Brian Lewis, owner of the highly successful The Cottage Restaurant at Colonial Green, today announced he is calling his new Japanese restaurant OKO, located in the former Vigilant Firehouse at 6 Wilton Road. He explains:

The sign for the new restaurant went up today at 6 Wilton Road. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Contributed photo

‘I have been really inspired by Japanese cooking techniques, culture and ingredients for a very long time, studying and layering Japanese influences into my cooking for many years, but it was the introduction of the Okonomiyaki at The Cottage that was my real ‘a-ha’ moment in defining the direction for my next restaurant.

“Introducing the Okonomiyaki, a savory, Japanese pancake filled with seasonally-inspired ingredients, was a whimsical addition to our menu — Japanese street food with some rarefied touches. Our guests absolutely loved this dish and it quickly became a Cottage favorite, which will likely stay on the menu as a Cottage Classic.

“Ordering the Okonomiyaki had proved to be a bit of a tongue-twister for our guests and our staff, and anyone calling or responding to the ticket would add their own personal ‘flair’ to the word, so we finally gave the dish a nickname which really just stuck, calling it ‘oko,’ which we used often and with affection, if not a chuckle. To pay homage to the spark behind this entire concept, I’m excited to share with you that the new restaurant is named OKO.

Zenabi, a new tech company in Westport, tonight debuted its new series called “Brains and Bands.” Eddie Ibanez, founder, told an audience of about 100 at the Westport Inn — an alternate location moved hastily from Branson Hall at Christ & Holy Trinity Church due to the power outage — that “information and action” are the keys to success. That “music is an equalizer, whether you are a billionaire, or a guy on the street, you might like the same music,” he said. The two parts of the evening involved first a panel discussion, moderated by Ibanez with J Todd Morley, chairman of G3 Investment Group and co founder with Ibanez of Y2X, Chris Fischer, founder of Ocearch, and Vin Dombrowski, founder and lead singer of the band Sponge. The second part of the evening was a concert by the 1990s alternative rock band, Sponge, brought in from Detroit. As part of the series a different nonprofit will be promoted. Tonight’s organization was Westport’s Phoebe’s Phriends to aid pediatric cancer research. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Contributed photo

The gift shop at the Westport Historical Society has suspended operations while it undergoes a makeover. Formally known as The Remarkable Gift Shop, using the name taken over from the iconic Remarkable Book Shop on Main Street, the shop will reopen in the spring with a new design and a café with outdoor benches and tables, said Ramin Ganeshram, executive director. Pictured is Barbara Peck, a staff member, moving items in the shop. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Dave Matlow for WestportNow.com