The iconic Olympia Diner, once reported to have been sold, remains in business for now.
The Olympia Diner in Newington, restaurant has been owned by three families since it opened in Newington in 1954. The Kritikos and Goulias families each owned it for 10 years respectively, and the current owners, the Gavrilis family, have owned it since 1974, according to the Olympia Diner website.
Last fall, the property at 3413 Berlin Turnpike was set to be sold to Arista Development, which planned to put in a restaurant with a drive thru. According to a Newington town official, those plans have changed.
The town official said they hadn’t heard from the Olympia Diner owners. The last time the diner was brought up at a Newington Planning and Zoning meeting was in February.
“I can speculate that the deal fell through,” the town official said. “That’s a reasonable conclusion to come to. But I don’t have any piece of paper from Arista Development, the developer, saying we are no longer interested and not moving forward. But if you read between the lines, it’s pretty obvious that is the case.”
The diner is still listed for sale.
At a Newington Planning and Zoning meeting on Oct. 23, 2024, the Stavros and Tasos Gavrilis gave comments that gave the appearance they were ready to sell.
“We have been here since the ’70s, worked all the way up to today, I’ve had three kids that were old enough to take this business over. They worked with us, my brother has two, worked there with us. They saw our lifestyle, and they said no. We’re not going to work every weekend, and the holidays, so they went to college and did something else,” Stavros Gavrilis said in October, according to a record of the meeting. “The way we see it is, this will be helping us in the next goal in life. Yes, there is going to be a change, it’s time for a change, like the saying goes, sooner or later, every performer takes a bow and gets off the stage, and that is where we are at.
“It’s a very tough business,” Stavros Gavrilis added. “Some close their eyes, but there were three shifts from ’54 all the way to 2000, three shifts, round the clock, and then we closed the third shift because all of the night clubs on the Berlin Turnpike died, so now we are two shifts, and with all of the apartments that are coming up here, I believe that more restaurants will open up, and slowly but surely they will take from us, so then we are going to be one shift, six to two. I don’t want to see that happen, I don’t. I don’t want to see it happen. I think we are doing the right thing here.”
An Olympia Diner employee told the Courant on Friday morning that are no plans to close and said the owner did not want to speak to any media at this time.
“The diner is still open and there are no plans to close the diner. There never really was,” the Olympia Diner employee said, which is good news to many residents who don’t want to see the diner go.
Newington town councilor Matt Plourd said following the news that the diner was being sold to be torn down, he heard from several of constitutes in town to preserve the sign at the very least, if not the whole building.
“I’ve grown up here and spent my whole life here,” Plourd said. “My dad grew up here too and Olympia Diner is a fundamental part of our towns history. This space, it’s not just a building. It’s not just a business. It’s a beacon of a lot of memories for folks.”
An online petition was formed to save the diner and garnered more than 700 signatures in the matter of weeks.
“Because of all of those memories, it was concerning to hear that news,” Plourd said.
Plourd said he worked on a bipartisan basis with fellow councilors reviewing opportunities for funding and support to preserve some portion of the diner. Plourd added that Newington Historical Society was also vocal about preserving the diner.
The diner has been the setting for iconic movies such as “Jackknife,” starring Robert De Niro, and “Promises in the Dark,” starring Marcia Mason, according to the restaurant website. It has also appeared in several TV shows and commercials. The diner was featured in a music video by Kelsey Blackstone and Jason LaPierre in their song “When I’m With You.”
“Newington is Newington because of Cedar Mountain, the waterfall and Olympia Diner. It really is true. I’m very relieved personally knowing that we are going to keep this institution in town at least a few years longer,” Plourd said.
The diner opens at 6 a.m. daily and closes at 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 11 p.m. on Friday and Saturday and 5 p.m. on Sunday.