Tom's Restaurant to Branch Out to Coney Island

, a long-time staple in Prospect Heights, may soon be opening a new location on the Coney Island boardwalk, according to NY1.

The restaurant, opened in 1936 at the corner of Washington Avenue and Sterling Place, has regularly transported diners back to the era of counter service, comfort food, egg creams and Cherry Lime Rickeys. Even in 2011, the wait for Sunday brunch has hungry patrons filling the sidewalk.

NY1 reports that Jimmy Kokotas, owner of Tom’s, is in negotiations with the boardwalk's landlord Zamperla to lease the space that formerly housed ChaCha's and Nathan's Hot Dogs. A deal is expected to be finalized by the end of the week, and if all goes according to schedule, the new Tom’s should open on the boardwalk in April.

Neighbors in of former Tom’s owner Gus Vlahavas, as he retired to Colorado last May. Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz had even stopped by to the event, to thank Vlahavas for his six decades of work in creating a true Brooklyn institution.

"You couldn’t live in a better area than Prospect Heights," Vlahavas said at the event. "And it’s not made by the terrain, it’s made by all the people that live in it."

Tom's Restaurant, 782 Washington Avenue; (718) 636-9738.