Opening Date Announced For BJ Ryan's East In Norwalk

NORWALK, CT — BJ Ryan's East, a new restaurant that has set up shop in the former Parter's Cafe & Pizzeria building in East Norwalk, will officially open its doors to the public Thursday evening, just a few days before Super Bowl Sunday and Valentine's Day.

The restaurant, located on the corner of First Street and Cove Avenue, announced the date on Instagram following its first "very intimate soft opening" event Saturday.

"It was an amazing night with such special people," the post reads. We feel so grateful for all the love, support and hard work put into this and we're excited for everyone else to see what we've done!"

BJ Ryan's East will continue to host soft opening events this week prior to the official opening Thursday.

The new neighborhood eatery is BJ Ryan's third location in town, joining a lineup that includes the original BJ Ryan's restaurant on Main Street and a separate seafood restaurant, BJ Ryan's Banc House, on River Street.

The opening also marks the official end of an era for Parter's, which shut its doors in December after nearly 40 years in business. That month, the Spinola family announced on social media they planned to sell Partner's to the BJ Ryan's team.

"We've spent the last four decades building a business we are proud of by doing what we love most, making others happy," the family's Dec. 13 post reads. "The decision to sell did not come lightly and weighed heavy on our hearts. We are honored to have been part of the Norwalk community and the rich history of East Norwalk for so long. For this we have no one to thank other than our loyal customers who have become family over many years of service."

In an interview with Patch last month, owner BJ Lawless and Keith Torpey, the restaurant's vice president, said they planned to keep the entire Partner's kitchen staff and a number of the restaurant's beloved menu items, including their beloved pizza.

See also: BJ Ryan's East Plans February Opening, Will Keep Beloved Pizza

They also emphasized the pizza served at BJ Ryan's East will be made exactly the same way Partner's made it.

"It's Partner's pizza," Torpey said. "Same staff, same oven, same pizza. If anybody says it isn't, they're wrong, because it's literally going to be the same exact pizza."

Lawless said he also plans to add a number of new items to the menu.

While BJ Ryan's East will have its own identity and be more in line with what those familiar with Lawless' other restaurants have come to love, he and Torpey hope keeping certain touches of what came before them will make the space's transition all the easier, especially for those who frequented Partner's for nearly four decades.

"A lot of their clientele have been our clientele, so it just made it a little easier," Lawless said. "I think it's going to be easier for people to accept that Partners is done, but there's a new entity that's going to be still familiar to them to come to."