Ellen's Stardust Diner is a retro 1950s theme restaurant located at
1650 Broadway on the southeast corner of
51st Street in
Theater District,
Manhattan
Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...
,
New York City
New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
.
The diner is regarded as one of the best
theme restaurants in New York owing to its singing waitstaff.
The diner also contains retro-themed memorabilia such as photos of many past
Miss Subways on the walls, an indoor train, a 1956
Predicta television, and a “drive-in theater” screen that showcases performances of the 1950s. It is popular among children and adults.
History
Ellen's Stardust Diner was opened in 1987 after Ellen's Cafe was closed down.
It was the first 1950s theme restaurant in
New York City
New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
and had waitresses in
poodle skirts.
In the late 1990s, a sister restaurant operated near
Times Square
Times Square is a major commercial intersection, tourist destination, entertainment hub, and Neighborhoods in New York City, neighborhood in the Midtown Manhattan section of New York City. It is formed by the junction of Broadway (Manhattan), ...
under the name Stardust Dine-O-Mat.
During 2016–2017, the restaurant saw a period of unrest, when it was alleged that 31 waiters were fired after attempting to form a union with the
Industrial Workers of the World
The Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), whose members are nicknamed "Wobblies", is an international labor union founded in Chicago, United States in 1905. The nickname's origin is uncertain. Its ideology combines general unionism with indu ...
, and the restaurant counter-claimed that the terminated employees had defrauded it of hundreds of thousands of dollars. In October 2017, a settlement was agreed to give the fired workers the opportunity to return to their jobs if they wished, and to give them back pay from the date of their firing. The settlement came about days before the issue was due to come to trial following a decision by the
National Labor Relations Board
The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) is an Independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the federal government of the United States that enforces United States labor law, U.S. labor law in relation to collect ...
.
In popular culture
Ellen's Stardust Diner was the site in the movie ''
New Year's Eve
In the Gregorian calendar, New Year's Eve refers to the evening, or commonly the entire day, of the last day of the year, 31 December, also known as Old Year's Day. In many countries, New Year's Eve is celebrated with dancing, eating, drinkin ...
'' where
Sarah Jessica Parker
Sarah Jessica Parker (born March 25, 1965) is an American actress and television producer. In a career spanning over five decades, she has performed across several productions of both Sarah Jessica Parker filmography, screen and stage. List o ...
’s character and her 15-year-old daughter's friends stopped for a bite after the
ball dropped. It was also featured in ''
American Idol
''American Idol'' is an American Music competition, singing competition television series created by Simon Fuller, produced by Fremantle (company), Fremantle North America and 19 Entertainment, and distributed by Fremantle North America. It a ...
'' when a former employee, Devyn Rush, became a contestant on the show. Reports subsequently followed regarding Devyn's employment status at Ellen's Stardust Diner. Ellen's Diner was also featured on a ''
Today Show'' episode.
Alumni on Broadway
Several Ellen's Stardust Diner singing waitstaff have gone on to perform in
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre,Although ''theater'' is generally the spelling for this common noun in the United States (see American and British English spelling differences#-re, -er, American and British English spelling differences), many of the List of ...
, including
Brandi Massey.
In 2013, then-staffers Brandon Ellis
Eric Michael Krop and Stephen Tyler Davis received critical acclaim for writing or performing in original musicals at the
New York Musical Theater Festival. Other former staff have starred or performed in Broadway and major off-Broadway musicals, including ''
Avenue Q'', ''
Jersey Boys
''Jersey Boys'' is a jukebox musical with a book by Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice. It is presented in a documentary-style format that dramatizes the formation, success and breakup of the 1960s rock 'n' roll group The Four Seasons. The mus ...
'',''
The Lion King
''The Lion King'' is a 1994 American animated musical coming-of-age drama film directed by Roger Allers and Rob Minkoff, produced by Don Hahn, and written by Irene Mecchi, Jonathan Roberts, and Linda Woolverton. Produced by Walt Disney ...
'', ''
South Pacific'', ''
In The Heights'', ''
On The Town'', ''
Wicked'', and ''
Godspell
''Godspell'' is a musical in two acts with music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz and a book by John-Michael Tebelak. The show is structured as a series of parables, primarily based on the Gospel of Matthew, interspersed with music mostly set t ...
''. Ellen's currently has multiple members of their singing waitstaff in and out of Broadway shows, national tours, and Off-Broadway productions
Alex Graysonhas been in and out of the diner for the past two years leaving his serving job to perform in Into the Woods, Parade, and currently is playing Dallas Winston in The Outsiders on Broadway. Ellen’s has several servers that go in and out of productions such as
Zak Resnick Gabrielle Foster, Xavier McKinnon
Matt DeAngelisChristine Dwyer an
Tiffany Mann Recently, two employees made their Broadway debut
Nyseli Vegaas Millie / Understudy for Jersey in Hell’s Kitchen, an
Natalie Ortegaas Nessa Rose in Wicked.
References
{{Restaurants in Manhattan
Diners in New York (state)
Restaurants established in 1987
Restaurants in Manhattan
Theme restaurants
Broadway (Manhattan)
1987 establishments in New York City
Midtown Manhattan