The Westcott neighborhood’s inviting and cool atmosphere is what attracted Danielle Mercuri, the owner of Rise N Shine Diner, to the area. Rise N Shine just opened its second location at 500 Westcott St. last weekend.

Rise N Shine saw more than 400 people on its opening day, Mercuri said. Unlike the original diner on Thompson Road, the Westcott location will offer “Brinner,” when guests can have breakfast for dinner, later in the day.

Mercuri has been coming to the Westcott neighborhood for years and has always wanted to expand her business to the area, she said. But she was waiting for the right location — one big enough for what the restaurant needed. The diner’s newest location is where the former Papa John’s Pizza operated.

Mercuri started as a server at the original Rise N Shine in 2009. She first heard about the job opening from her stepfather, after being unemployed for almost a year, with little money and three daughters to raise.

At the time, Rise N Shine was owned by her stepfather’s friend, Peter Hennessy. He later asked Mercuri to help him manage and grow the place. Around 2011, Hennessy died of leukemia and left Rise N Shine to Mercuri in his will, she said.

Mercuri’s family was in the restaurant business her whole life, but she went to school for design. She got to flex her design roots when creating a fresh aesthetic for the diner – a “sleek” look with still a “homey feel,” she said.

“I never really was a chef,” Mercuri said. “I was trying to be in interior fashion and couldn’t handle all that, so I had to go back into the restaurant business and I was kind of doing both until (Hennesy) had gotten sick. And then I just started to use the restaurant as my creative outlet.”

Since opening on Westcott Street, Mercuri’s staff has been helping her create new menu items. At the original location, Mercuri said she came up with all of the specialty menu items that Rise N Shine is known for, including their breakfast nachos and dessert-inspired pancakes.

Rise N Shine is being welcomed into the neighborhood by another locally-owned restaurant.

“Any new addition to the street would be pretty cool because I know everybody does their own unique thing around here. It’ll definitely attract people,” said Majid Essi, a manager from Mom’s Diner.

Just down the street, Taylor Vincent works full time as a prep cook and on the line for Alto Cinco and grew up near Westcott, calling the community “tight-knit.”

Mercuri said she’s always felt welcomed by the Westcott community, and now that she’s here, she’s excited.

“I just love the neighborhood,” Mercuri said.

@allisonw_ | alweis@syr.edu

Published on September 5, 2019 at 1:22 am

Contact Allison: alweis@syr.edu