Tag Archives: Remarkable Book Shop

Do You Remember These?

Posted on January 7, 2024 | 175 comments

The retail history of Westport is littered with ghosts.

From banks to restaurants, record stores to grocery stores, once-thriving businesses are today only memories.

That’s the way the world works, of course. Westport is no different.

For every Gold’s and Mitchells — businesses nearing their 70th anniversaries — there are scores more that lasted 7 years.

Or 7 months.

Several years ago, Erin Regan made a list of places in Westport that no longer exist.

Some were well-remembered. Others were vague. A few were obscure.

This list is spectacularly incomplete. There are many blanks.

It is also by no means exhaustive. Thousands more places could be added.

And it does not include spaces that have been demolished or substantially altered (for example, Gene Hallowell’s gas station on Main Street which is now Vineyard Vines, or DeRosa’s restaurant and Riverside Barber, which are now a kayak rental and the recently closed Saugatuck Sweets).

But for a walk down memory lane, on a mid-winter day, it will do. (NOTE: The current tenant is listed in parentheses.)

Arnie Place — now Ulta — remains a Westport legend, 40 years later.

Arcudi’s, Chef’s Table (Aux Delices)
Arnie’s Place, Anthropologie (Ulta)
Arrow #1, Chinese Takeout (Lomito)
Arrow #2, Jasmine, Blu Parrot, Mystic Market (empty)
Barker’s, King’s, Ames (Super Stop & Shop)
Barnes & Noble #1 Pier 1 (BevMax)
Baskin-Robbins (AT&T Store)
Beefsteak Charlie’s, Mongolian BBQ (Shake Shack)
Cedar Brook (Patio.com)

The Cedar Brook Cafe — at one time the oldest continually operating gay bar in the country — was a few yards away from both a strip club and the state police barracks.

Chef’s Table, Wild Pear, Java (Mrs. London’s)
Charpentier’s Butcher Shop, Tacos or What? (Border Grille)
Colgan’s, Thompson’s Pharmacy, Ships, Eddie Bauer (Tiffany)
Connecticut State Police barracks (Walgreens)
Dairy Queen, Swanky Frank’s, Woody’s (Little Barn)
Franklin Simon, Carousel, Sam Goody’s #2 ([solidcore])
Hay Day (Maserati of Westport)
Fine Arts I & II Theaters, Restoration Hardware (Barnes & Noble)
Fine Arts III, Matsu Sushi (Basso)

The Fine Arts Theater was a longtime Post Road mainstay.

Fuddrucker’s, Leong’s Palace (Westport National Bank)
Genovese Pharmacy (Marshall’s Shoe Store)
Grand Union, Shaw’s (Fresh Market)
Häagen-Dasz (Finalmente)
Herman’s (Trader Joe’s)
IHOP, Westport Pancake House, Thaeroa Nail Spa (now empty)
Klein’s, Banana Republic (Oka)
Krazy Vin’s, Starbucks (Earth Animal)
Manero’s, John Harvard, Conte’s (Rizzuto’s)
Players Tavern, The Dressing Room, Positano (Gabriele’s Steakhouse)

The Dressing Room, next to the Westport Country Playhouse, was owned by 2 celebrities: Michel Nischan, and the even better known Paul Newman.

Post Cinema, Zany Brainy, Pompanoosuc Mills (Bassett Furniture)
Remarkable Book Shop, Talbots, Local to Market (next: Eleish Van Breems Home)
Rocco’s (Tengda)
Sam Goody’s #1, Alphagraphics, Pierre Deux, Qdoba (Salsa Fresca)
Vigilant Fire House, DeRosa’s Brick Oven Pizza, Neat (Oko)
Schaefer’s Sporting Goods (Dovecote, now closed)
Waldbaum’s, Barnes & Noble (the probably-never-opening Amazon Fresh)
Westport Bank & Trust (the recently departed Patagonia)
Westport Public Library (Domain, HSBC, Guess, Pop’TART, Freshii (Starbucks and Bond Vet)
Ye Olde Bridge Grille (Mar Silver).

