Ellen's Stardust Diner Closing?

[dianamorales]

Posted: 7/20/20 at 10:32pm

Anyone know anything about this? https://www.reddit.com/r/Broadway/comments/huqdwn/ellens_stardust_diner_might_be_closed_for_good/

[Sutton Ross]

Posted: 7/20/20 at 10:38pm

They treated their staff poorly. Screw em. 

[TotallyEffed]

Posted: 7/20/20 at 10:44pm

Some good news.

[SoCalDirector]

Posted: 7/20/20 at 11:00pm

I boycotted them ever since I found out how they treated their staff. It’s a prime location. It be great if somebody decent started something new there.

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 7/20/20 at 11:19pm

It's for the best!

[raddersons]

Posted: 7/20/20 at 11:27pm

They were really great when I was growing up. It was one of my favorite things about going iinto the city as a little kid. I used to go there with my family and it was a truly THEMED restaurant -- the waiters would sing all songs from the 50s and it was a fun trip back in time. They were bought out in 2015 (or at least changed management?) and everything went downhill. Wages dropped, so service dropped, and the aethetic changed -- now waiters were now belting out Let It Go three times a day. It's a sad end to a one-great institution, but yeah, it's time for Ellen's to die. 

Updated On: 7/20/20 at 11:27 PM

[EDSOSLO858]

Posted: 7/20/20 at 11:44pm

I wonder what Ellen's will eventually become. I won't be surprised if it's another eatery; after all, it's right next to a theatre (the Winter Garden), and most folks might want to grab a bite before Music Man or whatever show they're seeing on/off-B'way. 

I had eaten at Ellen's a few times before, and my last trip there was 2017. Food was good/okay, nothing worth writing home about. The staff seemed entertaining at first, until I heard how they were being treated. Although this has been a Times Square icon for many years, I can and probably will get over this news quite easily. John's Pizzeria is my preferred pre-show restaurant option anyway.

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 7/20/20 at 11:57pm

I wonder how many years it’ll sit empty for now. There’s a growing list of businesses in the area that have sat empty and closed for quite a long time.

[JBroadway]

Posted: 7/21/20 at 12:05am

Went here exactly 1 time, a few days before my 15th birthday. I enjoyed the singing, but even as a 15-year-old with no culinary standards, I found the food mediocre. And by the time I moved to NY I had less than zero interest in re-visiting this loud, crowded dining room. 

Still, it's not a good sign when NYC tourist staples start closing up shop. This particular one may be case of good riddance, but it still doesn't bode well in a broader sense. 

[HogansHero]

Posted: 7/21/20 at 12:13am

Jordan Catalano said: "I wonder how many years it’ll sit empty for now. There’s a growing list of businesses in the area that have sat empty and closed for quite a long time."

This is the nature of the business and the nature of New York. No different than the agita that takes over this board regarding empty theatres. When the boom follows the bust, things may be different, but who cares? we will be kvetching about the fact we can't get a table at a decent restaurant. Sorry, but I am an optimist. 

[blaxx]

Posted: 7/21/20 at 1:53am

JBroadway said: "Still, it's not a good sign when NYC tourist staples start closing up shop. This particular one may be case of good riddance, but it still doesn't bode well in a broader sense."

The fact is that there are SEVERAL dining establishments that got away with charging tourist trap prices, without considering that the crowds would ever go away.

I assume most will not last as there is no good reason to stay around the area for very long anymore. 

[Broadway61004]

Posted: 7/21/20 at 7:46am

Jordan Catalano said: "I wonder how many years it’ll sit empty for now. There’s a growing list of businesses in the area that have sat empty and closed for quite a long time."

I feel like something will open there pretty quickly.  Yes, a lot of places have sat empty for a long time, but this is a pretty prime location in Times Square (near several hotels; right by the Winter Garden which has a recent sustained history of successful tourist-driven shows like Cats, Mamma Mia and soon Music Man; not far from the Broadway which has had sustained success with shows like Miss Saigon over the years)  So it's a pretty ideal location for a chain restaurant that is catering to tourists.

[yankeefan7]

Posted: 7/21/20 at 8:45am

I went there many years ago with my family and the food was ok and highly priced. We did have fun listening to the singing but we never went back. I hope something that has better quality food eventually moves into that location.

[VotePeron]

Posted: 7/21/20 at 9:20am

This isn’t something to celebrate folks. Like them or not, they’ve employed hundreds of artists and continue to employ artists trying to make their way - and now all of them are permanently out of a job. And over the next 6 months so many more artists are going to be as well. Have some f***ing compassion.

[Broadway61004]

Posted: 7/21/20 at 9:47am

VotePeron said: "This isn’t something to celebrate folks. Like them or not, they’ve employed hundreds of artists and continue to employ artists trying to make their way - and now all of them are permanently out of a job. And over the next 6 months so many more artists are going to be as well. Have some f***ing compassion."

VotePeron, Ellen's Stardust has routinely stolen money from those artists trying to make their way and fired them without cause whenever they complained about it.  We're not celebrating the closing because the food was bad or because we didn't like the entertainment.  We're celebrating because the owners have mistreated staff for years and years and finally won't be able to do that any more.

https://nypost.com/2017/07/15/stardust-diners-singing-servers-may-have-stolen-nearly-400k/

[VotePeron]

Posted: 7/21/20 at 10:25am

Broadway61004 said: "VotePeron, Ellen's Stardust has routinely stolen money from those artists trying to make their way and fired them without cause whenever they complained about it. We're not celebrating the closing because the food was bad or because we didn't like the entertainment. We're celebrating because the owners have mistreated staff for years and years and finally won't be able to do that any more.

https://nypost.com/2017/07/15/stardust-diners-singing-servers-may-have-stolen-nearly-400k/"

Broadway61004...I know. I've had many friends work there. I've been in the industry for a while, you don't need to tell me about how awful the place is managed/the things they've done. But as the unemployment benefits end next week and we start to see thousands of artists leave the industry/the city over the next couple of months as we face a true crisis, we won't be celebrating.

