ROTTERDAM — The Redwood Diner is a Rotterdam staple, serving popular dishes for generations in the community.
The Redwood, open for breakfast, lunch and dinner, offers a wide variety of Greek and American dishes with fresh ingredients and homemade dishes.
The restaurant at 2688 Hamburg St. in Rotterdam started out as a self-service restaurant with items such as hot dogs in October 1963.
Owner Peter Andrikopoulos has owned the Redwood for 45 years. He moved from Greece to the United States in the 1960s. He first worked in the taxi business in New York City before coming upstate. He became a partner in the restaurant, turning it into a full-service diner in January 1978.
A few years later, he bought his partner out and ran the restaurant with his brother for a few years, before buying his brother’s portion when he went back to Greece. Since 1991, Peter Andrikopoulos has run the restaurant with his wife Gloria and their family.
“We’ve been here forever,” said Peter.
Since the 1990s, Peter Andrikopoulos said he has changed the restaurant’s décor, added booths, updated the restrooms and ceilings, and added a patio for outdoor seating in the summer.
The Daily Gazette recently spoke with Gloria and Peter Andrikopoulos about the Redwood. Here’s what they had to say:
Question: What are some of your most popular dishes?
Peter Andrikopoulos: The most popular dishes that we have, besides the chicken parmesan and spaghetti, we have chicken francese, a great lasagna, a lot of salads, we have a Greek salad, a Mediterranean salad with grilled chicken on it that’s very, very popular. We started out with hot dogs here, so we sell a lot of hot dogs.
Q: What are some of your favorite things about running the restaurant?
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Gloria Andrikopoulos: The people, we’ve been blessed with this community. And we have also have a lot of travelers, people coming right off the Thruway who come here, and they are very happy to get a homemade meal. People love that they can come here to relax, they love to bring their dogs on our patio. Even during COVID, when we were doing takeout, everyone was so supportive of us.
Peter: Yes, the people. We have people who are older now, and I remember them coming here when they were kids, and now they come here with kids of their own.
Q: As far as costs go, what do your customers typically spend?
Peter: We try to keep things as affordable as possible. Most of my customers are older people, and a lot of them are on Social Security, so I try to be as fair as possible.
Q: Do your customers need to make reservations?
Peter: We do some reservations, but every five minutes we get a table here. We get everybody in and out pretty quickly. I have a really good crew in the kitchen, especially at breakfast.
Q: How would you describe the restaurant’s atmosphere?
Gloria: Casual, family-friendly, relaxing, welcoming. When my daughter was young, she was hurt and everyone here really rallied around us. We pay it forward.
Q: What is the secret to your restaurant’s success in the community?
Peter: Hard work. A lot of hard work, and good people to support you. Be nice to the people, and they will support you.
Q: Why should someone who hasn’t been here before come try Redwood Diner?
Peter: Good food, nice people. There is something here for everyone.
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OUT TO EAT – Our look at the Capital Region’s local restaurants and those who run them. New features Fridays… Read more »