Click “Comments” for additions, corrections, and — of course — memories.

(“06880” is your hyper-local source for news — and nostalgia. Please click here to support our work. Thank you!)

A few decades later, Susan Malloy created this “Main Street 1960” map for the Westport Historical Society.

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Posted in Local business, Looking back, Restaurants

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Friday Flashback #376

Posted on December 8, 2023 | 4 comments

Among the many great elements of last Saturday’s “06880”/Westport Downtown Association Holiday Stroll: the decorations.

Main Street and Church Lane look especially festive this year. with lights, wreaths, trees and more, everywhere you look.

Many Westporters have fond memories of downtown decorations from years past too.

But not in 1975.

As noted in a Friday Flashback 6 years ago, on Christmas Day that year Fred Cantor drove through town. He captured several scenes. Here is one:

Snow had fallen earlier. The plowed, shoveled and congealed streets and sidewalks have that bleak midwinter look.

There’s nary a star, ornament or whimsical Santa on any pole. You don’t see any twinkling lights either.

The only wreaths are on Sport Mart (far left).

But the view of the Mobil station (now Vineyard Vines) brings back fond memories. Every year — a few days before Christmas — owners Gene and Mary Hallowell lowered the hydraulic lifts. They covered them with table cloths. Then they laid out a feast.

The party was supposed to be for loyal customers. But anyone could wander by for food and (of course) drink.

And everyone did.

Further down Main Street, Fred found this:

The Remarkable Book Shop hummed with activity at holiday time. It was the perfect place for gifts — there were toys, puzzles and trinkets, plus a joyfully eclectic collection of books, maps and whatnot — as well as a great spot for curling up in an easy chair to read, relax or just people-watch.

But the Remarkable Book Shop did not go all out with holiday decorations either. In fact, as Fred’s photo shows, in 1975 there were none.

One place did get into the holiday spirit.

And with good reason: The Corner Spirit Shop — on Wilton Road, at the Post Road West intersection — was one of the most visible spots in town.

Plus — then, as now — a liquor store hops at holiday time.

So of course they threw a couple of wreaths on their windows.

That’s what Westport looked like, 48 years ago this holiday season.

The Sport Mart is gone. Remarkable, too. And the building that housed the Corner Spirit Shop is one more fond memory.

Just like some of those Christmas decorations of yore.

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50 years ago this week:

WWPT-FM — the Staples High School radio station that was “flat broke last weekend” — raised over $3,600 in a multi-day fundraising marathon.

Among the personalities attending a fundraising party at the home of WWPT staff member Larry Perlstein: popular WNBC DJ Wolfman Jack.

(If you enjoy our weekly “Friday Flashback” — or any other “06880” feature — please click here to support our work. Thank you!)

 

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“Westport Madness”: Semifinals Are Here!

Posted on March 28, 2023 | 2 comments

Our “Westport Madness” tournament is racing to a close.

Who (actually, “what”) will be crowned the quintessential piece of our town?

Your quarterfinal votes are in.

You chose these semifinalists:

Compo Beach over Westport Library (80.3% to 19.7)

Westport train station over YMCA downtown (53.9 to 46.1)

Remarkable Book Shop over Grass fields (72.8 to 27.2)

Saugatuck over Gold’s (59.2 to 40.8).

Click here to vote. Polls are open through 11:59 p.m. Wednesday, March 29.

On we go!

Click on or hover over to enlarge.

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Posted in Beach, Local business, Looking back, Saugatuck, Totally random, Transportation

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Friday Flashback #325

Posted on December 9, 2022 | 11 comments

Westporters have many options for holiday shopping, and festive meals.

Of course, our retail and restaurant scene is always in flux.

A look at this “board game” from the 1980s shows how much has changed since then.

(Courtesy of Ashley Hemson, via Facebook)

Nearly every business is gone: Remarkable Book Shop. Soup’s On. Daybreak Florist. Max’s Art Supplies. Silver’s. Tacos or What?

But we’ve still got Achorn Pharmacy.

And the Duck.

