Elm Street Businesses Gear Up for Sunday’s ‘Caffeine & Carburetors’ 2014 Debut

 

Saying they’re eager to support and participate in a hugely popular local event that’s expected to draw 2,000 people to New Canaan, independent business owners on Elm Street are revving up for Caffeine & Carburetors on Sunday, the 2014 debut.

Businesses such as design solutions at 146 Elm and New Canaan Music across the street are opening their doors on a day they’d normally be closed. Chef Luis is opening earlier than usual and setting up outside so that the classic car enthusiasts expected to gather in New Canaan—coming from as far away as Maine and North Carolina—can grab a quick bite as they walk around.

This is the first year that the 8 to 11:30 a.m. event—brainchild of Zumbach’s Gourmet Coffee owner Doug Zumbach, a New Canaan resident—will see the overflow from Pine Street come to Elm Street. When Pine hits about 75 percent full, police and volunteers will start directing the vintage and specialty automobiles to the top of Elm Street (at Brotherhood & Higley) and then they’ll start filling in spots down from there.

Town resident Megan Palladino, co-owner of The Candy Scoop at 72 Park St., said she’ll be handing out classic candies on Elm Street and is working on a coupon for Caffeine & Carburetors visitors who want to drop into her shop.

“I think it’s a really great opportunity to give the businesses on this end some attention and we’re still new, so it’s great,” Palladino told NewCanaanite.com. “We’re excited to be a part of it.”

New Canaan Olive Oil at 98 Elm will also be open and giving away free 50ml sample bottles with a purchase of $18 or more, owner Heidi Burrows said, as well as sending out special discounts via email to visitors who register through a mobile barcode she’s designed specifically for the event.

“Being a new business in town, I think we need to take every opportunity to ring people in the door,” Burrows said. “So an event with that many people coming to town, you have to be open.”

Tucker Murphy, executive director of the New Canaan Chamber of Commerce, said it’s important for people to understand that Caffeine & Carburetors cars will start by parking on Pine Street, and then, as that fills up, they’ll come to Elm.

“We’re confident that once stores see how many people come, that there will be even more opening at the next one,” Murphy said. She added that Brotherhood & Higley at the top of Elm is participating in the event and partnering with Roger Sherman Inn.

Benefitting fellow New Canaan business owners absolutely is a goal of Zumbach himself. He told NewCanaanite.com in a recent interview that when he first explored the idea of going beyond Pine Street with Caffiene & Carburetors, whose popularity has exploded in just four years, someone suggested the Lumberyard Lot over by the train station, but he turned that idea down as it wouldn’t help other merchants.

Williams at New Canaan Music is launching a “Classic Cars, Classic Guitars” promotion for Caffeine & Carburetors, and he’s not only doing a discount for the auto enthusiasts, he’s setting up a table on the sidewalk where passersby can admire a guitar signed by The Rolling Stones and playing music, too.

Asked why he decided to open on a Sunday and participate, Williams said: “To be a part of the event, to be a part of the community, and I’m a car enthusiast myself.”

Pauline Dora, owner of design solutions, put a motorcycle and “Caffeine & Carburetors” sign in a window.

Asked what motivated her to participate, she said: “Doug [Zumbach] is a great guy, he’s started a great thing and why not? It’s that simple: It’s fun.”