Long-time East Norwalk restaurant Nik's Place reopened this weekend after being closed for the last two years.

The eatery's reopening also prompted multiple familiar faces to stop by.

"We knew it was going to be busy, but we didn't think it would be this busy," said owner Steve Kydes.

The fast Greek restaurant near Calf Pasture Beach has been in Kydes' family for 45 years, with generations sharing memories of eating there.

"We grew up with it," said Alex Gisolfi, who spent his childhood down the street. "(Steve) is like a family friend - he's practically family."

"It's old school," added Kevin Burns, who lives a couple blocks from the restaurant. "It's a little bit of history, I used to bring my daughter here 30 years ago."

Kydes himself took over ownership 25 years ago. Families said he is part of what makes Nik's Place stand out.

"(Steve and his co-workers) always have a smile," said Gaby Garrido, who lives in the neighborhood. "It's not only the ice cream or whatever you're eating, it's the smile."

"It's not like normal places where you just buy - it's that they're giving you kindness too," agreed Isabella Morales, who also lives in the area.

After 2023 though, Kydes admits the smile was fading.

"He needed a break," said Joe Schnierlein, a longtime customer who has known Kydes since he was in school. "Not everyone that comes here is nice, and not everyone that comes here and pleasant to deal with, and over the years, he had had it."

Kydes decided to shut Nik's Place down and was hoping to sell the building.

"It was kind of sad driving by," admitted Gisolfi.

However, Kydes was unable to find any takers.

"I said 'Stevie, you're an institution in the neighborhood'. And I said 'a lot of people come here and they count on you,'" Schnierlein remembered.

Others had similar feelings to the point where Kydes says it actually became an easy decision to reopen.

"I'm a guy who believes in signs," he said, "and I got a lot of signs that I should be back, and I said 'I'm not really doing anything, I'll come back, and see how things go.'"

Kydes says there has been a line almost non-stop since he reopened to the point where he even had to do the interview with News 12 while he was cooking.

"(The first day), it was a party over here, like everybody was happy, beeping around," Garrido said.

"I didn't expect a reception like this, I would have thought people would have forgot about us by now," Kydes admits. "It tells me I made the right decision coming back. I have to be here for the foreseeable future. I'm supposed to be here."