Town To Expand Patio Area at Mead Park Lodge

Town officials on Tuesday approved a $15,000 contract with a New Canaan-based company to expand the patio area at the popular Mead Park Lodge. 

Home to Apple Cart Food Co., the lodge has seen even more use amid the COVID-19 pandemic, according to Public Works Director Tiger Mann. The town felt the need to convert a planted area into a temporary patio area as a result, and used crushed stone for it, Mann told the Board of Selectmen during their regular meeting, held at Town Hall and via videoconference. 

“The problem with the crushed stone is that the children are getting into it, throwing it all over the patio which turns into a slipping and tripping hazard, or they throw it into the grass which is problematic for when we try to cut the grass,” Mann said. The solution is to do the entire area in bluestone, he said. First Selectman Kevin Moynihan and Selectmen Kathleen Corbet and Nick Williams voted 3-0 in favor of a contract with Fortino Escalante, Inc.

The company is offering to do it as a price that’s comparable to prices from 2013, Mann said. Beyond expanding the patio, Mann said that the town is looking at future projects to create a walkway to the traffic island toward the Mead Park Playground entrance, and eventually another connection to the playground itself. 

Apple Cart Food Co. Marks 20th Anniversary

Apple Cart Food Company, happily serving New Canaan families at Mead Park Lodge, Waveny Pool and Dunning Stadium, celebrates its 20th anniversary this year. The business started out with some small local catering gigs alongside operations at The Lake Club and The Field Club, according to co-owners Emad Aziz and Marianne Perry. When the opportunity arose to bid operating out of the Mead Park building 12 years ago, they seized it, and have been making their house specialty, the falafel wrap, with a signature “mom-and-pop” style ever since. “I believe there’s big value in business done old-fashioned way,” Aziz said. “We’re not getting caught up in all of the Uber Eats trend.”

The pair did not even realize their company had reached the 20-year milestone until they went to local business Nurenu to develop a new logo.

‘I Am Excited, I Am Happy’: Emad Aziz Opens Mead Park Lodge for 2018 Season

As New Canaan thaws from the latest in a series of snowstorms, one sure harbinger of spring is stirring in Mead Park. Emad Aziz of the Apple Cart Food Co. has opened the Mead Park Lodge for the 2018 season, with several new items on the popular menu. “I am excited, I am happy,” Aziz said Tuesday from his pristine kitchen in the gourmet food hut. “I cannot wait until it warms up.”

The town resident is in the final year of a 5-year lease with the town.

‘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.