(If you like traveling down Westport’s memory lane every Friday, please support “06880.” Click here to contribute. Thank you!) 

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A Most Remarkable Website

Posted on October 31, 2022 | 26 comments

Westporters of a certain age remember the Remarkable Book Shop.

The pink building at the Main Street/Parker Harding Plaza corner was as funky inside as it was colorful outside.

For over 30 years — from 1963 to 1995 — owner Esther Kramer and her band of bright, devoted and eclectic employees made the bookstore a home away from home for anyone looking for anything to read.

If they didn’t have what you needed, Esther and her crew found it for you.

And if you didn’t know what you wanted, they did.

A classic photo of a classic store.

Roaming the crooked aisles of “Remarkable” — and sitting in one of the over-stuffed chairs — was like wandering down a rabbit hole.

Now — nearly 30 years after it closed — there’s another Remarkable Book Shop rabbit hole to explore.

It’s there for everyone: those who remember the store fondly. Those who moved here too late, and know it only as Talbots (or more recently, Westport Local to Market). Even those too young to know what an independent bookstore is.

This Remarkable Book Shop rabbit hole is accessible to anyone with a browser. It’s a website that’s both a historical archive, and a labor of love.

Fittingly, it’s the product of a collaboration between the owner’s son, and a woman who never set foot in the place.

Mark Kramer is a writer (National Geographic, New York Times Magazine, The Atlantic), founding director of the Nieman program on narrative journalism at Harvard University, and a writing instructor at Smith College, Boston University and abroad.

Mark Kramer and his mother Esther. He inherited his love of writing from both parents.

Maya Reisz is a neighbor of Mark’s in Newton, Massachusetts. A professional organizer, she helped him sort through thousands of photos, letters and news clippings belonging to Esther and her husband Sidney Kramer, an attorney, literary agent and co-founder of Bantam Books, who died in 2014, a month before his 100th birthday.

For years, Mark had been impressed at the impact his mother’s store made.

“Every time ‘06880’ mentioned the Remarkable Book Shop, dozens of people commented affectionately,” he says.

“I’ve come to realize it represented human connection, in a world where connections have become more and more distant.

“She had a vibrant spirit. She was vivacious and effervescent,” he says. “And she created something that was like public art.”

As he and Maya sorted through stacks of photos and news clippings, she too grasped what Esther had done.

“I’m a storyteller,” Maya says. “I saw we had enough substance to tell that story, and bring back memories.”

She has the technical skills to make it happen.  For the past few months, she and Mark worked to bring the “Remembering the Remarkable Bookshop” website to life.

Together, they created a — well, I tried for a synonym. but there is none better — remarkable online archive.

There’s the back story (of course), plus photos, news clippings and artwork.

The painter of this downtown holiday scene is unknown.

But the fun comes — as it did in the store — by burrowing deep.

At the end of each “chapter” — “Esther Through Time,” shelves stocked with more than books, author signings, customers — there’s a link to the next.

Throughout the site, visitors can leave comments (and memories).

The Remarkable Book Shop hosted many noted authors for readings. Pictured here: Erica Jong.

The project was as important to Maya as it was to Mark. As she worked, she felt she got to know Esther and Sidney. She grew nostalgic for a place she never knew. She felt the responsibility — and pride — of producing something that will mean a lot, to a lot of people.

Esther and Sidney Kramer, on TV.

Including those who, like Maya, never set foot inside the Remarkable Book Shop.

And not just new Westporters.

While Mark was teaching recently in Bergen, Norway, the owner of a bookstore asked him where he shopped at home. He told her about his mother’s place — and the website. She said, “I want to see it!”

The Remarkable Book Shop is gone. It lives on now, happily, as a website.

But there are still physical reminders of the legendary store around town. Jane Green’s Bookcycle — a mobile free library — is painted pink, and proudly sports “The Remarkable Man” (the Edward Gorey-inspired dancing figure that hung for years on the front of the store).

The store — and the Remarkable Man.

