Flame-Grilled Dogs Since 1971: The Papa Family’s Nick’s Char Pit, the Grandson Running It Now and What Middletown Avenue Regulars Order

Drive down Middletown Avenue and you can’t miss it: a long glass dining room under a sign that says NICK’S CHAR PIT. The hot dogs still go over an open flame, the seafood platters still come out piled high, and the man running the kitchen today, customers say, is the founder’s grandson.

Here is the story of the Papa family’s restaurant, the grandson keeping it cooking, what locals say and what to order.

From Country Diner to Nick’s Char-Pit

State business records show the company started out as Country Diner, Incorporated in February 1968. On Aug. 27, 1971, it changed its name to Nick’s Char-Pit, Incorporated, and the restaurant counts 1971 as its founding year. Its website calls it “family owned since 1971 in North Haven,” and its logo reads “Est. 1971.”

Customers credit founder Nick Papa. A 2022 obituary for Alex A. Papa of North Haven names his father as Nicolas J. Papa and describes Alex as an owner and partner in Nick’s Char-pit. The same obituary lists Alex’s nephews and nieces, among them a Bobby Papa.

Bobby at the grill

Today the face of the place is Bobby Papa. State records list Robert Nicholas Papa as an officer of Nick’s Char-Pit, and the restaurant’s Instagram posts go out under Robert Nicholas Papa’s name, one of them tagged #3rdgeneration. The restaurant’s contact email is Bobby’s, and a customer testimonial on its website credits “Chef Bobby and his team.”

Customers notice. “We also met the current owner who is Nick’s grandson, a real nice person,” one Google reviewer wrote. Maria said a birthday dinner there felt special “knowing this local landmark has been kept alive by four family founders—from original founder Nick Papa to his grandson Bobby.” Ralph gave a shout-out to “Bobby his daily TikTok jokes.”

The menu keeps moving, too. Wednesday is Smash Burger Day, according to a run of October posts on the restaurant’s Instagram, whose hashtags pitch it as a choice between the flame grill and the flat grill. Homemade pasta fagioli came back for soup season on Oct. 12, served in an 8-ounce bowl “while it lasts.”

Papa Scoops, out back

The family has a dessert counter now, too. State records show Papa Scoops LLC was registered in September 2024 at 22 Middletown Ave., with Robert N. Papa as its principal. The ice cream shop sits inside Nick’s, according to the restaurant’s Instagram, and one Google reviewer who stopped in for seafood found it “around the back of Nick’s.”

Papa Scoops has been rolling out fall treats, including a Reese’s cup ice cream pie and a new “Papa ice cream parfait” in flavors like cannoli, Oreo and KitKat, according to October Instagram posts. And if you have kids, check the timing: the restaurant posted that Papa Scoops is holding pumpkin decorating starting at 1 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 17, with a $10 deal that includes a pumpkin to decorate and an ice cream.

The restaurant has also been celebrating a reader vote. In a June Instagram post, Nick’s thanked customers for voting it New Haven County’s winner for best lobster rolls and runner-up for best burgers and hot dogs in CT Insider’s 2026 Best of Connecticut.

What locals say

Nick’s has a 4.4-star rating from about 476 Google reviews. Google’s summary pulls out lines like “Love the chili cheese dogs, best soft shell crab sandwiches ever” and “From Hamburgers and Hotdogs to the freshest fried seafood anywhere.”

Albert, a Google Local Guide, called it “Easily the best hot dog around. Just a regular foot long Hummels cooked over an open flame, none of this flat grill bs. Perfection.” He also explained the lobster roll, which Nick’s builds differently: “they put it on a super thick fresh piece of bread, stuff it with lobster and then panini it.” He liked it because the bread doesn’t fall apart, and he advised paying “the extra $1 for a side of butter because you’re going to need it.”

Maria ordered the seafood platter and called the portion “jaw-dropping,” piled with clams, shrimp, cod, scallops and calamari, “fresh, crispy, and not greasy,” plus fries and onion rings. “It was easily enough for two people to share with plenty of leftovers,” she wrote.

Ralph said he hadn’t been in more than 25 years until a Facebook special lured him back. “From the moment I walked in, it instantly brought me back to my childhood,” he wrote. “It’s rare to find a place that still holds onto that kind of nostalgia.”

The ordering system surprises first-timers. As one reviewer described it, you order at the counter, pay when the food is ready, then find a table.

What to order

Here’s the menu posted on the restaurant’s website. Prices are from that menu and may change, and the menu notes a 4% savings when you pay with cash.

A cheeseburger off the char grill. A hamburger is $5.75 and a cheeseburger $6, or $15.85 as a platter with fries, onion rings and coleslaw. Add bacon for $2.

Fried clams. Whole belly clams are market price, a side of clam strips is $14.25, and a clam strip platter is $24. If you can’t decide, the Seafood Combo Platter ($46.30) brings clam strips, calamari, scallops, shrimp and a fish fillet with fries, onion rings and coleslaw.

Not pictured, but locals keep naming them: the flame-grilled hot dog ($5.75) and chili cheese dog ($7); the lobster roll ($30, or $39.80 as a platter); the soft-shell crab sandwich in season (market price); New England clam chowder ($4.25 for 8 ounces); and, for the very hungry, the Big Papa ($45), four cheeseburgers, two hot dogs and eight slices of bacon with Swiss, lettuce and tomato between two pieces of fried dough, with fries and two sodas. Save room for a milkshake ($6.15 small, $7 large) or a trip to Papa Scoops.

If you go

• Where: 22 Middletown Ave., North Haven
• Hours: Monday through Thursday, 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.; closed Sunday, according to its website
• Phone: (203) 776-0853
• Online: nickscharpit.com, with online ordering, and @nicks_char_pit on Instagram

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