A New Eastern Iowa Diner Has Officially Opened Its Doors

UPDATE: 6/27

Northside Diner is now open! The Washington, Iowa restaurant began welcoming customers on June 1st and is open Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday 10:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Check out the official menu below!

ORIGINAL STORY: 5/13

A long-awaited new diner is preparing to open its doors in the near future! Take a peek inside Northside Diner at 106 W Main Street in Washington!

Northside Diner is located inside the building that was once home to Winga’s Diner, which was open from 1928 until 2006. The building sat empty until it was taken over by Ed and Isabella Santoro in 2020, and they've been busy renovating the space with the help of a $100,000 grant from Main Street Iowa. A recent article from KCRG reports:

"For the past two years, the owners Isabella and Edward Santoro say they’ve collected items from around the community like hospital windows, woodwork from homes in the area, and even parts of the original Wingas restaurant to renovate the diner."

According to the Southeast Iowa Union, the couple chose the name Northside Diner because the restaurant was called the Northside Café when John Winga Sr. first purchased it. The Winga family is reportedly very happy with the new renovations.

The official Facebook page for Northside Diner describes the restaurant as a "retro diner with a modern twist!" It reads:

"Offering classic American comfort foods while also catering to modern palates and diets. Step into the past with a hand crafted soda from our old fashioned soda fountain and a bite of our homemade pie à la mode."

Although Northside Diner isn't officially open yet, the public got a sneak peek look inside the restaurant at the ribbon cutting ceremony last month (April 18th). A May 9th post on the restaurant's Facebook page says: "We continue to test out recipes, train staff, and fine tune our menu so that we can open soon! Stay tuned!" For the latest updates, you can follow the restaurant's Facebook page HERE.