Williamsburg diner relocates to movie studio in the Brooklyn Navy Yard
Photos courtesy of Diane Bondareff Photography
An iconic Williamsburg diner that has been a neighborhood fixture for nearly 60 years was lifted off its foundation and relocated to the Brooklyn Navy Yard, where it will get new life as a movie set. The Wythe Diner on Monday was hoisted by crane and transported to Steiner Studios’ waterfront lot, where it will serve permanently as a film set, extending the retro restaurant’s long history on the big screen. The diner had faced demolition for years amid plans for a new apartment building, prompting a deal to physically relocate it and preserve the beloved structure.
First opened in 1968, the 1950s-era diner already boasts a long list of film and television credits, including “Men in Black 3,” “The Good Shepherd,” and yet-to-be-released “The Bride.” More than 150 movies, TV shows, and commercials have been shot there, with past visitors including Matt Damon, Will Smith, Jerry Seinfeld, Ted Danson, Steve Carell, and others.
Sandy Stillman owned the diner from 1997 to 2010, operating it as Relish Restaurant. Since then, the space has hosted a variety of pop-ups, including one for Chanel, as well as a coffee shop. Its most recent stint as a full restaurant was in 2019, when it housed the upscale Mexican eatery Cafe De La Esquina, according to the New York Post.
However, the property in recent years had fallen on hard times and was sold to a real estate development firm in August for $12.5 million. Original plans called for demolishing the diner to make way for a mixed-use building with ground-floor retail and 28 apartments. But following outcry from local residents, Steiner Studios stepped in at the last minute, offering to relocate the structure to its production hub at the Navy Yard instead.
Plans to relocate the diner were first announced in August. On Monday, workers carefully lifted it with a crane onto a flatbed truck and transported it about two miles to its new home.
Doug Steiner, the studio’s chairman, told the Post the diner will be well cared for. He admitted he wasn’t originally “in the market for a diner,” but that he lives in the neighborhood and said it was a place he frequented before “major gentrification” arrived in Williamsburg. He also views it as an opportunity to preserve an important piece of Williamsburg’s history.
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