Iconic Elm Street Diner Opens Second Location In Norwalk

NORWALK, CT — Elm Street Diner, a Stamford eatery famous for its elaborate milkshakes and waffle towers, officially opened its second location in Norwalk this week at the Waypointe complex on West Avenue.

Nestled by other area favorites like Colony Grill, Barcelona Wine Bar and Sedona Taphouse, Owner John Moshos said the desire to open a second location came from his diner becoming a "destination" for people north of Stamford due to their huge social media following.

"What we've noticed is a lot of destination people come from north," Moshos said to Patch. "Our key demographic customer base are young people and families, ages 17 to 35-40, and then from there families."

According to Moshos, customers from nearby communities like Fairfield, Westport, Wilton and New Canaan will often make trips to visit the Stamford diner, which can sometimes take over 30 minutes to get to on weekends due to traffic on Interstate 95.

"We had looked at several locations for a while," Moshos said. "I'm very good friends with one of the owners at Colony, and we're neighbors to them in Stamford, so he recommended we could be neighbors in Norwalk."

After checking out the space and falling in love with the Waypointe community, as well as the fact that it was still close to the original Stamford restaurant, Moshos decided Norwalk was the right place to expand Elm Street's footprint.

"There's just a built-in community there," Moshos said, "and the fact that it's so close to all these neighboring towns that fit a lot of what we do...Norwalk itself is just growing. So many apartments and housing are just being built in that vicinity right there."

Elm Street Diner first opened in Stamford in 1987, however the restaurant's inventive large milkshakes have gained notable attention on social media in recent years.

The diner was even featured in a 2020 episode of the Food Network show "Food Paradise."

In March 2023, former "Real Housewives of New York City" star Bethenny Frankel and her daughter Bryn popped into the Elm Street Diner, which caused a buzz on TikTok.

In a video Frankel posted to the app, she raved about the diner's red velvet cake pancakes and cheesy bread with vodka sauce, as well as one of the restaurant's signature over-the-top shakes.

The iconic diner plans to bring the same menu items customers enjoy at the Stamford restaurant to Norwalk, along with some new unique twists.

"We're doing the same menu, but we're doing it as kind of a fun elevated experience," Moshos said. "We're going to have a full bar, which is something we can expand on that we don't have in Stamford. We're known for our big over-the-top milkshakes, so we're going to start introducing some really cool over-the-top Bloody Marys and alcoholic drinks like martinis and things of that nature."

Moshos said the decor in Norwalk will also be a bit different from the Stamford diner in order to fit the vibe at Waypointe more. The restaurant will also introduce a few menu items that will be exclusive to the Norwalk location.

Among those items is a "brunch board" featuring pancakes, waffles, French toast, fresh fruit, chocolate, butter and syrup designed for four or five people to share.

"We have a lot bigger kitchen in Norwalk so we're able to do a lot more," Moshos said, "and it kind of really fits the space. That fun vibe. We're going to go into outdoor seating next season for sure."

The restaurant held a grand opening and ribbon cutting event Monday morning, during which Mayor Harry Rilling and other city officials in attendance warmly welcomed Moshos and his team to the Norwalk dining scene.

"The city was thrilled to welcome Elm Street Diner to Norwalk on Monday with a ribbon-cutting ceremony and pleased they selected our community to open their second location," Rilling said to Patch. "The Block at Waypointe, which they selected as their new residence, has been an attractive location to live and visit due to its variety of trendy restaurants and close proximity to our South Norwalk and Wall Street downtown areas. I look forward to taking my grandson there soon and trying one of their delicious meals, whether it's one of their breakfast, lunch, dinner or dessert dishes."

Greater Norwalk Chamber President Shannon O'Toole Giandurco also said she was thrilled to welcome the iconic diner to the city.

"While on site, we couldn't turn down breakfast with Nutella banana French toast and a cookies and cream waffle," O'Toole Giandurco said to Patch. "It was wonderful to see the excitement from [Moshos], who is eager to be part of our Norwalk community. We look forward to seeing this iconic diner thrive in the Waypointe complex, building on its success from Stamford. This opening is a fantastic addition to Norwalk's vibrant dining scene."

As he prepares to welcome customers into his diner's second location this week, Moshos already has his sights set on future expansion should the Norwalk restaurant prove successful, likely further north toward Fairfield or further south into Westchester County, N.Y.

"We have about a half a million followers on social media, so we have just huge brand recognition all over the country," Moshos said. "I definitely want to bring that and showcase that and have more people kind of enjoy what we do."

For now though, Moshos said the experience of opening a new Elm Street Diner location is still somewhat surreal for him.

"We've been in Stamford for almost 40 years, and this has been on my mind for quite a long time," Moshos said. "It's just like we've kind of hit the finish line, so I'm just really excited and ready to go more than anything."

Customers can enjoy a meal at the new Norwalk restaurant Sunday-Tuesday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Wednesday-Saturday from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m.

"We're just really going to bring something special to everybody there, just because I feel like there's a true need for it," Moshos said. "More than anything, I'm just happy to be there and just into another wonderful city in Connecticut."