View from the Original Pancake House (Photo/Patricia McMahon)
Posted in Downtown, Pic of the Day, Restaurants
Tuesday night’s Staples High School boys basketball game was filled with drama.
The Wreckers won a 68-67 overtime nail-biter over New Canaan.
But that wasn’t the half of it.
Halftime included a chance for a young player named Trey got a chance to hit a 3-point shot. The prize: a free session at the new Academy basketball camp.
News 12 Connecticut is working on a story about the 1989 Joan Wertkin cold case murder.
They want to speak with anyone who knew Joan, the family, or has information on the case. Even a small piece of information might help produce a clearer understanding of the events leading up to the killing.
Contact Emmy-winning investigative reporter Shosh Bedrosian: shoshana.bedrosian@news12.com; 475-283-5188.
Joan Wertkin
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The Original Pancake House has — finally — opened in the Main Street space where Acqua used to be.
Nina Sankovitch reports: “The first restaurant I ever went to was one of these. The German apple pancake is as good as ever!”
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In preparation for their June trip to Hawaii, Staples’ Orphenians are hosting an “Aloha Cabaret.” The January 22 event (6:30 p.m., Westport Library) features Tony Award winner (and Westporter) Kelli O’Hara; the Orphenians (of course),, and as emcee, the incomparable David Pogue.
There are also Hawaiian-themed light bites, and an exciting silent auction. Fundraising will ensure that all 42 members can make the trip.
Orphenians — the elite singing group — have traveled across the US, and internationally, since shortly after their founding in 1958. This will be the third trip for conductor Luke Rosenberg.
Georgia Wrighth traveled with Orphenians to Australia in July 2018.
“It was one of the best experiences, with some of my best friends,” she recalls. “Some others I didn’t know too well. But we became so close on that trip.
“We were making music, and meeting people from all over the world who shared our passion. We sang for 8 hours a day, and learned so much working with a master composer.”
Georgia went on to earn a BFA in musical theater from the Boston Conservatory.
Three years earlier, Jack Baylis joined Orphenians on a trip to San Francisco. They worked with the famed Chanticleer choral group,
“It was one of my first exposures to high-level professionals,” Jack recalls. “They were so intense, but they showed us attainable goals.”
Jack appreciates the opportunities Orphenians had — and have now, again — to experience such a trip.
“Whether you pursue the arts as a career or not, this is a chance to impact your life,” Jack says. “In hindsight, I realize how important that is.”
Jack will perform with Kelli O’Hara at the Aloha Cabaret.
Tickets are $150 per person for general admission and $225 per person for VIP. For tickets and more information, click here.
Staples Orphenians
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Last night, MoCA Westport’s opening reception introduced their winter exhibition. “Paul Camacho: Rhythm and Unity” features selected works primarily drawn from the Westport Public Art Collections. The exhibition is on view through February 26.
MoCA executive director Ruth Mannes and Westport Public Schools pre-K-12 music and visual arts coordinator Steve Zimmerman. (Photo/Leslie MaSala)
It doesn’t get more “Westport … Naturally” than this: Compo Beach, with Cockenoe Island in the distance.
(Photo/Richard Stein)
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And finally … Happy Friday the 13th!
(It’s good luck to donate to “06880” on Friday the 13th — or any other day. Please click here to help. Thank you!)
Westporters waited eagerly for Casa Me to open. The Italian restaurant in Sconset Square is now serving satisfied diners.
We waited for Saugatuck Provisions too. It sold its first steak, pork (and pasta) on Tuesday.
But several highly anticipated openings seem to have stalled. We’re twiddling our thumbs waiting for …
Amazon Fresh. The innovative grocery store — just pick up your stuff and walk out (after scanning your app, of course) — has not been worked on in months. The place looks abandoned (a very un-Amazon-like description).
Way back in February, The Original Pancake House announced a summer opening. They said they’d take over the 2nd floor space formerly occupied by Boca restaurant (and before that, Acqua). There are over 100 locations in 28 states and overseas. This will be the first in Connecticut. After months with no activity, it looks like work has finally begun. But there’s not even a “coming soon” link on the website.
In July, callers to a Post Road restaurant near Shearwater Coffee heard: “Hi! You’ve reached Pizza Lyfe, formerly Ignazio’s. We are remodeling, and will be back soon!” “Soon” is still on its website. Hungry potential diners wonder what’s taking so long. It was already set up as a pizza place, right?
Meanwhile, there is good news about Mexicue. The Main Street outpost of the New York, Washington and Stamford restaurants, mixing “street food sensibility” with fine dining, was announced in February. Nine months later, the website promises a November 16 opening.
(“06880” is your regular source of restaurant and retail news. Please click here to support our work.)
