Nardelli's Grinder Shoppe To Open New Norwalk Location By March

Norwalk CT

27 January, 2022

5:42 PM

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NORWALK, CT — Residents of Norwalk and nearby communities eager to sink their teeth into a famous Nardelli's grinder will not have to wait much longer, as franchise owner Matthew Youngs has confirmed a new Norwalk location should be up and running by early March. In fact, Youngs said he hopes to launch a soft opening just prior to a full opening in March. For local sandwich enthusiasts, as well as the Nardelli's Grinder Shoppe team, this should be welcome news, as the Norwalk location was originally planned to open in the fall of 2021. "We should've been open by now," Youngs said to Patch. "We ran into some snags with some permitting issues, as well as supply chain challenges." The Norwalk location will mark Nardelli's first store directly in the lower area of Fairfield County, with the franchise's current stores closest to Norwalk located in Danbury and Milford. Nardelli's also has locations in Oxford, Southbury, Naugatuck, Waterbury, Wallingford, Meriden, Middletown, Southington, Cromwell, Torrington, Farmington and East Hartford. Youngs, a New Canaan resident, noted he and his friends often will make trips up to Milford and back just to grab a Nardelli's sandwich, which is one reason he was excited to bring the franchise closer to home. "Having been in Fairfield County for the last 13 years as a resident," Youngs said, "it was always kind of shocking to me, once I discovered Nardelli's back in 2012, that they never made their way into lower Fairfield County, so I was happy to do it." According to owner Marco Nardelli, the Norwalk area always seemed like an ideal place for franchise expansion. "We're from the Waterbury area," Nardelli said to Patch, "so a lot of our customers that commute have told us that they would love to have a location in [lower] Fairfield County...so we found that there's a need, and then when Matthew came to us, we thought it was a great fit." Youngs noted he was very excited that customers will be able to see the new store, located at 345 Main Avenue, in person this spring. "The space looks absolutely phenomenal," Youngs said. "It's a new concept for Nardelli's from an aesthetic and design point of view, and it looks fantastic. I can't wait to have customers come in, enjoy the food and see the space...it's a different feel than most of the other Nardelli's." While finding the most ideal spot in Norwalk for his first Nardelli's location proved to be a challenge, due in part to the limited availability of spaces in the area as a result of the ongoing coronavirus crisis, Youngs said the Main Avenue building offered a number of advantages. "This particular location has some of the highest traffic counts in all of Fairfield County, so that's key for me," Youngs said. "It's also very close to my home. I wanted to open my first location close to home in an ideal location with traffic counts, as well as a high increase in daytime population." According to Nardelli, grinder fans may have even more to celebrate soon, as the Norwalk store is just the first of five new locations Youngs will open for the franchise in Fairfield County. "Matthew's a great addition to the family and the franchise," Nardelli said. "We're really excited to have him on board." While he could not reveal where any other stores may open in the near future at this time, Nardelli said the team will look into additional locations once the Norwalk shop is up and running. In the meantime, he advised hungry customers in Norwalk and nearby to hang tight for just a little longer. "We'll be up and running [in Norwalk] in no time," Nardelli said. "We're very eager to open."