My post wasn't defending the management or the institution in any way. It's being empathetic to those who currently work there that are now the first of many to be faced with life altering news of being permanently out of a job. 

 

[SouthernCakes]

Posted: 7/21/20 at 10:33am

Honestly, I’ve had a number of artist friends - myself included - up and leave the city and relocate. And once the extra unemployment runs out, I think we will see a lot more people fleeing the city .

[Tag]

Posted: 7/21/20 at 10:56am

Anyone know what happened with that lawsuit in the link shared.  That's a pretty big accusation against the staff.

[Broadway61004]

Posted: 7/21/20 at 11:00am

VotePeron said: "Broadway61004 said: "VotePeron, Ellen's Stardust has routinely stolen money from those artists trying to make their way and fired them without cause whenever they complained about it. We're not celebrating the closing because the food was bad or because we didn't like the entertainment. We're celebrating because the owners have mistreated staff for years and years and finally won't be able to do that any more.

https://nypost.com/2017/07/15/stardust-diners-singing-servers-may-have-stolen-nearly-400k/"

Broadway61004...I know. I've had many friends work there. I've been in the industry for a while, you don't need to tell me about how awful the place is managed/the things they've done. But as the unemployment benefits end next week and we start to see thousands of artists leave the industry/the city over the next couple of months as we face a true crisis, we won't be celebrating.

My post wasn't defending the management or the institution in any way. It's being empathetic to those who currently work there that are now the first of many to be faced with life altering news of being permanently out of a job.

"

Fair enough.  And yes, like all artists currently out of a job, this is a horrendous time and I certainly do feel for the folks who are losing their jobs because of this.  But I also think this is a company that has exploited folks for years and years and now is finally not going to be able to do that any more, which is the part I'm celebrating.  But of course, I don't mean to diminish the fact that this does put some great folks out of work.

[HogansHero]

Posted: 7/21/20 at 11:26am

"and now all of them are permanently out of a job"

No. They are out of this job, just as actors are often out of a job when one show (or restaurant, bar, etc etc) closes and they have to wait to secure new employment. Yes we are in a current employment crisis that is far worse than the normal situation, and this causes pain for many, but it is not permanent. Patience is a virtue. 

[yankeefan7]

Posted: 7/21/20 at 12:54pm

Tag - see link below.

https://ny.eater.com/2017/10/5/16430490/ellens-stardust-diner-union-lawsuit

[Tag]

Posted: 7/21/20 at 1:37pm

Thanks.  Still doesn't answer to what happened with the lawsuit regarding the staff allegedly taking 400k over the years.  Or was that settled as part of this?

[Phantom4ever]

Posted: 7/21/20 at 3:53pm

I used to LOVE Ellen's Stardust Diner about 20 years ago. When I first moved to New York, I would always take people there who visited me and we had a ball listening to all of the singing waitstaff and they always managed to sing songs from all of our favorite shows. We never had a bad time there. 

Then, around 2005, it started getting LOUD. Every time I brought somebody, we would sit there in silence because we could not hear each other and it was like a bar where we would have to scream in each other's ears to talk. The waitstaff seemed to sing less and less, the food got worse and alarmingly expensive. And then in 2012 I got food poisoning after eating there and I had not been back since. 

[Scarlet Leigh]

Posted: 7/21/20 at 10:09pm

I attempted to eat there once. Sat down to find the silverware sitting on the table was filthy dirty. Got right up, walked out, and never looked back. Soooooo... bye!

[Brian Esposito3]

Posted: 7/22/20 at 12:57am

Hi! Ellen's employee of 7+ years and Secretary of Stardust Family United here. Just to address a few things that have been mentioned in this thread:

1. The diner has not yet officially closed. While I can't speak to Ken Sturm's immediate actions or finances, I wouldn't be surprised if he is either more than capable of paying the rent or currently in negotiations over the lease. 

2. Regarding the New York Post article that was brought up, the allegations against the waitstaff were false. The National Labor Relations Board has already ruled in our favor and this matter has been closed for years.

3. While it's true that we've endured plenty of mistreatment from the owners and managers, Stardust Family United has worked tirelessly to improve the working conditions in the diner and we are incredibly proud of what we've accomplished. Management has formally recognized our union. Wrongfully terminated servers were offered reinstatement. Safety concerns have been addressed and nearly all of our demands over the past four years have been met. The diner is far from perfect, but it is not the same diner it was four years ago. While some of you may be glad to hear of the diner's potential closing on behalf of how we've been treated, this is not a sentiment that we share.

4. Ellen's Stardust Diner has over 200 employees; servers, hostesses, bussers, runners, bartenders, dishwashers, chefs, etc. Not everyone is a performer, and not everyone has the same opportunities when it comes to finding a new job or receiving financial aid. We've started a fundraiser for our co-workers who are unable to collect unemployment during the shutdown. If you really want to show solidarity with the staff, here is the link: https://www.gofundme.com/f/9nt52-stardust-diner-employee-relief-fund

Peace, Love, and Ketchup,

Brian