That’s not the only place to see the famed mascot. The actual, real live (okay, wooden) Remarkable Man now lives inside Cold Fusion. He gazes happily from his new home, at his old one.

Which gave Mark another idea: How about a gathering — at Cold Fusion — for everyone who remembers the Remarkable Book Shop? Friends and former employees could have a very cool time.

Or who goes down its website rabbit hole, and wishes they did?

What a remarkable event that would be!

(Click here to enter the Remarkable Book Shop website. Happy “browsing”!)

(“06880” is your source for remarkable Westport history. Please click here to support this hyper-local blog.)

The Remarkable Bookcycle (and the Remarkable Man), outside the former book shop last year.

 

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Roundup: GFA’s DMC, Cavalry Bridge, Beach Jetty …

Posted on June 10, 2022 | 5 comments

Greens Farms Academy’s commencement ceremony yesterday had many traditional elements.

The 90 members of the Class of 2022 marched in, to “Pomp and Circumstance.”

Valedictorian Shealeigh Crombie and salutatorian Alicja Farber addressed the crowd. Head of school Bob Whelan spoke movingly of the class as a whole, and described each individual graduate with personal adjectives.

But the commencement speaker was not your usual honoree. Darryl McDaniels — co-founder of Run-DMC (the first rap group on the cover of Rolling Stone, and first inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame); an author, philanthropist and mental health advocate — took the mic, and owned the crowd.

Parents, grandparents — and of course the graduates — sat rapt, as “DMC” spoke (and rapped) about the soon-to-be-alums’ possibilities, potential and purpose.

He talked about the importance of imagination, and assured them they were well prepared for whatever lies ahead.

The recessional was as traditional as ever. But this was a GFA graduation for the record.

Darryl McDaniels delivers the commencement address.

Proud graduates’ processional.

Head of school Bob Whelan. (Photos/Dan Woog)

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Peggy Lehn had quite a day yesterday.

Doing just one errand, she saw:

  • 3 stop sign runners without a tap on the brakes
  • 2 separate cars pulling out dangerously in front of her
  • 1 U-turn on the blind corner at Greens Farms Road and Center Street.

But this one — at Maple Avenue North, near the Post Road — took the cake. (And almost the donuts and falafels.)

(Photo/Peggy Lehn)

Neither Peggy nor I know what happened. But heed her words: “Be careful out there!”

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Once again it’s graduation season. For the third year in a row, Le Rouge is distributing “Give a Little Love” chocolate hearts. The goal is to give one to every graduating student in Bridgeport, when they get their diplomas.

It’s a community-wide effort, for our neighbors a few miles away. Each heart is $8. To buy one (or more!), click here.

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“Double Indemnity” — an exhibit of work by artists Miggs Burroughs and Ann Chernow, based on the film noir classic — is on display at the Westport Library through September 6. An opening reception is set for June 23 (6:30 p.m.).

The show also includes 3 special movie nights, all on the 19-foot screen in the Trefz Forum.

“Double Indemnity” will be shown on June 23, immediately following the reception.

“Detour” will be screened on July 7 (7 p.m.); Susan Granger hosts.

On July 14 (7 p.m.), it’s the original “Nightmare Alley.” Miggs and Ann will host.

Click here for more information.

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The long Cavalry Road reconstruction project — and its long delays — are finally over.

The bridge in Westport’s northwest corner opened yesterday, to the surprise (and delight) of the neighborhood.

It’s been closed since April 2021. If you live nearby, tell us: Was it worth the wait?

Cavalry Road bridge (Photo/Screenshot from Kristy Theisinger video)

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Speaking of reconstruction: Chris Swan has been watching the Burying Hill jetty replacement project with great interest.

He reports that all but about 12 of the second row of pilings has been set, and cut down to finished height at the top of jetty. The end is in sight!

Progress! (Photo/Chris Swan)

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Yesterday’s “06880” Roundup noted that dog licenses must be renewed by July 1. I included several links, from a Town Hall press release.

Town clerk Jeffrey Dunkerton sends along this all-in-one link (click here). It should cover every question — and every dog. Arf!

