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Berry’s Restaurant In Norwalk Is In The Third Generation Of Ownership
By JoAnn Cummings, Feature Writer
Retro has become chic: tin ceilings, antique buffets, counter dining, stained glass, chande- liers. “A lot of people try to im- itate this look,” says Doug Berry, owner of Berry’s restaurant in downtown Norwalk. “We’re the original.” Berry’s Restaurant first opened its doors in 1946 and has been a cornerstone of downtown Norwalk since then. However, even before 1946 when Clarence and Elizabeth Berry opened the restaurant the Main Street lo- cation was the “confectioner’s” shop known as Norwalk Candy Kitchen. It started in 1902.
Today, Berry’s is owned by a third generation member of the Berry family. Clarence and Elizabeth transferred ownership to their sons Robert and James in 1961. James retired in 2001; transferring ownership to Rob- ert, his wife Shirley and their son Douglas Berry. “I remem- ber my grandfather working here for my father when I was a child,” Doug said.
Doug Berry in The Dinky Pub and Grill at Berry’s Restaurant.
Things have both changed and stayed the same at the restaurant over the years. “We still have some of the old classics on the menu like Swiss steak and barbeque ribs. We used to have a lot of fried foods on the menu, but that has changed over the years as people become more conscious of healthy foods. We have lower calorie selections, items with no wheat and salads. We try to stay ahead without losing what our regular customers expect from us,” Berry said. Famous for their rice pudding dessert, Berry said, “That’s been on the menu since I was a kid.”
The walls of the restaurant are decorated with Norwalk’s history and Berry encourages people to look around at the pictures and admire the tin ceiling and the antique furniture. “The pictures
on the walls are of people who made Norwalk’s history. Their last names are the names of down- town streets. Norwalk is very proud of our histo- ry,” Doug said.
The most admired part of the building’s decor is the high tin ceiling. The dining room has large pieces of stained glass built into the high walls under the ceiling. “They are the stained glass windows of the music hall down the street. They came from the top floor when the building was remodeled,” Doug said. “It’s harder to work on an older building, we have to figure out things like adding air conditioning without destroying the ceiling; but, I think we show it off well.”
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