Tag Archives: Field Trip Snacks

Roundup: Board Of Ed, Don Memo, Farmers’ Market …

Posted on August 7, 2025 | 7 comments

There will be 2 more candidates on the November 4 ballot.

Democrats Steve Shackelford and Jodi Harris collected — and the town clerk certified — over 400 petition signatures.

He is a former Representative Town Meeting member; she is a former Staples High School PTA co-presisdent.

They’ll join Democratic Town Committee-endorsed candidates Lauren Karpf (RTM deputy moderator) and Abby Tolan (incumbent BOE member), and Republican Town Committee-endorsed candidates Dorie Hordon (incumbent), Michelle Hopson, TEAM Westport member Andy Frankel, and Kaitlin Zucaro.

Shackelford and Harris say, “We are honored to have the opportunity to earn the trust and support of our fellow Westport residents. We look forward to engaging with the community and sharing our vision for a thoughtful, effective and forward-looking board that puts students and families first.”

Steve Shackelford and Jodi Harris.

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The Westport dining scene is about to change.

And “06880” is eating it up.

Today (Thursday) at 6 p.m., Dan Woog and Dave Briggs bring our popular “Dave & Dan” Instagram Live camera to Don Memo. Our Instagram is @06880danwoog.

The popular Mexican restaurant in the middle of downtown will soon become a popular Italian-American spot: Massi Co.

We’ll chat with owner Massimo Tullio about the new concept, his own career, and Westport’s ever-evolving culinary scene.

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Also today — like every Thursday, from May to November — the Westport Farmers’ Market comes alive, at the Imperial Avenue parking lot (10 a.m. to 2 p.m.).

But this day is extra special. It’s part of National Farmers’ Market Week, celebrated every first week of August.

Check out the 36 vendors — along with live music, informational tables, a great community vibe, and much more.

In other Farmers’ Market news, the Young Shoots photo contest — for photographers ages 5-18 — has been extended one week. The new deadline is August 15. Click here for details.

Happy National Farmers’ Market Week! And if you’re a young photographer: Celebrate with your camera.

See you at the Farmers’ Market! (Photo/Marcus Slomich)

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Speaking (still) of food: Quietly but deliciously, Field Trip has helped make Westport the jerky capital of the Northeast.

The company’s headquarters are at 153 Post Road East, opposite Design Within Reach.

Now they’re adding a sister brand there.

DefenderBar will be the first bar ever — and one of the first snacks in the US — to use functional ingredients like psyllium husk (to support gut health) and dandelion root (for the liver and gut), while also fueling the brain and heart with chia, flax and hemp seeds.

There are 3 flavors: cinnamon churro oatmeal, peanut butter chocolate chip and coconut almond chocolate.

To support the launch on TikTok, Instagram and Facebook, founders Matt Levey, Tom Donigan and Scott Fiesinger invite any “06880” reader to come in to the store, and show you’ve followed the brand on any of those platforms.

You’ll get 25% off the entire store, including Defender and Field Trip.

The first 100 people in (and following on social media) will receive a free Defender bar. The promotion begins August 13, and runs through August 20.

Levey explains, “we realized we’re not 25 anymore. But we’re still pushing ourselves — on the trails, in the gym, at home with our wild kids — and we needed a better way to fuel that lifestyle.

“As longtime friends who have spent half our lives in the better-for-you food industry, and as adventurers and dads, we looked for something with functional macros, real ingredients, and satisfying.

“We were tired of bars that were all sugar and no substance, or ones that claimed to be ‘healthy’ but left us crashing mid-hike. So we got to work. We kept it simple, with nutrient-dense ingredients.”

Defender bars are definitely worth a field trip!

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Speaking of local businesses: The Gig Center (next to Sharkey’s Cuts for Kids) is now The Music Collective.

It offers the same services: private music lessons, rock band programs, instrument repairs, music books and instrument accessories. It’s also still the home of Westport Musical Instrument Rentals.

The new phone number is 203.292.3077.

Jamming at the Gig Center.

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Nature, memory, abstraction and form are the basis of 3 new art exhibits at the Westport Library.

The artists and their works are Steve Moen (“Circling Back,” in the Sheffer Gallery), Tom Kretsch (“A Symphony of Color,” South Gallery), and Linn Cassetta (“Eggcentric,” Jesup Gallery).

Each exhibit will have a separate reception (6 p.m.) and artist conversation (7 p.m.), with Artists’ Collective of Westport co-founder Miggs Burroughs. Moen’s is set for August 13; Kretsch’s is August 27, and Cassetta’s is September 17.

Click here for more information.

Works by Tom Kretsch

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What’s new in the world universe of amateur telescopes?

Wesetport Observatory Bob Meadows is just back from the 89th annual convention of amateur telescope makers. He’ll describe all the innovations at the Westport Astronomical Society’s next lecture: August 19 (WAS classroom, 8 p.m.)

The event will also be livestreamed on Zoom and YouTube.

Seen at the Westport Observatory. (Photo/Frank Rosen)

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The Blight Prevention Board meets August 14 (7 p.m., Zoom) to discuss 3 properties: 1 Charcoal Hil Road, 6 Clifford Lane, and 38 Old Hill Road.

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Today’s “Westport … Naturally” photo comes from just below Arezzo’s outdoor patio.

Perhaps they didn’t have a reservation?

(Photo/Janine Scotti)

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And finally … on this date in 1789, The Department of War was established.

(Politics, food, art, entertainment … just another day on “06880.” If you learn about your town — or anything else — from our daily Roundups, please click here to support our work. Thank you!)

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Posted in Arts, Education, Environment, Library, Local business, Local politics, Real estate, Restaurants

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Rebel & Rose Inks A Lease Downtown

Posted on March 10, 2022 | 4 comments

We last checked in with Amanda Mas in August 2020. After several bad workplace experiences, the tattoo artist had started a private studio.

