First, Pizza Lyfe established itself as one of Westport’s favorite (among many) pizzerias.
Then they expanded across Long Lots Road, opening Lyfe Café for breakfast, lunch and coffee.
Now comes a third Lyfe.
They’re taking over the Greenology/Jack’s Coffee space next door — the latest in a series of coffee shops there. Soon, it will open as Sweet Lyfe.
As first reported by WestportMoms, the new spot will feature high-protein Greek frozen yogurt, soft serve ice cream, small-batch gelato, smoothies, açaí bowls, imported candy and more.
Plus, “a chocolate and pistachio fountain.”
As Frank Sinatra sort of sang, “That’s Lyfe!”
Sweet Lyfe will move in soon next to (left side, not shown) Pizza Lyfe.
The Historic District Committee meets April 9 (7 p.m., Zoom).
On the agenda: a demolition permit for 92 Beachside Avenue.
Because the home is over 50 years — in fact, the 7,700-square foot Tudor with 8 bedrooms and 8 1/2 bathrooms, once owned by Lucie Bedford (of Westport’s leading philanthropic family) and her husband, Briggs Cunningham (a race car driver and America’s Cup winner), set on 3.55 acres with 200 feet of Long Island Sound waterfront, is exactly 100 years old — the HDC can delay demolition for 180 days.
It cannot, however, prevent it.
The front of 92 Beachside Avenue …
… and a view from the Sound.
The Historic District Commission will also discuss demolition permits for:
2 Izzo Lane
48 Burr Farms Road
41 Sniffen Road
51 Whitney Street (detached garage only)
20 Bermuda Road
4 Woods Grove Road
103 Sturges Highway
4 Ridge Drive.
On the agenda too: rescinding adoption of the motion to oppose issuance of a demotion permit for 11 Dogwood Lane.
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Tony Hwang — the state senator from Fairfield who, before redistricting, represented parts of Westport and Weston — will not run for a 7th term.
The Republican announced his decision Monday. Including earlier service in the House of Representatives, he said that after nearly 18 years it is time to “ begin the next chapter of my life.”
Hwang — who was born in Taiwan, graduated from Cornell University and became the first Asian American in the Connecticut Senate — will return to the real estate profession.
He also hopes to work with nonprofits and academic institutions to encourage civic engagement.
Hwang said, “My goal is to help future generations understand that community must always come before political labels — and that effective governance requires collaboration, empathy, courage and respect.”
State Senator Tony Hwang (right), with Westport RTM moderator Jeff Wieser. (Photo/Jimmy Izzo)
Aaron and Brett Fortunoff of Staples High School’s Cereal 4 All Club offer “a great big thank you to everyone who helped make this year’s drive a success.” The Staples Service League of Boys (SLOBs) was a huge help.
They collected 1,600 boxes of cereal, and raised over $3,000. They’ve already begun distributing cereal to local food pantries.
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The plan to build 8 single-family homes, and 2 multi-family “affordable” dwellings for people with special needs, at Glendinning Place off Weston Road is on the Planning & Zoning Commission agenda for Monday (March 4, 7 p.m.; Zoom, and Optimum channel 79 and Frontier channel 6020).
Becky Ruthven — who lives nearby — opposes the plan. She writes:
“In 1966, the Planning & Zoning Commission added a clear and unambiguous codicil to a Special Permit approval for the construction of an office building for Glendinning Co. Inc. on land located in a Design Development District Zone.
“According to the codicil, ‘The permit herein granted pertains specifically and solely to the proposed use as described and shown by Glendinning Co. Inc and for no other purpose now or at any other time.” [Emphasis added.]”
The proposal before the P&Z on Monday would waive that condition of the special permit.
The homes proposed for homes at Glendinning Place are shown in green.
The Staples boys basketball team fell agonizingly short last, in the quest for their first FCIAC (league) championship in 61 years.
