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The Westport Weston Chamber of Commerce “Order Direct/Pick It Up” initiative has educated Westporters to use restaurants’ actual websites (or phones) to place pick-up orders. That’s because Uber Eats, DoorDash, Grubhub and similar platforms take huge chunks of the bill for themselves.
Now the word has spread throughout the state. Other Chambers of Commerce are educating their residents too.
Now the Westport Weston Chamber is going a step further.
Click here, then scroll down for “direct” clickable links and phone numbers of Chamber restaurants. Now there’s no excuse to hand over much of a restaurant’s profit to 3rd-party apps.
The list includes:
- 190 Main
- Allium
- Amis
- Bistro du Soleil
- Black Duck
- Boathouse at Saugatuck Rowing Club
- Don Memo
- Dunville’s
- Gabriele’s
- Granola Bar
- Harvest
- Kawa Ni
- Little Barn
- Manna Toast
- Match Burger Lobster
- Naan
- Pane e Bene
- Rive Bistro
- Rizzuto’s
- Romanacci Express
- Sakura
- Sherwood Diner
- Spotted Horse
- Tarantino
- Tarry Lodge
- Terrain Garden Café
- Tutti’s
- Via Sforza
- Viva Zapata
- Wafu
- Walrus Alley
- The Whelk

(Graphic courtesy of Miggs Burroughs)
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The Winter Olympics open in 9 days, in Beijing. Of course there’s a Westport connection.
Our neighbor Julia Marino is on the US snowboarding team (slopestyle/big air).
With no fans, friends or family — plus COVID rules, political pressure, burner phones (!) and zero real snow (!!), it will be nothing like her previous Olympics.
Westport journalist Dave Briggs interviewed our local Olympian for his Westport Lifestyle Instagram Life series. Click here for her candid, up-close-and-personal view of these very unusual Olympics Games.

Dave Briggs and Julie Marino.
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Last month, “06880” reported on The Walters. The band — fronted by 2010 Staples High School graduate Walter Kosner had broken up, but became social media-famous thanks to a sudden slew of TikTok videos.
I included a link to their biggest hit, “I Love You So.”
But tomorrow (Thursday, January 27, 11:35 p.m.), Westporters — and everyone else in the world — can watch The Walters live. They’ll be on Jimmy Kimmel Live, on ABC.
They probably won’t be on for 15 minutes. But they will be famous.
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Several Staples students have taken the first step toward national recognition.
Judges have chosen winners in the PTA’s annual Reflections contest. They advance to the state level; after that comes the national competition.
Congratulations to 1st place winners Charlie Jandora (Literature), Jason Capozucca (Music) and Shivali Kanthan (Visual Arts), runners-up Josh Gordon, Jadon Laitman and Camille Vynerib, and 3rd-place finisher Hugh Kennedy.

Reflections winners: Front row (from left): Charlie Jandora, Shivali Kanthan, Camille Vynerib Rear: Jason Capozucca, Jaden Laitman, Hugh Kennedy, Josh Gordon, principal Stafford Thomas.
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We’re midway through dog season at Compo Beach. They take to the sand and shore like they own it. Which — from October to March — they do.
Today’s “Westport … Naturally” photo comes courtesy of Karen Como.

(Photo/Karen Como)
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And finally … on this date in 1934, the Apollo Theater reopened in Harlem. Begun as a white-only burlesque house in 1914, it fell into disrepair. It was transformed 2 decades later into a jazz venue, with primarily Black performers and patrons.
Duke Ellington was on the opening day bill in 1934. So was Benny Carter and his Harlem Club Orchestra. He probably played this hit, recorded 3 months earlier: