After more than three decades, the Empire Diner in Chelsea is preparing to cash out.

The iconic Chelsea institution has lost its lease and will serve its last meal on May 15th.

Known as the "hippest diner on earth," the eatery has been popular with Hollywood, serving the likes of Madonna, Barbara Streisand and Steven Speilberg.

But the employees say it's the locals who make the diner feel like a second home.

"We want to turn out food that people would eat at their uncle's house if their uncle was a really good cook. We don't do too much fancy food; my training is French but what we do is home-style cooking for the most part, comfort food, just well done," said Empire Diner Co-owner Mitchell Woo.

"We have a lot of regulars from the neighborhood and you know people who know us and say hi to us on the street when we're outside of work," said Empire Diner employee Jeremy Williams.

"I love the people that work here, same crew have been here for a long, long time. It's one of the better things about the city, this sort of neighborhood institution," said one loyal customer.

The owners say they are looking to open new Empire Diners all across the country.

The Gotham City Restaurant Group is slated to take over the site, rename it and redo the menu.