They fell 70-67 to Trumbull in overtime, in front of a full house at Wilton High School. It was the first league title for the Eagles in a long time too: 41 years.
The #4-seeded Wreckers led for much of the contest. But #2 Trumbull hung around, and caught up to force OT.
The Westporters’ hopes were hurt when junior Adam Udell — who had one of his best games ever in a Staples uniform, with 20 points — fouled out 52 seconds into extra time.
Sophomore Mason Tobias — the 2nd-highest scorer — and Caleb Smith also picked up their 5th fouls. A last-second steal averted a possible tying 3-pointer at the end of the game.
After a decades-long drought, the Wreckers reached the FCIAC championship after a rousing semifinal defeat of #1-ranked Ridgefield.
It was the second straight title appearance for second-year coach Dave Goldshore.
Staples — which graduates only 3 seniors — now pivots to the state tournament. Division I play begins next Thursday (March 7). The #12 Wreckers travel to Manchester, for a 6:30 p.m. game at #5 East Catholic.
Adam Udell in action. (Photo/David G. Whitham for Ruden Report)
Ten diverse entrepreneurs told their stories last night, in a lively, informative session at the Westport Library.
Representing industries from banking and real estate to retail, healthcare, and BlackLight software (“the Google for Black-owned businesses), they discussed the challenges — and joys — of their careers.
Jay Norris, co-founder of Westport 10 (a networking and social group for Black men and their families) noted in his introduction that the town has dealt recently with issues of racism — and his own family has witnessed it too.
However, he said, he believed “more people have love” than hate in their hearts. The event — on the final day of Black History Month — and the array of panelists (nearly all from Westport) offered a welcome opportunity for education and sharing information.
Startup Westport (the public/private tech entrepreneur partnership) and Westport 10 co-sponsored the event.
It included a video on the importance of diverse entrepreneurship by Dale Mauldin, co-executive director of A Better Chance of Westport.
NBC host Craig Melvin — a Westport resident — and Norris moderated the panels.
Craig Melvin (far right) moderates a panel with (from left) Craig Livingston (managing partner, Exact Capital), Adam Moore (co-founder and CEO, Wheelhouse Center for Health and Wellbeing), Ilka Gregory (senior advisor, First Ventures), Eric Freeman (co-partner and managing partner, Grandview Ventures) and Wesly Arbuthnott (owner, 29 Markle Court restaurant).
Jay Norris (far right) moderates a panel with (from left) Pamela Moss (co-founder and CTO of BlackLight), Kitt Shapiro (owner of WEST), Michele Peterson (chief marketing officer of BlackLight), Ted Parker and Paige Parker (co-presidents of Vibrant Health Solutions). (Photos/Dan Woog)
Gallo Express — the takeout and delivery-only store offering salads, pasta, panini and full meals on Post Road East, at the foot of Long Lots Road — has closed. They were in business barely a year.
But it won’t be empty long.
WestportMoms and Megan Rutstein report that Lyfe Café will open in April.
The owners already run Pizza Lyfe, the popular restaurant on the Post Road a few yards away (formerly Bertucci’s/Tanglewoods/Clam Box, for you oldtimers).
The menu will include egg and cheese on brioche buns, a coffee and iced coffee bar, plus pasta dishes.
Pizza Lyfe — and, on the far right, the building where the new Lyfe Café will be.
Working at his Bridgebrook Marina on the Saugatuck River, Robbie Guimond sees a lot.
Lately, he’s watched construction of a dock and sea wall along the eastern shore.
Yesterday, he took this photo of a commercial barge passing through the William F. Cribari swing bridge:
(Photo/Robbie Guimond)
It does not happen every day, Robbie notes. But, he says, it shows the need for a bridge that opens easily.
“Notice the steel ‘spuds’ pilings lying on the deck” he adds. “These hold the rig in position when lowered.
“It was low tide. They need low tide and ‘spuds down,’ plus the smallest (lowest) push/tug boat to just barely clear the railroad bridge. Unfortunately the saga is not reliable enough to ask for a opening.