Cute! But register him (or her).

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Ever since COVID, Westporters have enjoyed outdoor dining — and music — on Church Lane. It’s a great experience — but the musicians don’t play for free.

The Westport Downtown Association has started a GoFundMe campaign to help. The goal is $4,000, to offset the cost of 30 evenings of music by local performers. Click here for more information, and to help.

Music on Church Lane.

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Around the corner from Church Lane, one of Westport’s most iconic buildings has been sold.

177 Main Street — the restored house at the entrance to Parker Harding Plaza, most recently home to Local to Market, and before that Talbots and (of course) the Remarkable Book Shop — was purchased by Eleish Van Breems Home Westport.

Headquartered on Franklin Street, and with stores on Railroad Place  and Nantucket, Eleish Van Breems offers “a clean, elegant and fresh approach to interiors, all with a Scandinavian essence.”

The new home of Eleish Van Breems Home.

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A small local book has just won a big book award.

“In Death, the Gift of Life” earned top honors in the “Death & Dying” category, for the 16th annual National Indie Excellence Awards.

The anthology — inspired by Dan Levinson’s experience with his father’s end-of-life passage — includes 10 Westport stories about those choices, and the challenges faced by people with terminal illnesses.

Each narrative explores men and women who faced the medical establishment head-on, then deliberately embraced grace and courage in the aftermath.

Click here to order the book. All proceeds benefit the Westport Library, Senior Center and Visiting Nurse & Hospice of Fairfield County.

Mark your calendar for October 13 (7 p.m.), too. That’s the date of the official, twice-COVID-delayed launch party for the book, at the Westport Library. Click here for details.

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There’s a new resident at Willowbrook Cemetery.

This one is very much alive.

Danny Amoruccio, manager/sexton of Willowbrook Cemetery Association, says:  “This little one is hanging around Section 11. We remind everyone not to approach or bother the new fawn. We seeing so many people pestering this little guy.”

New life at Willowbrook Cemetery.

So  be a dear — leave it alone!

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They’re not around for long. But while they’re here, these Saugatuck Shores flowers make for a gorgeous “Westport … Naturally” scene.

(Photo/Diane Yormark)

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And finally … Greens Farms Academy’s choice of Darryl McDaniels as commencement speaker was inspired.

Not tricky at all.

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Posted in Beach, Downtown, Education, Entertainment, Environment, Library, Local business

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Roundup: Masks, Ben McFall, Skating Rink …

Posted on December 31, 2021 | 6 comments

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As COVID cases soar in Westport, a concerned “06880” reader writes:

“Our positivity rate is through the roof. The statistics as of Wednesday were near 18%. When other variants were circulating, an indoor mask mandate was in place.

“Currently there is no mask mandate, except government or municipal buildings. I cannot comprehend why there is no mandate reinstated for all indoor spaces in Westport.

“Masks have proven to work in preventing the spread of COVID. As we are all aware, the Omicron variant is extremely contagious. Westport residents, as well as people who work here, would be much safer with a mask mandate in place.

“Not having everyone wear masks indoors puts all of us in danger, especially the older and immuno-compromised populations.

“This has nothing to do with politics or the economy; it has to do solely with health. Whether people agree or not, it is honestly not much of an inconvenience to mask while indoors in order to protect people.

“Let’s keep everyone safe. Let’s reinstate a mask mandate.”

Masks did not detract from Staples High School’s Candlelight Concert earlier this month.. (Photo/Dan Woog)

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Yesterday’s New York Times carried a fascinating obituary of Ben McFall. It calls him “the longest-tenured bookseller in the history of the Strand, New York’s renowned bookstore, who for decades peered above his spectacles at a line of acolytes, tourists and young colleagues for whom he incarnated the store’s erudite but easygoing spirit.” He died last week at his home in Jersey City. He was 73, and suffered from pulmonary fibrosis.

The story notes that after graduating from Olivet College with a degree in French and music in 1971, he moved with college friends to Connecticut — and worked at the Remarkable Book Shop in Westport.

