In 1777, British troops landed at Compo Beach.
They marched up Cross Highway on their way to Danbury, where they burned a supply depot.
But on their way back, they were ambushed by patriots. It was reported that fighting was fiercer than at Lexington and Concord.
The British never returned.
Until now. Next Monday, the British will be back on Cross Highway.
This time, they’ll be welcomed with open arms.
And hungry stomachs.
Karen Hubrich’s Gruel Britannia — the popular and unique Southport restaurant — will open its second outpost. The site is the former Porch, closed since December.
2025 sign harks back to 1777.
The spot between North Avenue and Bayberry Lane is iconic. It wasn’t there when King George’s soldiers marched by. But it has been around for over a century. For much of that time, it was Christie’s Country Store.
Now it’s poised for a new life.
Hubrich — a Johnson & Wales graduate whose varied, 46-year culinary career includes stints as personal chef for Michael Bolton, and at the Fairfield County Hunt Club, New York Times executive dining room and Pequot Yacht Club — has a partner with even deeper Westport roots than hers.
Staples High School graduate Scott Rochlin — who owned Henry’s (now Tarantino) in Saugatuck, and built the Porch’s interior for owners Bill and Andrea Pecoriello — approahced Hubrich with the idea after the Porch closed.
She had been thinking about opening another place in Westport. She’d already considered the former International House of Pancakes on Post Road East.
But the Cross Highway space was much more intriguing.
Who you gonna call? Karen Hubrich and Scott Rochlin. (Photos/Dan Woog)
When Hubrich walked into the vacated space, she had a vision: a space with all the fun of Gruel Britannia — and “where old England meets New England.”
There will be afternoon teas, pig roasts, lobster bakes, cigar night dinners, a cooking class, etiquette class, car show in the parking lot, private events … the possibilities are endless.
S0 are opportunities to partner with Wakeman Town Farm, just up the road.
Unlike the Porch, they won’t close at 3 p.m. That’s when kids from nearby Staples High and Bedford Middle School will start arriving. A couple of hours later, families will stop for meals to eat in, or take out. (Dinner hours begin after Labor Day.)
Earlier — starting with breakfast — the gazebo will be open. Formerly an ice cream stand, it is rechristened as the Tuck Shop.
The British term will soon become familiar to Westporters. And to everyone else driving by, including contractors, landscapers, deliverers and others.
They can pop in for coffee, breakfast (egg sandwich, bacon butty, breakfast burrito), baked goods (scones, muffins, cookies), lunch (carnita rice and bean bowl, chicken parm sandwich, smashburger, hot dog), or an ice cream sandwich, gelato or sorbetto.
Tuck Shop menu …
The menu in the main, century-old building includes sandwiches, wraps, salads — and of course bangers and mash, fish and chips, shepherd’s pie, mushy peas and other traditional dishes from across the pond.
Virtually everything — including fries and chips — is home-made.
… and lunch.
A soft (“very soft,” Hubrich emphasizes) opening is set for Monday (July 21). This week, she and Rochlin are taking care of all the details necessary to open a new restaurant.
“The Pecoriellos (former operators )took good care of the Porch,” Rochlin says. The new ones are just adding fresh paint, new wallpaper — and of course the Union Jack colors at the Tuck Shop.
Hubrich is also making sure the staff watches “Downton Abbey.”
“They must get the vibe,” she says.
(“06880” regularly covers new businesses. If you enjoy learning more about our town, please click here to support our work. Thank you!)
