‘Caffeine & Carburetors’ To Be Held Downtown Sept. 12

For the first time in two years, the grassroots antique and speciality car show that’s drawn thousands of attendees to New Canaan in the past is set to return next month to the downtown. ