Interior view of the front room and bar of the newly opened Positano Ristorante next to the Westport Country Playhouse. There is also a back room dining area as well as a patio. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Helen Klisser During for WestportNow.com
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Comings & Goings: Old Town Hall Gets New Restaurant
The basement of Westport’s Old Town Hall, 90 Post Road East next to Restoration Hardware, is getting a new restaurant tenant. A rathskeller-type bar and restaurant, Rothbard Ale + Larder, will open by mid-September, “before Oktoberfest,” according to co-owner Joe Farrell, He and head chef Adam Roytman also co-own Walrus + Carpenter, a barbecue restaurant in Bridgeport, which opened in 2013. Farrell, who grew up in Westport and now lives in Stratford, said the 65-seat space would feature German, Belgian and Austrian beers and wines and a full dining menu. Real estate developer and landlord Rob Haroun describes the eatery as having a “European beer garden” feeling. The space was formerly occupied by Tierra Restaurant, which opened in May 2014 and closed in March 2015 (see WestporttNow March 20, 2015). (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Dave Matlow for WestportNow.com
TV Show Taped at Westport Store Airs Tonight
“What Would You Do?,” the hidden camera ABC-TV show featuring ethical dilemmas, tonight will air an episode taped at Westport’s Groove, a popular children’s clothing and gift store at 420 Post Road West, across from Whole Foods.
Host John Quinones of ABC’s “What Would You Do?” posed with those involved in the episode taped at Groove. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Contributed photo
The show, taped last October, airs at 9 p.m. The TV show used actors to set up scenarios to see what bystanders would do or say when faced with an ethical dilemma.
The scenarios involved a mother and her daughter (both actors) shopping for clothes, during which the daughter acted disrespectfully to the salesperson (another actor), threw clothes on the ground and displayed entitled, obnoxious behavior.
In several scenarios, the mother was also rude and disrespectful, while in other cases, she was consumed with a cell phone call and ignored her daughter’s behavior altogether.
Improvements Approved for 1529 Post Road East
The commercial property at 1529 Post Road East at the intersection of Maple Avenue North is in an early stage of a makeover facelift, according to its owner, Post-Maple Real Estate LLC.
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The approvals were given for the commercial property at 1529 Post Road East at the intersection of Maple Avenue North. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Dave Matlow for WestportNow.com
Its representatives, led by Fairfield attorney John Fallon, earned the approval of the Board of Selectmen today of their request for an easement of the town-owned curb and adjacent pavement as reviewed by Public Works Director Steve Edwards, who attended the meeting.
The strip of stores, now occupied by a dry cleaner and coffee shop in addition to spaces vacated in the past year by Top Drawer and Boat Locker, will undergo a “significant architectural upgrade and expansion of the building, including replacement of all existing curbs and pavement,” according to text accompanying a site plan submitted to the Planning & Zoning Commission.
Post-Maple representatives said the parking lot will be redesigned to improve entrance and exits, which will improve driver and pedestrian safety.
Comings & Goings: Zaniac to Post Road East
Zaniac, a national STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) educational business that provides F-8 after-school programs and camps to help youths in math and science instruction, opens next month at 1391 Post Road East, near Balducci’s. Zaniac engages and integrates a multi-disciplinary approach to problem solving with the aid of Zaniac Robotics, LEGO, game-based learning: Minecraft, 3D printing, app creation and computer programming, according to an announcement. Zaniac, which maintains corporate offices in Utah and Miami, opened its first classroom in Greenwich in December 2013. Its owners there, Greenwich residents Camilla Gazal and Flavia Naslausky, are also owners of the Westport business. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Dave Matlow for WestportNow.com
CT Unemployment Rate Lowest Since July 2008
By Keith M. Phaneuf
Connecticut’s unemployment rate dropped to 5.7 percent in June, its lowest point since July 2008, as the state added 600 jobs last month – including 2,600 in the private sector that offset losses in government employment, the state Department of Labor reported today.
The state has added 27,900 jobs across all sectors since June 2014, when the unemployment rate stood at 6.5 percent.
Connecticut now has gained 13,800 jobs through the first six months of 2015. The state has recovered 97,900 positions, or 82.3 percent of the 119,000 jobs lost during the last recession.
“Above-trend private-sector job growth looks to be continuing, while the jobless rate has recently declined significantly,” said Andy Condon, director of the labor department’s Office of Research.
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Brisk Sweets Business
Saugatuck Sweets, 575 Riverside Ave., did a brisk business tonight as the “Sounds of Summer” entertainment outside in Saugatuck Center drew crowds. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Dave Matlow for WestportNow.com
Waiting to Buy Some Red Barn Nostalgia
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About 50 persons were on line today at the start of the two-day liquidation sale of contents of the Red Barn Restaurant, which closed last week. Originally, the sale was to include furnishings as well as kitchen equipment but plans changed, according to sale workers, when the buyer of the property—rumored to be the Westport Weston Family YMCA—decided it wanted to retain those items. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Dave Matlow for WestportNow.com
Report: Severe Storm Would Inundate Westport RR Tracks
In a special report, Ctmirror.org today says climate change threatens Connecticut’s vital shoreline rail lines. Among tracks cited as especially vulnerable were those in the Westport-Greens Farms area. The report said “existing track from the Saugatuck River nearly to Fairfield sits low in salt marshes that naturally soak up water from storms and sea level rise, potentially inundating the track.” See report here. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Ctmirror.org graphic
Comings & Goings: Johnston & Murphy Closes
Johnston & Murphy, the upscale shoe and clothing brand, has closed its longtime Westport store at Brooks Corner, 136 Main St. “It closed one week ago,” said an employee at a neighboring retailer. “It was shocking to all of us. it was fast.” A corporate email to Westport customers suggested they shop online or at the store at Stamford Town Center. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Dave Matlow for WestportNow.com
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