Posted in Downtown, Local business, Real estate
Tagged Amazon Fresh, Casa Me, Mexicue, Original Pancake House, Pizza Lyfe
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It’s been years since IHOP left Westport (though the bones of the building, a now-closed nail salon, can still be seen opposite Fire Department headquarters on the Post Road).
But a new pancake place is headed to town.
WestportMoms reports this morning that The Original Pancake House will open this summer on Main Street. They’ll take over the 2nd floor space formerly occupied by Boca restaurant (and before that, Acqua).
The original Original Pancake House — TOPH, to its fans — opened in 1953 in Portland, Oregon. There are now over 100 locations in 28 states and overseas.
But none are in Connecticut. The closest right now is White Plains.
Among the signature dishes: apple pancakes, Dutch Baby, German pancakes and omelets.
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Speaking of Main Street: Get set for some reshuffling of Westport retail space.
Westport Hardware will move a few yards west. The popular store opposite Fresh Market — the only one of its kind left in town — will take over the space formerly occupied by Sam Sloat Coins, Luxe Nail Spa, and part of Lester’s and now-closed Wish List. The nail salon will be relocating.
The new space — about the same size as the current store — will be bright, with open ceilings, a Westport Hardware spokesperson said.
So what’s replacing Westport Hardware?
Pottery Barn. They’ll move from Main Street. Pottery Barn will also take over the now-closed Mumbai Times restaurant and Vincent Palumbo Salon, on both sides of the hardware store. That’s around 15,000 square feet.
Target date for the move is late August.
In August Westport Hardware moves west; Pottery Barn moves in.
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There’s a lot on the Board of Finance’s plate at its March 2 meeting (7:30 p.m., Town Hall auditorium).
Among the agenda items:
The meeting will also be livestreamed on the town website, and shown on Optimum channel 79 and Frontier channel 6020. Click here for the full agenda.
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Congratulations to the Staples High School girls ice hockey team (a co-op squad, with Stamford and Westhill Highs).
A 3-0 win over Darien vaults them into their first-ever FCIAC final. Kate Tortorella scored twice, Annie Forker once, adn goalie Sydney Butler earned the shutout.
They play New Canaan on Saturday. Good luck! (Hat tip: The Ruden Report)
The Staples/Stamford/Westhiill girls ice hockey coop team.
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Michael Chait’s photography has been featured on “06880.” He’s got a large following on social media too. Michael’s followers love his unique images of Westport, New York City and other locations.
But it’s one thing to see his work on a computer or phone screen. They’re even more impressive live, and in person.
You’ll get that chance on Saturday, March 5 (4 to 7 p.m.) and Sunday, march 6 (1 to 4 p.m.). There’s a special show at the Loft Studio/Office, 11 Riverside Avenue, 2nd floor.
That’s on the corner of Post Road West — one more favored spot for Michael’s photos.
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Charlie Capalbo — the 23-year-old standout Fairfield hockey goalie, and grandson of Westport writer Ina Chadwick — has beaten cancer 3 times: lymphoma once, leukemia twice. Countless friends and strangers have rallied to his remarkable cause.
Astonishingly, he’s just been diagnosed with leukemia a third time. His fourth cancer battle in 5 years will include very expensive experimental treatments and immunotherapies — on top of the immense cost of previous treatments.
To donate to Charlie’s Go Fund Me page, click here. You can also email words of encouragement to charlie@optimalservices.com; leave a voicemail at 203-293-8464 (his phone won’t ring), and join the Friends of Charlie Capalbo Facebook page.
Charlie Capalbo (Photo/Dave Gunn)
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Today’s New York Times has an interesting story on a Republican US Senate candidate in Pennsylvania. Michael David McCormick is trying to thread the needle between being seen as a Trump ally, and one not too extreme in the state President Biden won by 1.2 percentage points. One consultant advised running in the “Trump-adjacent lane.”
The story notes that McCormick — a West Point graduate, army Ranger, Ph.D. graduate of Princeton and Treasury official in the George W. Bush administration — was most recently CEO of Bridgewater Associates.
The Times calls notes that the hedge fund’s “fieldstone-and-glass headquarters … on a wooded, 22-acre campus in Westport, Conn (are) a world away from Pennsylvania cities like Scranton, McKeesport and Aliquippa, which have been hit hard by the kinds of shifts in global trade that Bridgewater’s traders and analysts seek to monetize each day.”
It adds: “A former Democrat, McCormick has made voluminous comments on world affairs, and they aren’t always very MAGA.”
Click here for the full story, including McCormick’s views on China — a country the Times says holds particular fascination for Bridgewater.
Bridgewater’s “fieldstone-and-glass” headquarters, off Weston Road.
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Today’s “Westport … Naturally” photo shows a beautiful sunset at Longshore. They just keep coming…
(Photo/Elisabeth Levey)
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And finally … a little tune to celebrate National Sauna Week:
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