Blue Colony Celebrates 35 Years Of Keeping Customers Happy

By Nancy K. Crevier

For 35 years travelers from far and near have found their way to the Blue Colony Diner. Located at the intersection of Church Hill Road and the entrance to Interstate 84, it would seem that the crowd would be of a transient nature. Not so, said general manager George Marnelakis. While about 50 percent of the customers arrive from out of town at the shiny jukebox-design diner, even the majority of those customers are repeat business, traveling between New York and Boston or from points north to destinations south. They stop in whenever their travels bring them through, he said. He and his father, Eddie Marnelakis, know a great number of them by face and name.

It is this familiarity, and the consistency of menu and atmosphere, that has kept customers pouring in the doors of the 6,000-square-foot diner since his father opened the doors March 19, 1973, said George Marnelakis.

The Blue Colony was not Eddie Marnelakis’ first diner venture. Prior to this venue, he had owned the Red Colony in Danbury. Newtown seemed like a growing community and the active junction in the road just the right place for the diner. Mr Marnelakis immediately set the theme for a diner that would gain local renown for its generous portions, fair prices, and quality of food and service.

 “We don’t make too many changes,” George Marnelakis said, but five years ago the family decided to give the diner a complete makeover.

For 30 years, the diner sported a stone façade that was the fashion beginning in the 1950s, said Mr Marnelakis, but in 2003, they elected to return to the classic stainless steel style that had reigned prior to the middle of the 20th Century. The same company that built the original Blue Colony, DeRaffelle Company out of New Rochelle, N.Y., designed and carried out the renovations. The new look may have surprised regulars, but the sleek design is actually a more authentic look, said Mr Marnelakis, and overall customers love the change.

Tableside jukeboxes were removed during the 2003 renovations, a change that the family weighed carefully. “It really was just too noisy with everybody playing the music and the noise level is much better now,” said Mr Marnelakis. Outside of the diner, however, customers are greeted by rock and roll tunes projected from the speakers located over each entrance.

The atmosphere in the Blue Colony has mellowed as the years have passed, Mr Marnelakis said. Changes to smoking laws and changes in people’s attitudes about drinking and driving have resulted in a crowd that is quieter — but in much more of a hurry. “People seem to be more rushed these days,” said Mr Marnelakis. “People used to sit and relax, but there is less lingering now.” After dinner drinks from the full-service bar are not the same volume as they were when the diner first opened. The diner used to see a heavy post-bar crowd in the wee hours of the morning, as well, but as people have become more conscientious about drinking, that crowd has dwindled.

The new crowd late in the evening hours is made up of Newtown’s youth, he said. The NHS athletic teams and coaches periodically invade the Blue Colony diner. “We welcome the athletic groups. We’re comfortable with them and we understand the kids, so they like to come here,” Mr Marnelakis said. “How many places can you walk into with 40 people and get seated?”

Teenage appetites are pleased with the big portions and the wide selection of favorite foods, any of which can be prepared any time of the day. “We have added to the menu over the years, but we don’t take things off of the menu; it just grows,” said Mr Marnelakis, and that has been the rule for 35 years.

The menu is extensive. The oversized, laminated menu consists of page after page of snacks, meals, desserts, and drinks. Nearly three dozen sandwiches — from a ham or bacon and egg for $2.95 to a steak sandwich for $6.55 — are listed, not including the deluxe sandwich specials, 1/3 -pound burgers, wraps, and hot open sandwiches. Among the long list of snacks are Buffalo chicken wings, stuffed grape leaves, blintzes, and potato skins. Two pages of just breakfast items include fruit-topped French toast or pancakes, bagels, muffins, omelettes, and a dozen other egg specials, as well as hot and cold cereals.

 “Where else can you get lamb shank with orzo?” asked Mr Marnelakis. “It’s very popular with a lot of our older customers.” Regular customers look forward to the other specialties turned out by the kitchen, as well, such as the veal stroganoff over noodles, roast fresh ham with stuffing, broiled halibut, or the spanikopita, a Greek spinach and phyllo dough pie. Seventeen seafood entrees join more than two dozen other entrees and pasta dishes. Salad platters and salad specials take up nearly half a page, as does the listing for the seemingly endless desserts.

Seven ovens and 14 burners in the Blue Colony kitchen churn out meals 24/7, and the two eight-foot grills are always going. A diner without coffee just would not be a diner, and The Blue Colony is no exception. Nearly eight gallons of coffee are poured from the huge urns every hour.

 The sweets flow over into three dessert cases and customers are greeted by an array of oversized fruit turnovers, gigantic chocolate chip cookies, honey nut rolls, and sundry other pastries. The challah breads that are heaped upon a table near the entrance are made on premises, all year long, every day of the week. “We don’t use premade foods,” said Mr Marnelakis. “We make all of it here in the kitchen.”

Giving back to the community that supports them has always been a pleasure, Mr Marnelakis said. For years when the Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts, or Jaycees sponsored the Memorial Day and Labor Day coffee stops right across the street, the Blue Colony donated the coffee and tea. “Whenever an organization has asked for a donation, we are happy to donate,” he said, whether it is beverages, food trays, or their famous baked goods.

Regular customers are used to seeing a familiar face behind the counter or tending to the many tasks that make the diner run efficiently. Either Eddie or George Marnelakis, or their cousin Tim Konstantaras, the manager, is always on site. The staff of 60 takes care of the hundreds of diners that are seated at one of the 210 seats in the two dining areas, and longtime customers may even recognize longtime employees, George Marnelakis said, as a few original employees are still on staff.

As a vacationing homeowner loves to return to the familiar comforts of home, so customers count on the reliability of the Blue Colony Diner: good food, moderate pricing, and comfortable surroundings.

There are no big changes on the horizon for now, said Mr Marnelakis. “To most people, the Blue Colony is home and we try to keep it that way.”