Government

Parks & Rec Approves Oct. 22 ‘Caffeine & Carburetors’ Car Show in Waveny

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Parks officials last week approved the use of Waveny for a popular specialty and classic car show this coming fall. Caffeine & Carburetors will be held Sunday, Oct. 22 in the park following a unanimous vote by the Parks & Recreation Commission at its regular meeting, held Feb. 8 in Lapham Community Center and via videoconference. 

Referring to last October’s C&C in Waveny, Chair George Benington said, “I should note that the feedback from everybody there, especially the police, was that it was a much better organized event than in years previous, and that traffic flow both in and out worked a lot more smoothly.”

In addition to Benington, Commission Secretary Francesca Segalas and members Steve Haberstroh, Hank Green, Doug Murphy, Keith Richey, Timothy Klimpl, Gene Goodman and Jake Granito voted in favor. 

Launched by New Canaan’s Doug Zumbach outside his eponymous coffee shop at Pine and Grove Streets in 2008, the show quickly began drawing crowds from about a dozen vehicles to 50 and more, outgrowing that small area. In 2023, C&C will run three shows, according to its website—on May 21 and Sept.

Around Town

PHOTOS: Final ‘Caffeine & Carburetors’ of 2022 Held in Waveny 

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An estimated 1,300 auto enthusiasts descended on Waveny Park on a crisp, overcast morning Sunday for the final 2022 installment of an increasingly popular car show. Launched by New Canaan’s Doug Zumbach at his eponymous coffee shop on Pine and Grove Streets, Caffeine & Carburetors features hundreds of classic and specialty autos, drawing gearheads from the community, region and beyond. Zumbach said more than 30 volunteers helped with parking and directing attendees. “CERT [the Community Emergency Response Team] is here helping us, I think we have five New Canaan Police on hand,” Zumbach said. “Well-staffed, well-organized and I think people are having fun.”

Attendees holding cameras, pushing baby strollers and clutching dog leashes roamed through much of the park around the main house for three hours in the morning, leaning over open hoods, visiting vendor booths and getting food from one of three food trucks parked near the Orchard Field for the increasingly popular event. 

Brian Sahai, branch manager at New Canaan’s Bankwell, a longtime sponsor of Caffeine & Carburetors, said, “This is a wonderful event that puts a nice spotlight on a community we all love.”

Around Town

PHOTOS: ‘Caffeine & Carburetors’ Opens 2022 Season Downtown

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Thousands of car enthusiasts came to downtown New Canaan on Sunday morning for the 2022 debut of a popular auto show founded by town resident Doug Zumbach. Launched as a small gathering of specialty and classic car lovers on Pine Street, by Zumbach’s eponymous coffee shop, Caffeine & Carburetors has evolved into a regional even multi-state draw for New Canaan, held four times per year—on Pine and Elm Streets downtown and in Waveny. “The turnout is wonderful,” Zumbach said on a crisp and clear spring morning near the intersection of Pine and Park Streets as throngs of people walked the pedestrian-only areas to look at the cars, many of them wearing babybjorns, pushing strollers or gripping leashes. “Big shoutout to all of my volunteers,” he said. “Thank you [First Selectman] Kevin Moynihan, [Moynihan staffer] Tucker [Murphy] for helping, [Highway Superintendent] Mosey [Saccary], [Public Works Director] Tiger Mann, the Police Department.

News

Caffeine & Carburetors Founder Seeks October Date in Waveny

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The New Canaan founder of a popular car show is seeking permission from the town to hold an event in Waveny this fall. Doug Zumbach, owner of the eponymous coffee shop on Pine Street, said he’s hoping to book a Waveny installation of Caffeine & Carburetors for Oct. 16, or if not then the following weekend or the one after that. 

“There are, I know, other activities proposed,” Zumbach told members of the Parks & Recreation Commission at their Jan. 12 meeting, held via videoconference. “I haven’t really been able to secure final dates on some of these, but the first choice I would have would be October 16th in the park.”

Yet town officials say they need to wait for the district to confirm whether the parking lots at New Canaan High School could be used by C&C attendees, or if there’s SAT training or testing.

Business

Local Business Q&A: Zumbach’s Gourmet Coffee

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For today’s Q&A with a local business owner this holiday shopping season, we hear from New Canaan resident Doug Zumbach of Zumbach’s Gourmet Coffee on Pine Street. Here’s our exchange. New Canaanite: We talked in the early weeks of the pandemic last year, and your coffee shop at Pine and Grove was among the local businesses that really had to change its operations at that time. When we connected again in July, you were still looking for some parts of the business to return. Where do things stand now?