A new era began at 7 this morning.
Old Mill Grocery & Deli opened its doors.
Once again, all’s right with the world.
Neighbors, dogs, open door — just like old times. This was Old Mill Grocery, minutes after it opened this morning. (Photo/Matt Murray)
The century-old wooden building on Hillspoint Road — most recently Joey’s by the Shore and Elvira’s — has been rechristened with its original name.
It’s once again a community center, for the neighborhood, anyone working there, and everyone passing by to or from Compo Beach.
The line was long this morning. But service was quick and attentive. (Photo/Dan Woog)
Old Mill Grocery sells everything from coffee and pizza to toilet paper, dog treats and swag.
Fruit, granola and OMG swag. (Photo/Dan Woog)
It’s a joint venture of the non-profit Soundview Empowerment Alliance (which bought the property, and will provide training and employment to people with disabilities) and TGB Hospitality (better known as Julie Mountain and Dana Noorily, The Granola Bar founders, who will operate OMG).
An official ribbon-cutting took place 2 hours after opening.
1st Selectwoman Jen Tooker cut the ribbon, moments ago. She’s flanked by Old Mill Grocery partners and staff, Granola Bar owners, Westport Weston Chamber of Commerce director Matthew Mandell, and Koda, the OMG dog. (Photo/Dan Woog)
It was interrupted — joyfully — by honks and thumbs-up signs from grateful residents and passers-by.
Way to go, Westport!
Bravo to all those who came together to save this wonderful spot! And I’m sure people who live close by are excited not to have to drive to the areas grocery stores to get essentials.
Great Save!!!! This is a positive for the neighborhood, the town and for historic preservation and adaptive reuse.
Congrats to everyone who worked so hard to accomplish this.
Couldn’t be more excited about this reopening!!
..And so a new and awesome chapter begins✨
Brilliant!!
🏅🏅🏅🏅🏅🇺🇸
So nice to get such great news! Thanks to all who worked to get this started. Can’t wait to get there.
Mazel Tov and Best of Luck.
The incredible energy this morning inside OMG was OMG, amazing. That the likes of Jim Hood and Ian Warburg are matched up with Dana Noorily and Julie Mountain from TGB Hospitality is just so right. Their combined kindness saturated the space and you can tell, it always will. I love my new classic Westport OMG t-shirt.
This success is a tribute to many citizens of Westport, a few particularly notable, in addition to the very significant funding support provided by a large number of residents. It is truly a peoples’ success and we all need to be supportive, i.e. spend money, to maintain its survival.
Thanks to so many.
Don Bergmann
Echoing others, congrats to everyone who worked so hard to make this inspired idea a reailty. I’m one of many members of the community grateful for the effort. It was fantastic being at OMG for the ribbon-cutting this morning – and for a delicious breakfast burrito. Like bborner, my wife and I are also sporting OMG t-shirts.
How wonderful to see a historic place saved, and to have Julie and Dana with their Granola Bar magic at the helm! Congratulations all!
And another benefit of running OMG as a local business is that they support other local businesses — the cool chalkboard inviting people into the store in the top picture was designed by Westport calligrapher Erica Jean Calligraphy.
It makes you think all is well in the world again….
I love this town and its acronyms. First it was WTF….and now OMG, is it to trite to say LOL. Ate at Old Mill last night. The food was great and the vibe electric. So excited this life long staple of our community lives on. An amazing effort by Mr. Hood, the Granola Gals and all involved. Ya gotta believe and they did! Best of luck! So excited to participate in your dream venture.