In what may be the most significant change to the Westport Carvel since a giant ice cream cone was removed from the roof 50 years ago, the iconic sign facing Post Road East has been covered up.
The new sign says, generically, “Soft Serve Ice Cream.”
The owner says the cost of renovating the seems-it’s-been-there-forever building, as requested by Carvel, is too high.
The good news: His supplier remains the same.
Oh no! (Photo/Dan Woog)
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Speaking of food: The train has left the Donut Crazy station.
The shop at the eastbound side of the Westport station was served with an eviction notice in January, CT Insider reports. The owner has allegedly not paid rent since last summer. Click here for the full story.
A few of Donut Crazy’s donuts.
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Last night’s Pics of the Day featured 3 gorgeous tulip photos.
Two are the work of Andrew Colabella.
The Representative Town Meeting (RTM) member and several colleagues spent 2 years planting bulbs at the Minute Man monument. Westport will enjoy their work for years to come.
Last year, Andrew planted some the 1,500 bulbs donated by the Parks & Recreation Department in the Compo Beach entrance island.
Now he wants to do the entire entrance strip.
Interested in helping? Email acolabellartm4@gmail.com.
(Photo/Andrew Colabella)
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The “06880” panel on youth sports is 2 weeks from today.
We’ve partnered with Tommy Greenwald — the famed youth adult sports fiction writer, former Staples athlete (and father of 3 athletes) — to present “Fair Play and Foul Behavior: Issues Facing Youth Sports in Today’s World.”
It’s May 14 (7 p.m., Staples High School cafeteria).
Topics include the achievement/pressure balance, referee abuse, sport specialization, cost, the “academy” syndrome, myths and realities of college recruiting, and more.
Dan Woog — hey, that’s me! — will moderate the event, which includes time for audience questions. Panelists are:
- VJ Sarullo, Staples athletic director
- Dave Smith, father of 4 athletes who writes frequently on youth sports topics
- Caleb Smith, former Staples quarterback and lacrosse star, now playing football at the University of Connecticut
- Heather Talbott, PAL girls lacrosse co-president and basketball organizer; former lacrosse player at Lehigh University
- Mark Pressman, longtime football and softball official
- And of course Tommy Greenwald himself.
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Congratulations to 3 environmental winners.
Last week, town officials and Sustainable Westport gave Westport Green Building Awards to these owners, for exemplifying sustainable design and construcction:
17 Maple Grove Avenue (owner Scott Harrington). New construction designed and built as net zero energy. All appliances, heating and cooling systems are electric, and use the photovoltaic roof for power. The insulation exceeds codes. A smart home scheduler minimizes HVAC use by scheduling window shades to follow the path of the sun, and limit heavy electronics usage to only off-peak hours.
1 Hockanum Road (owner Thomas Hensel). Home renovation that integrates a PV system that offsets the residence’s power consumption. After an energy audit audit, the owner added attic insulation, weatherstripping, and mechanical and lighting upgrades. The HVAC system was upgraded to include smart thermostats and duct sealing. Insulation was installed on the hot water piping. Retrofit LED lighting fixtures reduce power consumption while providing the same light levels.
142-150 Main Street, Nômade Restaurant (owners Ciara Webster, Patrick Jean). Renovation and reuse of an existing historic structure; uses renewable energy to reduce dependency on fossil fuels. The roof over the dining terrace features a semi-transparent roof-integrated photovoltaic system. The visibility of the solar panels stimulates the interest of other local business owners and patrons to go solar.
For more information, click here.
Sustainable Westport and 2025 Green Building Award winners.
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The Planning & Zoning Commission continues its discussion of The Hamlet at its next meeting (May 5, 6 p.m., Zoom).
It’s just one agenda item. Members will also discuss the plan by Fairfield County Hunt Club to construct an indoor racquets facility, and a request to convert the former Bank of America building at 980 Post Road East into a Montessori School, among other things.
Meanwhile, the Flood & Erosion Control Board will examine the Hamlet at its next meeting.
The last agenda item for their May 7 meeting (7:30 p.m.; Zoom; meeting ID 823 4909 8338; passcode 954845), is a continuation of the discussion that began April 2.
Part of the proposed Hamlet project, leading to the Saugatuck River.
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How hard is it to make paella?
Basso makes it easy.
The Jesup Road restaurant offers regular classes about the classic dish. With wine and tapas thrown in, what’s not to like?
Sal Liccione took part on Monday, and sent this tasty photo:
(Photo/Sal Liccione)
Next at Basso: a pizza-making class, this Sunday (May 4, 12:30 p.m.). Click here for details.
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Club203’s magical monthly parties continue.
Up next for Westport’s social club for adults with disabilities: Dancing with DJ Joe, (and s’mores, a campfire and pizza), under the stars at Earthplace. Click here for more information.
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Westport has long been a soccer town for kids.
And adults.
There’s even a 50-and-over men’s team here.
They’re as good as their younger counterparts. In fact, a 5-0 state tournament semifinal win on Sunday vaulted them into the Connecticut State Soccer Championship. It’s set for June 8 (4 p.m., Dillon Stadium, Hartford), vs. Greenwich Pumas.
