Viva Scobee's

At first blush, Brooke Bailey and Charles McBride seem to have little, if anything, in common.

Bailey, 31, a mother of an 8-year-old son, is fond of reminiscing about afterschool dances and late-night dinners with friends. McBride, 56, president of the Little Neck-Douglaston Lions Club, is a man seemingly unaccustomed to frequent trips down memory lane.

However, this week both Bailey and McBride were united in something akin to grief.

Like many other current and former northeastern Queens residents, they are mourning the impending loss of Scobee Diner, which after more than 50 years of awkward first dates, afterschool hijinks and Lions Club sit-downs, will close its doors for the final time Sunday.

"It's the place where you go after everything," Bailey said, ticking off some of the "afters" in her life, including first dances at Archbishop Molloy High School, graduation and eventually, motherhood.

But it was McBride that provided the most succinct summation about how news of Scobee's closure affected many Little Neck and Douglaston residents.

"It's like losing a best friend," he said.

As president of the Little Neck-Douglaston Lions however, one of McBride's first orders of business after hearing about the diner's closure was to find a new meeting place for his service organization. According to McBride, the Lions have been meeting on the second and fourth Wednesday of every month at Scobee for more than 30 years.

In fact, the group already had its last meeting at the landmark eatery last week — though few, if no one, knew it at the time.

"On behalf of the members of the Lions Club I want too wish the best for Harry, Sol, Gus and all the employees," McBride said, referring to Scobee owners Harry Pallas, Sol Winder and Gus Xikis, as well as 40 staffers who will soon join thousands of Queens residents on the unemployment line.

For Bailey, Scobee Diner was the last vestige of the classic Queens hangouts she said helped define her youth.

"When Patrick's Pub closed, it was like, 'At least we still have Scobee's,'" she said, referring to a now-vanished watering hole a few blocks east of the diner on Northern Boulevard.

On Sunday, Bailey and her friends to plan to eat their last meal at Scobee, which is likely to include her favorite dish at the restaurant, french toast made with Challah.

Judging from the community's reaction brought about by Scobee's coming demise, Bailey and her friends will not be alone.

"We might have to make a reservation," she said.