“A co-worker told Mr. McFall she could see him at the Strand,” the Times says. “He had never heard of the place, but in 1978 he arrived in New York and interviewed for a job.” He was hired on the spot.

Click here for the full obituary. (Hat tips: Tom Prince, Jackie Kaplan, Adam Stolpen, Mark Lassoff and Fred Cantor)

Ben McFall (Photo/Julie Glassberg for the New York Times)

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The Longshore skating rink is sponsored by Westport PAL. That stands, of course, for “Police Athletic League.”

To promote this year’s season, the Police Department took this image:

It’s a great one. And we’re not the only ones who think so.

It’s now the Photo of the Week on Police1.com — the go-to site for national police news.

Like the rink itself, that’s very, very cool.

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If you’re like 90% of Westporters*, your New Year’s resolution is: “Get fit” (or “fitter”).

Why wait?**

The Joggers Club starts 2022 on the right foot (ho ho), with their annual 3.5-mile run (Saturday, January 1, 8 a.m., Compo Beach).

But wait! There’s more! Cool off with a Polar Plunge at 10.

For a $50 annual fee, you’ll get access to exclusive parties, 41 group runs, post-run coffee and treats, a Brooks running shirt ($35 value!), a ton of fun — and you’ll get in great shape.

Click here, or check out Instagram (@TheJoggersClub).

PS: Save the date: Joggers Club Jr. (ages 5 to 13) returns April 3. Six weeks of 75-minute coached sessions, for just $99.

*The other 10%? See below.

**Because then you won’t do it.

This could be you! (Photo/Armelle Pouriche-Daniels)

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Perhaps your New Year’s resolution is to find inner peace.

Pause + Purpose is ready. A new studio on 21 Jesup Road — right near Westport Book Shop — they offer drop-in meditation weekdays (9 a.m. to 2 p.m.). They also plan to launch mindfulness gatherings soon.

Founder Emily Vartanian-Tuttle says: “The world is especially stressful right now, and our collective mental health and wellness is suffering. We have built a positive communal space for meditation and discussion in the heart of Westport.

“Scientists are beginning to understand that meditation is essential to a healthy mental landscape, and there is no better way to dedicate yourself to a practice than with the backing of a whole community behind you. We offer meditation modalities and group support, backed by science to improve mental, social, and emotional wellbeing.

“Our professional staff includes psychologists, counselors, nutritionists, and the like, addressing issues such as postpartum depression, social anxiety, dietary challenges, and mourning, among others.

“Drop in for a self-led practice or join one of our high-quality children and adult mindfulness gatherings, where a seasoned meditation teacher will lead you and a group in meditation and discussion.” Click here to learn more.

The soothing interior of Pause + Purpose.

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Jolantha — Weston’s most famous (or at least most visible) sculpture — greets the New Year:

(Photo/Hans Wilhelm)

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Our final “Westport … Naturally” photo of 2021 shows one of our town’s most popular (and most photographed) scenes: Grace Salmon Park.

(Photo/Patricia McMahon)

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And finally … good riddance, 2021!

There was not a lot to laugh at this year. But try this:

 

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Posted in Arts, Beach, Downtown, Local business, Longshore, Looking back, Obituaries, Police, Sports

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Book It! A Remarkable Local Market Story.

Posted on December 5, 2021 | 2 comments

Remarkable!

The Remarkable Bookcycle — Westport’s free and mobile library, started by Jane Green (yes, the Jane Green) and now kept rolling by others — is back where it belongs.

In front of the old Remarkable Book Shop.

The 3-wheeled library pays homage — in color, logo and spirit — to the remarkable (upper and lowercase) store that sat, for 3 decades, happily on the corner of Main Street and Parker Harding Plaza.

Folks of all ages came from all over the area to sit in comfy chairs, read, and — yes — shop locally.

The Remarkable Book Shop then spent a few unhappy years as a Talbots. Now it’s back as a local shop — called, of course, Local to Market.

