Greenwich's Train Station Block Is Being Rebuilt for 8 P.M.

"People keep asking me what is the hold up here?" First Selectman Fred Camillo said this over Zoom at a Planning & Zoning hearing this fall, according to Greenwich Free Press. He was asking about the empty restaurant space on the corner of Steamboat Road and Railroad Avenue. The station behind that corner has been finished for months. The corner has no tenant yet.

That gap is the story of the block right now. Greenwich Crossing, The Ashforth Company's $30 million redevelopment at 2–34 Railroad Avenue, was built around the commuter. The decisions made since late summer are about who comes to the block after the trains: dinner guests, people walking down from the Avenue, and anyone who wants a table within sight of the platforms.

A finished station with an empty corner

The construction is mostly done. It finished in stages, which Greenwich Crossing's own construction log tracks.

The June update also said town paving would follow the sidewalk work, and that the crosswalk in front of the station would be rebuilt after that. The project pages reviewed don't yet confirm that either job is finished.

The station itself is unusual. Greenwich Free Press notes that it is privately owned and maintained through a public-private partnership between the Town of Greenwich and The Ashforth Company, which most Metro-North stations are not. A private owner has to lease the retail and restaurant space, and it has to find tenants that fit the building. The corner space has been the hardest one to fill.

Why 112 seats wasn't enough

The anchor space covers 5,000 square feet. It was approved for 112 seats in 2023. On Wednesday, September 30, the Planning & Zoning Commission voted 5–0 to raise that number to 150, with 130 dining seats and 20 bar seats, according to the Greenwich Beacon.

The applicant, GP Holding Company Inc., told the commission it couldn't attract a nationally prominent operator at 112 seats. Joyce Storm, the applicant's restaurant leasing expert, said opening a restaurant today takes millions of dollars in capital, as Greenwich Free Press reported.

"It's not about having the most expensive restaurant in Greenwich, because we don't. We want a really strong operator who has the capital and ability, first to build it out, and then to operate."

The traffic testimony explains the timing argument. The Greenwich Beacon reports that traffic consultant John Canning surveyed 33 Greenwich Avenue retailers. About 94% of them close by 6 p.m., and peak restaurant demand comes around 8 p.m. on Saturdays. So the applicant's case was that a large dining room fills up after the shops have closed and freed their parking. The town's traffic consultant, BETA Group, and the DPW Traffic division both reviewed that analysis and found no projected traffic issues.

Camillo made the same point from the station's side. Many people arriving there have already parked, he said, and many downtown visitors walk. "I think it will have a built-in audience already," he told the commission, as Greenwich Free Press reported.

The parking plan that came with the seats

The commission didn't approve the extra seats on its own. It first heard the application in August and held it open while the applicant worked with Greenwich Police and the Department of Public Works on a passenger drop-off plan. Two drop-off locations were studied. Neither got support, because of concerns about double parking, queuing, and asking patrons with limited mobility to cross Railroad Avenue. The plan that did pass rests on parking:

• The former Hopscotch lot will be re-striped from 36 self-park spaces to as many as 57 valet-attended spaces.
• Validation makes that parking free. Attendants will manage the lot from 10 a.m. each day, which also helps the building's retail tenants during the hours when the restaurant is quiet.
• The Greenwich Plaza garage goes from 9 dedicated employee spaces to 20, and 11 of those are reserved for restaurant staff.
• Large events and buyouts would use that same garage. The applicant said at least 71 of its 696 tenant spaces have stayed open during business hours.

The commissioners voted yes, but some still had concerns. Commissioner Dennis Yeskey told the Greenwich Beacon he was "worried about a giant traffic jam at the bottom of the Avenue and spilling into Railroad Avenue." Commissioner Mary Jenkins said double-parking and illegal parking maneuvers already happen at Greenwich Crossing, even with parts of the building still vacant. Railroad Avenue is the main route between I-95 at Exit 3, the station, and the retail and office buildings around Greenwich Plaza, so any change at this corner affects people well beyond the restaurant.

Across the street, the evening crowd is arriving one storefront at a time

The north side of Railroad Avenue is changing at the same time, without one big tenant to wait on.

Le Sauvage Restaurant & Bar is a French-American restaurant planned for 99 Railroad Avenue, the former MacDuff's. As of Greenwich Time's October 3 column, it was expected to open this fall. The Blech family owns it, along with Orienta, Le Penguin and Le Fat Poodle. A sign on the building announces the opening, but no date has been reported.

The Taco Project has approval for a 20-seat fast-casual Mexican restaurant at 91 Railroad Avenue, the former cigar store. Patch dates the final site plan and special permit approval to December 9, 2025. No opening date has been announced.

Three places on the block are already open: Britt & Co Bagels at 85 Railroad Avenue, Plaza Restaurant at 87 and Thai Basil at 95. Once Le Sauvage and the Taco Project join them, about a block of Railroad Avenue will run from breakfast bagels to a French-American dinner room, all facing a station that now has a staircase coming up from Steamboat Road.

Kneads covers the morning

The first new tenant Greenwich Crossing has announced is a morning business. Kneads Bakery Café has signed a lease for two spaces: about 2,000 square feet of street-front retail on Railroad Avenue, and a 200-square-foot station on the second floor inside the train station. Greenwich Time puts the address at 20 Railroad Avenue.

Chef Daniel Moreno and Brittany Moreno own Kneads. The bakery is known for its in-house stone mill, which grinds 100% organic whole-grain flour every day for its breads and pastries. The café menu has breakfast, lunch sandwiches, soups, salads and Irving Farm coffee. The station kiosk will serve brewed coffee and grab-and-go food for commuters. The first Kneads opened in Westport in 2020, and a second location on Fairfield's Post Road is opening this month. Greenwich will be the third.

Ryan Harvey, CEO and president of The Ashforth Company, told Greenwich Free Press that the two Kneads locations would strengthen "the connection between the station, Greenwich Avenue and the surrounding community." Both the café and the kiosk are expected to open in late spring 2027.

The one-year review

The approval for 150 seats comes with conditions. No special events are allowed during the restaurant's first 12 months or during the Chamber of Commerce's July sidewalk sales. Any other special event needs approval from P&Z Director Pat LaRow. After 12 months, the applicant has to come back to the commission with data on parking use, queuing on Railroad Avenue, accident reports, seat use and delivery volume, plus an expanded traffic study.

The 5,000-square-foot corner still needs a tenant to put those conditions to work. As of the Greenwich Beacon's October 2 report on the vote, no restaurant had been announced for the space.

At The Field Point, the dining room is part of daily life for owners, so we pay close attention when a restaurant opens a short distance away. If you're curious how that kind of hospitality works at home, New England Land can arrange a private consultation and share residence details.

This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.