Lag’s Eatery, once a popular Homewood breakfast and lunch restaurant, will reopen in 2024 after closing 15 years ago.

“Coming soon to Crestwood/Avondale!” the restaurant’s website and Facebook page say. The new location: 4350 3rd Court S.

When Anthony “Lag” Galiano opened the Homewood location in the 1970s, as the website statement says, their concept was meant to create “A place to meet friends, see friends, and be friends.”

The diner, previously located on Broadway Street, went up for lease after owner Gerard DeFrank closed shop. He took over the business during the 1990s, but shut down after he suffered a heart attack in April 2009, and then a stroke. AL.com reported then that employees ran the business for months after, but the slow economy led to permanent closure.

The simple menu customers likely remember: Breakfasts of pancakes and eggs and lunches of sandwiches and hot dogs. A signature sandwich had two beef patties, two slices of bacon and four slices of cheese. Almost nothing cost more than $6 back then.

The website will allow customers to join an email list that gives them an early look at the new menu, updates on renovations and timelines and “chances to collaborate with our team.”

The restaurant will be open for breakfast, lunch and dinner, and will be open “late night,” according to the websites.

Taking over the business are former Lag’s employees Justin Shubert and Eric Wallace, whom DeFrank hired when the previous location was still open. “These two best buds and longtime Birmingham residents are set to honor the community that raised them: LAG’S IS BACK!” the website/Facebook statement says about the Crestwood residents. “They are active in the community and hope to share the spirit of a place they loved with a community they love.”

When he closed in 2009, DeFrank told AL.com that he did not expect to work again, adding he couldn’t drive and had hearing and vision problems. “I never imagined this happening,” he said. “I wasn’t ready to give up working for a living.”

At the time, DeFrank remained active during physical therapy and said the support of his wife Linda and his friends at the West Homewood Lions Club had been “invaluable.”

DeFrank passed away in 2017.