| Ellen's Stardust Diner | |
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 Interactive map of Ellen's Stardust Diner | |
| Restaurant information | |
| Established | 1987 (1987) |
| Owner | Ellen Hart |
| Food type | American cuisine[1] |
| Location | 1650 Broadway (at 51st Street),New York City,New York,New York, 10019, United States |
| Coordinates | 40°45′43″N73°59′00″W / 40.76182°N 73.9834°W /40.76182; -73.9834 |
| Reservations | Not accepted, except private parties and events[2] |
| Other information | Group events and parties can be booked by visiting the website. |
| Website | www |
Ellen's Stardust Diner is a retro 1950s theme restaurant located at1650Broadway[3] on the southeast corner of51st Street inTheater District,Manhattan,New York City.[2] The diner is regarded as one of the besttheme restaurants in New York owing to its singing waitstaff.[4] The diner also contains retro-themed memorabilia such as photos of many pastMiss Subways on the walls, an indoor train, a 1956Predicta television, and a “drive-in theater” screen that showcases performances of the 1950s. It is popular among children and adults.[1]
Ellen's Stardust Diner was opened in 1987 after Ellen's Cafe was closed down.[5][6] It was the first 1950s theme restaurant inNew York City and had waitresses inpoodle skirts.[5] In the late 1990s, a sister restaurant operated nearTimes Square under the name Stardust Dine-O-Mat.[6]
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 theIndustrial Workers of the World, 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 theNational Labor Relations Board.[7]
Ellen's Stardust Diner was the site in the movieNew Year's Eve whereSarah Jessica Parker’s character and her 15-year-old daughter's friends stopped for a bite after theball dropped.[8] It was also featured inAmerican Idol 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.[9] Ellen's Diner was also featured on aToday Show episode.[10]
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Several Ellen's Stardust Diner singing waitstaff have gone on to perform inBroadway theatre, includingBrandi Massey.[11] In 2013, then-staffers Brandon Ellis,Eric Michael Krop, and Stephen Tyler Davis received critical acclaim for writing or performing in original musicals at theNew York Musical Theater Festival. Other former staff have starred or performed in Broadway and major off-Broadway musicals, includingAvenue Q,Jersey Boys,The Lion King,South Pacific,In The Heights,On The Town,Wicked, andGodspell. Ellen's currently has multiple members of their singing waitstaff in and out of Broadway shows, national tours, and Off-Broadway productions.Alex Grayson has 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 DeAngelis,Christine Dwyer, andTiffany Mann. Recently, two employees made their Broadway debut;Nyseli Vega as Millie / Understudy for Jersey in Hell’s Kitchen, andNatalie Ortega as Nessa Rose in Wicked.[4]
