| Tom's Restaurant | |
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 Tom's Restaurant in 2012 | |
 Interactive map of Tom's Restaurant | |
| Restaurant information | |
| Location | 2880Broadway Morningside Heights,Manhattan,New York City,New York |
| Coordinates | 40°48′20″N73°57′56″W / 40.80556°N 73.96556°W /40.80556; -73.96556 |
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Tom's Restaurant is adiner located at 2880Broadway (on the corner of West112th Street) in theMorningside Heights neighborhood ofManhattan inNew York City.[1] It is on the ground floor ofColumbia University's Armstrong Hall, home to theGoddard Institute for Space Studies. Frequented by Columbia students and faculty, it was founded by Tom Glikas in the 1940s and after a sale at some undetermined point has been owned and operated by theGreek-American family of Minas Zoulis, who retained the original name.[2]
SenatorJohn McCain often ate at Tom's when he visited his daughterMeghan when she was a student at Columbia.[3] Likewise,Barack Obama frequented the restaurant as a student at Columbia.[4]
Tom's Restaurant was the locale that inspiredSuzanne Vega's 1987song "Tom's Diner."[2]
Later, its exterior was used as a stand-in for the fictionalMonk's Café in the 1989–1998televisionsitcomSeinfeld, wherecomedianJerry Seinfeld'seponymous character and his friends regularly convened to dine.[1][2] The interior shown on the television show, however, looked very little like the real Tom's, as indoor scenes were filmed on a set inLos Angeles.[2] EarlySeinfeld episodes showed the entire neon sign; later, the "Tom's" portion was cropped out, or dimmed, showing only the "RESTAURANT" wraparound. Even though the interior and exterior have undergone minor remodeling since the show, the distinctive sign has remained the same. Tom's is featured in "Kramer's Reality Tour" conducted byKenny Kramer.[citation needed]
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See also:Manhattan Community Board 9 | |||||