Business

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

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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.

Business

Caffeine & Carburetors Expanding to Elm Street

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When he launched “Caffeine & Carburetors” four years ago, New Canaan resident Doug Zumbach thought of the Sunday gathering as a good way to bring people together for a hobby that lends itself to just that: in-person meetups. The owner of an eponymous, gourmet coffee shop at the corner of Pine and Grove Streets, Zumbach recalls that the first gathering drew 50 classic cars with the vehicles’ attendant enthusiasts. In an essential way—and one which Zumbach himself works hard to preserve—his original vision hasn’t changed a bit. “People come from all over just to look and talk cars—and that is the basis of the hobby,” Zumbach said. “It’s what drives the hobby: wanting to see other cars, learn about cars, meet other owners,” he added.