy Cutrer said before the board voted unanimously to grant the eatery license.

“Thank you for sticking with this, and all the work you did,” Mr. Cutrer said, leading a round of applause.