A developer is proposing to build a drive-thru “quick service” restaurant at the site of the Olympia Diner in Newington.
The owners of the iconic diner have been trying to sell or lease the 1.2-acre property at 3413 Berlin Turnpike for several years.
Arista Development LLC has agreed to purchase the property contingent on receiving zoning approvals.
Arista has filed a pre-application with the town’s Planning and Zoning Commission seeking input on the proposal. A pre-application allows a developer to obtain feedback before submitting a formal application.
The developer is concerned about existing nonconformities on the property, which it says could hinder future development.
According to the pre-application, the site does not currently comply with the town’s zoning regulations, which require a 35-foot buffer along Berlin Turnpike frontage.
The property has an existing paved parking area within the buffer zone. Also, 16 parking spaces are within a state right-of-way.
The diner has 81 parking spaces, including those in the state right-of-way, and 18 on an abutting car wash property. That means almost half of the parking spaces are not on the property.
The property would lose another 13 parking spaces if the 35-foot setback requirement was applied, according to the pre-application.
Noting that the property is “oddly shaped,” Arista says it intends to propose a zoning text change that would reduce the property’s nonconformities and “facilitate a redevelopment of the property in an attractive manner.”
Norwood, Massachusetts-based Arista Development has built bank branches, pharmacies, mixed-use projects and retail stories along the eastern seaboard from Maine to Florida. It’s currently building a CVS in Clinton.
The Olympia Diner was built by New Jersey-based Jerry O’Mahony Diner Co. and was originally located in Massachusetts. The metal building was transported to Newington in 1954.
It has been featured in films, including scenes from “Jacknife,” starring Robert De Niro, and “Promises in the Dark,” starring Marcia Mason.