That was quite a semi. Rangers had been undefeated — and unscored upon — in league play.
The 50-and-over final is the second big soccer event that weekend. The day before (June 7), the US men’s national team meets Turkey in a friendly, at Rentschler Field in East Hartford.
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For some reason, wrong-way drivers on Soundview Drive have become an epidemic.
Residents report alarmingly frequent encounters.
The latest was yesterday:
(Photo/Sunil Hirani)
Be careful out there!
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Senator Chris Murphy is the keynote speaker at the Center for Children’s Advocacy, at New England’s largest youth legal rights organization’s second annual event.
It’s set for Friday (5:30 p.m.), in Westport. Sponsors include Koskoff Koskoff & Bieder. For more information and to RSVP, email mason.miller@berlinrosen.com.
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Carol Anne Ances shares today’s glorious spring scene, with our many “Westport … Naturally” fans:
(Photo/Carol Anne Ances)
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And finally … today is Walpurgis. In German folklore, tonight (Walpurgisnacht) — May Day eve — is when witches meet on the Brocken mountain, and revel with the Devil.
(There is no need to repent — at least, not if you click here to help support “06880,” your hyper-local blog. Danke schön!)
Way back in the day, I’m talking 1960’s Carvel was operated by Ellie and Al Sherman. She was a sweetheart and plenty of my contemporaries worked there as teenagers. Al, her husband was a long distance trucker.
The USA economy is shrinking.Job creation is way down. The commerce department just released the latest numbers and they are very bad When I read about Carvel and the donught shop I wonder how 06880 business will be affected by the USA shrinking chaotic tariff economy. Good luck to all. We will need it.
Richard if you had read the story, you might have seen that that Donut Crazy hasn’t paid rent since LAST SUMMER. Keep up the good work.
correct. I read the story. Please don’t make assumptions. You or I don’t know why they didn’t pay the rent. I doubt that business was so good that they refused to pay or couldn’t afford to pay. Almost all Republican billionaires are against Trump tariff policy. The commerce department numbers released today tell a story. it’s not good.
Back in the old days, things went south due to ignorance or incompetence. But make no mistake, what’s happening now is no accident of stupidity, it is deliberate has been planned for a long time.
Before we go off the rails, it’s important to understand the role of Government spending on GDP and Government hiring on the unemployment number.
If we agree, and maybe we do not, that excessive government spending drives inflation and that we have more than a million WFH federal employees paid from our tax dollars and maybe we could cull the ranks a bit – then a GDP retraction should be expected.
I see “the sky is falling” are back showing their 🫏
ask the Republican billionaires.
Heads Up! why would they have a speaker in the cafeteria?!? we have many auditoriums in our schools.
This could be a well attended event. Hosts, move the venue to a comfortable setting with great sound. just my thought.
take notice town officials and police concerned about safety. some do not enter signs warranted? or no right turns on the side streets.
why would it be obvious to workers and out of towners. not sure what is there already.
I love Andrew’s (and his team) work on the tulips! They make a very festive show at the Minuteman Man Statue. I also noticed them at the beach median, but since I know from personal experience that tulips are a favorite treat of our local diet, I wondered what they are doing to prevent them from being devoured? I want to do the same thing!
Agree. Meant to ask Mark Yurkiw the same question a couple of days ago. How do you keep them from being mowed down by the deer.
I planted some 25 years ago not far from where Mark lives not realizing they were a deer magnet. They bloomed one lovely spring day. The next morning – gone. They came up again the next year. Sprayed them with Bobbex. Same thing. There one day, gone the next.
I’ve stuck with daffodils ever since but it would be nice to have some tulips.
Back in the 60’s a favorite Sunday treat for my sister and I was when our parents would take us to Carvels. Even today when I visit Westport I always stop there for a cone and to relive some fond memories. Over the decades so much has changed on the Post Road (like the Maserati dealership across the street) but Carvels has endured until now.
How about a renaming contest for Fudgie the Whale?
ok. I would name Trump Fudgy for fudging the 200 trade deals he said are coming. How will tariffs and new immigration law affect 06880 ?
For the first time since 2022, the economy shrank. Biden got the blame. We have to start thinking of more people to blame as time passes. The head of the Federal Reserve is another possibility. But we need more people to blame as the economy keeps getting worse! Jack Backiel
the blame is USA citizens. Blame our neighbors and family USA deserves what it gets
The reason for the name change at Carvel is simple, the owners are poor operators who can’t meet their franchise agreements. There are numerous reasons for this, but a big one is their customer service or lack thereof. They have dour personalities and act like they’re doing their guests a favor when serving them. And lastly, they may have the same supplier, but the product is not the same. The iconic Carvel Dasher’s replacement is a poor substitute.
No comment on the owners here specifically, but we were there tonight and the lack of any Carvel branding at all anywhere in the store – sign, cups, menu boards, window ads – are clear evidence that they lost the franchise. And I don’t know Carvel’s specific arrangements, but I am suspicious of any claims that the product will remain the same.
Very disappointing as it really is a town institution, but I would be surprised if it lasts much longer if things don’t change.