• Courtesy
• Apple-cinnamon-stuffed French toast at Guilty Plate Diner

Chef Darrell Langworthy confirmed that he and his wife, Sarah Langworthy, have signed a deal to take over the Guilty Plate Diner in Colchester. Darrell and his team currently operate three food destinations in Essex Junction: Mark BBQ, Heart n Soul by Mark BBQ and the recently launched Skreet Doggs, a seasonal food truck.

Sarah will be the diner's general manager, and longtime Mark BBQ team member Drew Trombley will be the chef. Darrell said they expect to hold a grand reopening the weekend of July 23. The diner will offer breakfast and lunch to start, with a menu that closely hews to its original, including the signature Irish eggs Benedict served with corned-beef hash.

The Langworthys are leasing the restaurant with a plan to buy it from the Alvanos family. The Guilty Plate Diner, which opened in 2013, has been closed since February of 2021. Its chef, Evan Alvanos, died in April 2020.

"Evan was the heart of the place," Darrell said. "After he passed away from COVID, they tried but couldn't carry on ... We want to honor what they started."

The Alvanos family previously owned the now-closed Pine Street Deli and for a decade ran the Parkway Diner, also recently reopened under new ownership.

Darrell said he welcomed the chance to add a diner to his small restaurant group. "Diner food is just down-home cooking," he said. "It's what Grandma makes. It's what Mom makes. At the heart of me, I just love a good meatloaf sandwich and eggs cooked just right."

The kitchen will make its own corned beef, pastrami and roast turkey in-house. New items on the Guilty Plate menu will include a freshly ground brisket burger and poutine topped with barbecue burnt ends. The gyro special will be made with pit-roasted lamb.

"We're adding a little touch of ourselves," Darrell said.