“They’ve been caught between bridges before. Not a great place for a 110×60 rig to be caught at the mercy of Metro-North and rapid currents.”
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Regular hours resume at Westport’s Yard Waste site (180 Bayberry Lane) on Monday (March 4). Weekday hours are 7 a.m. to 2:45 p.m.; Saturdays, 7 to 11:45 a.m.
Yard waste at 180 Bayberry Lane.
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The deadline is near for TEAM Westport’s High School Essay Contest.
The topic is hate speech. All students in 9th-12th grade in a Westport school — or who attend school elsewhere — are invited to respond to a prompt asking how diverse opinions can be safely and respectfully shared.
There are 3 prizes: $1,000, $750 and $500.
Click here for details, including the full prompt and how to submit essays.
The former Soviet republic, tucked in the Caucasus between Asia and Europe, was the world’s first Christian nation. Many ancient religious sites remain.
If you don’t know much about Armenia — or you do, and want to know more — check out “Armenia, My Home.” It airs nationally on PBS this month (Connecticut Public Television, March 3, 4:30 p.m; WNET Channel 13, March 20, 8 p.m. and March 24, 4:30 p.m.; check other stations for other times).
Director Andrew Goldberg lives in Westport. He has worked for virtually every major TV news organization — ABC, NBC, CBS, CNN and Fox — and this is his 16th PBS documentary.
His topics have included the US Army, immigration, the Holocaust, antisemitism and LGBTQ issues.
But ever since he took a college course on the country, Armenia has been close to his heart.
Goldberg interviewed a number of Armenians in the area, including 1986 Staples graduate Christina Maranci. She is now a professor of Armenian studies at Harvard University.
(He did not interview the world’s most famous Armenians: the Kardashians.)
“Armenia, My Home” will appeal to anyone interested in history, travel, religion or geography, Goldberg says.
“Heavenly Days in the Palouse” — a photography exhibition by noted Westport photographer Tom Kretsch — opens with a reception Mach 22 (5:30 to 7:30 p.m., Green’s Farms Congregational Church). The show runs through April 26.
The Palouse is a fascinating region of southeastern Washington and northern Idaho, filled with mounds formed over millions of years by wind erosion.
Once home to Native American tribes, the landscape evolved from grasslands to fertile farmland for wheat, legumes and canola.
The green, brown and yellow hills create surreal beauty. And Tom Kretsch has captured it all.
Staples High School Class of 1993 graduate Ken Coulson knows the asset management world well.
Now it’s part of the plot points in his debut novel, “The Arsonist.”
Much of the story takes place in “Riverwatch” — a fictionalized Westport. Coulson calls it “a corporate thriller and classic David and Goliath story, set against the backdrop of the collision between Wall Street and the climate crisis.
Are there any chances left for a man who helped stoke the flames of a global financial meltdown and then reaped the rewards?”
Coulson had a fast-paced, over-the-top career with Wall Street’s biggest banks before an epiphany during the financial crisis set him on a path of sustainability and music.
He has written and released over 100 songs, many in support of climate action. He founded the sustainability think tank Future Bright, and writes on Medium on mindfulness and the art of here and now. For more information, click here.
As the weather warms, more Westporters will be walking outdoors. Some of them will do it before or at sunrise, or at or after sunset.
A reader asks that I remind everyone to wear light clothes. It seems like a no-brainer, but anyone who drives in Westport knows that not every walker has that it’s-not-just-about-me brain.
The reader also would like to see folks walk facing traffic. It’s easier for drivers to see them — and vice versa.
Two simple requests. From her lips to …
Which of these people is most likely to be hit?
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Bedford Acting Group provided the wrong information yesterday for show times of the upcoming “Lion King.”
Correct times are 7 p.m. on March 15 and 16, and 2 p.m. on March 16 and 17. Click here for tickets, cast lists and more information.
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.
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