Tom's Restaurant facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Tom's Restaurant
Tom's Restaurant in 2000
Restaurant information
Street address	2880 Broadway Morningside Heights, Manhattan
City	New York City
State	New York

Tom's Restaurant is a famous diner located in New York City. You can find it in the Morningside Heights area of Manhattan. It sits right on the corner of Broadway and West 112th Street. This restaurant is on the ground floor of Armstrong Hall, a building that belongs to Columbia University. Many students and teachers from Columbia University often visit Tom's.

Tom's Restaurant was started by Tom Glikas in the 1940s. Later, a Greek-American family, the Zoulis family, bought it. They decided to keep the original name, "Tom's," which is why it's still called that today!

Why is Tom's Restaurant Famous?

The Song "Tom's Diner"

Tom's Restaurant became very well-known because it inspired a popular song. In 1987, singer Suzanne Vega wrote a song called "Tom's Diner." She was inspired by the restaurant's atmosphere and the people she saw there.

Tom's Restaurant and Seinfeld

Tom's Restaurant interior

Perhaps the biggest reason Tom's Restaurant is famous is its connection to the TV show Seinfeld. From 1989 to 1998, the outside of Tom's Restaurant was used as the fictional "Monk's Café" in the popular television sitcom. This was the place where comedian Jerry Seinfeld and his friends would often meet to eat and talk.

It's important to know that only the outside of Tom's Restaurant was used for Seinfeld. The scenes inside "Monk's Café" were actually filmed on a special set in Los Angeles. This set was built to look like a diner, but it was different from the real Tom's interior.

Over the years, the restaurant's famous neon sign has stayed mostly the same. In early Seinfeld episodes, you could see the whole sign. Later, the show's creators zoomed in, so only the "RESTAURANT" part of the sign was visible.

Famous Visitors to Tom's

Many well-known people have visited Tom's Restaurant over the years. For example, Senator John McCain used to eat there often. He would visit when his daughter, Meghan, was a student at Columbia University.

Another famous visitor was Barack Obama. He also went to Tom's Restaurant when he was a student at Columbia University. It seems to be a popular spot for both students and important figures!