New Haven Register (New Haven, CT)
Milford restaurant reopens after flood
MILFORD — The Kimberly Restaurant will reopen Tuesday, 13 weeks after its interior was destroyed by a flood, and owner Timmy Tsopanides is crediting an “angel” customer with making it all possible.
The dining room area was flooded early in the morning of Dec. 21 when a pipe burst, then sprinklers went off, damaging the kitchen and much of the interior, including tables and chairs.
Tsopanides said there wasn’t
enough insurance money to cover the work that needed to be done — to do it right — and even with putting in his own money they were coming up short.
Without Tsopanides even initiating a conversation, longtime customer Robert Altieri, owner of Robert’s Mechanical Services, gave them instant credit (financial) for the work and remodeled the kitchen — Altieri’s specialty — at a discounted price.
“It’s like God answered our prayers; God sent us an angel,” Tsopanides said.
That’s what happens in a place where customers become like family — and the head of that “family” is Tsopanides’ mother, Rena, 76, still waitressing and mothering customers after 50 years in the business.
“We have a lot of camaraderie. As soon as they (customers) walk in they’re family,” Tsopanides said. “We talk to them whether they like it or not.”
Rena, a big hugger when there’s no pandemic, is every customer’s favorite and still a waitress extraordinaire who maneuvers and swivels like a 26-year-old. Tsopanides said his mother is “a machine” and regulars tell him all the time: “My wife doesn’t even know what I want in the morning, but your mother does.”
It was affection for Rena, specifically her always smiling face, and faith in Tsopanides that inspired Altieri to help the family without hesitation. Altieri, now 59, said he’s known Rena since he was 10 years old and the diner was located across from the Milford police station.
“She was always a nice woman,” Altieri said.
As for Tsopanides, “I believe in him,” Altieri said.
“I’m a small businessman helping another businessman in this dog-eat-dog world.”
Altieri’s company, around for decades, has built the kitchens of some great current and former restaurants, including Rustic Grotto,September’s,Brazi’s, Cast Iron Chef and Pasta Fair.
Rena said she can’t wait to start pouring coffee and taking orders when the diner reopens at 5 a.m. Tuesday .
“I miss my customers so much I don’t sleep at night,” Rena said, while helping to put finishing touches on the remodel. “This is my life. I’ve been doing it for 50 years. I know my customers love me.”
Rena, who has lost two adult children, a son and a daughter, and has only Timmy left, said, “I live for my son, grandkids and customers.”
“Honest to God it like a family and sometimes I think it’s more than family,” Rena said. During non-COVID times, she greets customers with a big hug.
As for Tsopanides, he said the restoration work has been hard and there have been many “trials and tribulations,” but it “feels great” to be reopening.
“When I was younger I was a fighter; it’s like I have a match coming up,” he said. “I’m hoping for the best.”
He said when the flood happened, Rena and the staff were there serving customers and he was running errands. His mother called to say there was a “weird hissing noise in the ladies’ room,” and 10-15 minutes later, a pipe burst and flooded the dining room. Sprinklers went off and the damage became more widespread.
Rena Tsopanides, her late husband, “Rosie,” and her brother opened the Kimberly Diner in 1970 after owning a luncheonette in the Norwalk area.
They ran the diner, then located across the Boston
Post Road from the Milford Police Department, for 43 years. The diner closed in
2013 after the property owner died suddenly. Four years later, in 2017, the family found the right location to reopen where they are now at 501 Boston Post Road, at the site of the former Jeffrey’s Restaurant.
The restaurant has a view of the marshes in the back, filled with wildlife including rabbits, birds and deer.
Timmy Tsopanides said there has been a delay in reopening because the insurance claim took a long time and ordering materials was delayed by the pandemic.
During the closure, many regulars have dropped in to check on progress — and on Rena — and Tsopanides said he booked two summer weddings.
Regular customer Charlie Savinelli is one of those who have checked on progress weekly and said he and his wife will be there opening day for breakfast.
“We are pretty excited about it,” Savinelli said of the reopening. “The atmosphere is really good, their service is good, the food is good. It’s a real family atmosphere.”
Tsopanides said the remodeled diner is “gorgeous,” with light and dark grays, and LED lighting.
“You come in here and it’s a hybrid (diner/restaurant). “It’s whatever you want it to be.”