It was a few months into the pandemic. But she was booked solid for the next 2 months.

Now Amanda has made another move. She just opened Rebel & Rose. It’s at 155 Post Road East, above Field Trip Jerky & Snacks, and across from Design Within Reach.

Rebel & Rose is groundbreaking for several reasons:

  • The first tattoo studio in Westport
  • The first women-owned and operated tattoo studio in Fairfield County
  • The first business to take advantage of new downtown regulations, permitting retail and services above the first floor.

All are noteworthy accomplishments.

This being Westport — and Amanda being a woman who worked for years in a male-dominated industry — Rebel & Rose is not your typical tattoo parlor.

Rebel & Rose’s unique waiting area.

Amanda calls it a “tattoo and beauty” service. She and 2 other women offer tattooing, scar camouflage, piercings, lashes, brow tinting and microblading.

They sell high-quality jewelry, and carry luxury products.

This is not, Amanda notes, “a dark, intimidating place with skulls everywhere. It feels comforting, welcoming — like a nice apartment.” Each of the women — tattoo artist, lash and brow expert Ally Sticca, and piercer Megan Lynn — has a private room.

From left: Amanda Mas, Ally Sticca, Megan Lynn.

When she got tired of working alone, Amanda knew that Westport was the only place to go. “Downtown is a magical place,” she says.

But rents are high. Last year she found what she thought was a perfect spot, over Field Trip Snacks. But zoning regulations prohibited “goods and services” from operating above the first floor.

Several “amazing” people — landlord Peter Gray, 1st-floor tenant Randy Herbertson, Herbertson’s attorney, Planning & Zoning Department director Mary Young, and a few Planning & Zoning Commission members — began pushing for a change.

It took longer than expected. Amanda thought she could open January 1. Approval finally came last month. Last week, Rebel & Rose welcomed its first customers.

They love the welcoming vibe. They appreciate the 3 women’s care and concern. (“We tell them right out front if something not right for them,” Amanda says.)

Tattoo art by Amanda Mas: flowers on an arm.

Not all customers are female. Rebel & Rose welcomes men (and teenagers and children, for piercing).

Amanda looks forward a grand opening in April. In the coming months, she’ll invite guest artists, to offer different styles.

She’s working on a sign too. Though rules have changed to allow 2nd-story retail downtown, signage regulations have not followed suit.

That’s the least of her concerns. “People find us,” she says.

And after walking up the stairs for a tattoo, piercing, or lash or brow treatment, they tell others.

The 2nd story “story” is a great one.

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Posted in Downtown, Local business

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Downtown Field Trip: Jerky Rejuvenates Westport

Posted on December 11, 2018 | 5 comments

When I say “jerky,” odds are you don’t immediately think “Brooklyn.”

Or “Westport.”

You should. 

Field Trip — the hot producer of healthy, protein-rich snacks in sticks and bites ranging from beef, chicken, turkey and pork to jalapeño, cracked pepper and everything bagel — has just moved its headquarters here, from New York.

The Field Trip office on Post Road East is directly opposite Design Within Reach.

They’ve just opened a store too. They’re in 50,000 retails outlets nationwide — including Target, Stop & Shop, Walgreens and CVS. Field Trip is also served on Jet Blue and United Airlines.

But this is the only Field Trip store in the world. And they won’t open any more.

Hot jerky just made Westport a whole lot cooler.

The story begins with Matt Levey. Now 37, he grew up partly in Weston. He spent nearly 10 years in finance, but 7 years ago — after loving the jerky sold at Singleton’s, a country store near Okemo Mountain where hunters brought meat to be smoked, then sold as jerky — he and 2 partners quit their jobs.

They pooled their money — all $11,500 of it — and began testing recipes. Field Trip was born.

“New York is filled with people who wanted healthy food, like jerky,” Matt says. “But all they could buy was gas station junk.”

Field Trip offers a wide variety of jerky. It is definitely not junk.

He and his partners rode bikes all over the city. They sold their product — literally — store by store.

Field Trip is big now. So big that they’ve moved from Brooklyn to Westport.

Matt always liked this area. He, his wife and young kids just bought a house in Greens Farms. One of his partners is moving here too.

The new headquarters was not a hard sell for his employees. One commuted 2 1/2 hours from Long Island to Brooklyn. Surprisingly, his drive to Westport is half that. Another found it’s only a few minutes more from Harlem than before.

They’re finding downtown Westport to be fun. And Matt found that the empty storefront next door to his new office — directly across from Design Within Reach (the old post office) — was perfect for a Field Trip storefront.

Matt Levey, in his new Field Trip store.

“This area reminds me of when I was a kid, walking around downtown,” he says. “Little Kitchen had 2 little tables, a couple of doors down from Westport Pizzeria. Klein’s was like a mom-and-pop shop.

“We’re small, but fast growing. And nothing brings out a small town feel like a jerky shop.”

Last week, Matt was busy building a picnic table that will sit in the center. One counter and several walls were filled with jerky products (and Field Trip blankets and t-shirts).

He showed off his many grass-fed beef, gluten-free, no-nitrites, no-corn syrup snacks. There’s parmesan peppercorn, sweet chipotle and maple BBQ pork; mandarin orange, and sea salt and pepper beef, and lots more.

The Field Trip counter: fun, and filled with great-tasting products.

Matt is particularly proud of his everything bagel jerky. It’s a hot new flavor trend — and he’s trademarked the name.

But, Matt notes, the storefront is less about making money than bringing enjoyment to people — and life to downtown.

“This one is for Westport,” he says.

Brooklyn, eat your heart out. And Westport: Eat up!

(For more information on Field Trip, click here.)

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Posted in Downtown, Local business, People

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