Circa 1930Built in 1847, the Mill Street Bistro Bar's building was originally a steam mill operating just after Milan's Canal opened and plank roads were built across northern Ohio to facilitate moving grain wagons to and from Milan. The mill processed grains using a small pond for steam that was located across Mill Street near where current storage units are located. The roads and canal brought retail trade for Norwalk merchants.
Thomas Edison, born in Milan, usually gets the credit for being the electric genius in the area, but counted among his friends was Norwalk resident Harry Bennett. A pioneer inventor himself, Bennett partnered with Edison in a Milan company that manufactured magnetos. In addition to experimenting with light bulb elements, Harry built one of the first automobiles in the nation. Harry then founded a company in 1910, Bennett Electric, at 21 Mill Street in Norwalk to service automobiles and eventually focused on electric motors.
For many years, the Press Box Bar & Restaurant occupied 21 Mill Street, before changing to Friendly Corners for just a few years until Joe Nagy bought the building, re-modeled, and re-opened as The Mill Street Bistro Bar, a fine dinning establishment in the heart of downtown Norwalk.
