About Us
Meet Roderick Cornish
Famous for his success with chicken wings at Hot Rods Cafe in New London, he is the new proud owner of Charlies Place in Niantic. Charlies Place Restuarant and Lounge has a bright future for the local community.
Charlie’s Place has been a mainstay of the East Lyme/ Niantic Connecticut area for over 18 years. Recently purchased by Roderick Cornish, a well known restaurateur, of Hot Rods Cafe located in New London, Ct. he looks forward to continuing and growing the legacy of Charlie’s Place and serving the community for many years to come.
Story of Charlie
After coming to America with my father in December of 1972, I started working at Phillipes Pizza in New London, CT. Two years later, my father and I decided to work for ourselves and purchased Golden Pizza on Rt 12 in Preston, CT. After a few years I decided to return to Greece to find the love of my life, and sold the business. My loving wife Penny and I had our first child in Greece then 3 months later went back to America after being told by my Uncle that Bonas Pizza was for sale in Old Lyme, CT. So in 1980 we had our second child and settled in with our family and our business, Pizza Palace.In 1992 we decided to sell again, to family this time, and came to Niantic and became the owners of Seashell Restaurant which was on Pennsylvania Avenue, when yet again another opportunity arose when David Johns Restaurant was for sale on West Main Street, and we took it and renamed it Niantic Diner, Now Charlie's Restaurant. Being in the restaurant business for so many years, we are glad to bring you great service and great food in a comfortable setting for you and your family!