The Remarkable Bookcycle, outside Local to Market. (Photo/Chris Marcocci)

Westport’s little free library has left Compo Beach — where it summered — and Bedford Square, where it most recently resided. It’s now parked perfectly on the patio outside Local to Market.

Chris Marcocci, the owner of the food/coffee/gift/gift basket/and more shop — who gives a portion of sales to (of course) local charities == has agreed to keep the bookcycle fully stocked.

So drop on by. Pick up a book. Drop one off.

Then shop locally. Just as so many Westporters did at that same spot, for years.

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Posted in Downtown, Local business, Looking back, Transportation

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Friday Flashback #263

Posted on September 24, 2021 | 14 comments

No bygone business has been mentioned more in “06880” than the Remarkable Book Shop.

The Main Street/Parker Harding corner store was a beloved, comfortable, meeting place. Whenever I need a reference point for a locally owned, customer-centric shop: Bingo!

But the Remarkable comes up in other ways too. There’s the Remarkable Bookcycle, a three-wheeled, mobile homage complete with the same pink color and logo.

There’s the Remarkable Theater, our downtown drive-in theater that takes its name directly — and fittingly — from that long-ago other entertainment option.

More recently, Cold Fusion Gelato — located opposite the former shop — hung the wooden “Remarkable Guy” inside, looking out on his old haunt.

And now Local to Market has opened on the book shop’s old site, offering food and crafts in a down-home way reminiscent of its predecessor.

But in all my references to the Remarkable Book Shop, I never knew that it was also part of a very popular children’s book.

The other day, alert “06880” reader Kerry Long spotted a Remarkable reference on Instagram. A user posted 2 images from Richard Scarry’s 1968 Random House classic, What Do People Do All Day?

There in the lower right corner — below drawings of a poet, artist and writer — was the Remarkable Book Shop.

A close-up shows that Scarry included the name of the proprietor: E. Kramer.

That would be Esther Kramer — the actual owner of the Westport store. (Regular “06880” readers know that the “Remarkable” name comes from “Kramer” spelled backward.)

So — decades later — the Remarkable Book Shop still lives. And not just on “06880,” but Instagram too.

Remarkable!

 

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Cold Fusion: The Remarkable Back Story

Posted on July 10, 2021 | 10 comments

Cold Fusion opened Thursday. From the moment the new gelato place served its first scoop, it was packed.

It’s on Main Street near Avery Place, in the former Papyrus space next to Chase Bank.

Or, to put it another way: opposite the old Remarkable Book Shop.

The Remarkable Book Shop.

Relative newcomers know it as the long-shuttered Talbots (soon to be, remarkably, Local to Market, selling fresh produce, food and artisan craft items, all produced around here).

Cold Fusion owners (and longtime Westporters) Eric and Kelly Emmert know their history. As they planned their store, they knew they wanted to honor their long-ago neighbor.

For 34 years, an Edward Gorey-inspired dancing figure hung on the side of the Remarkable Book Shop.

Now — after all these years — he’s back.

With a different point of view. He’s inside Cold Fusion — occupying the spot he gazed out upon, for all those years.

The Remarkable Guy was stored at the former Westport Historical Society. More recently, Pam Barkentin has taken care of him. (Photo/Lynn U. Miller)

The Remarkable Book Shop was owned by Sidney and Esther Kramer. (The store’s perfect name includes “Kramer,” spelled backward.) Their children, Mark and Wendy, have loaned the iconic work of art to the Emmerts.

Esther made her store a Westport landmark. Shelves were filled with books on every topic imaginable. Cozy, overstuffed chairs (and a house cat named Heathcliffe) invited browsers to sit, read, linger and talk to each other long before “store experiences” were a thing.

Esther knew every customer’s name, from Paul Newman and writers to young children. She and her team of loyal, learned employees remembered everyone’s interests and tastes, and happily recommended the next good read.

Warm, friendly and funky, the pink store was a community gathering place from 1960 until 1994.

That’s the kind of feeling the Emmerts hope to recreate at Cold Fusion. Bringing the Remarkable Guy back is a great way to start.

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Posted in Downtown, Local business, Looking back, Restaurants

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