‘I’m Feeling Refreshed’: Emad Aziz Opens Mead Park Lodge for 2017 Season

A layer of snow from last week’s winter storm still covers the ball fields and tennis courts at Mead Park. Yet with spring officially arrived and temperatures expected to soar into the high-50s on Saturday, Apple Cart Food Co. owner Emad Aziz is prepared for a rush of activity at Mead Park Lodge. “I’m feeling great, feeling wonderful,” Aziz said Tuesday afternoon from his pristine kitchen in the gourmet food hut. “I’m feeling refreshed and ready to go after a huge, long vacation.”

That would be winter, the town resident’s “off-season.”

He appears to have spent part of it coming up with new offerings for his customers.

Sign of Spring: Emad Opens Friday at Mead Park

One of New Canaan’s great smiles will appear in town again starting Friday as the genial owner of Apple Cart Food Co. officially opens in Mead Park. Emad Aziz is out of hibernation and opens up the popular snack shack at 8 a.m.

“My winter was spectacular, as always,” the Egypt native and New Canaan resident said on a recent morning as he prepared the kitchen for another season at Mead. Asked what he does during the cold months, Aziz said: “I recover from the madness of the summer.”

“I am excited, looking forward to it,” he said of the working months ahead. “It’s going to be fun.

Faces of New Canaan: Emad Aziz

There could not be a better candidate for “Faces of New Canaan” than Emad Aziz. In this feature, we profile residents—typically through a Q&A, though not always—whom we associate automatically with our town, though they’re not people we necessarily know because they are famous or hold prominent local positions. These are people who make up the fabric of New Canaan in a profound, visceral way. This interview with Aziz by far ranked as the most difficult to secure, not just because he’s a naturally private person, but also because despite his truly remarkable journey to New Canaan—you will see, from our interview below, that his story is a triumph of diligence, acumen and instinct—he’s self-effacing, genuinely modest. As with every installment in the series so far, there are some things we knew about our subject that we received confirmation on—in the case of Aziz, for example, that he is one of New Canaan’s hardest-working people.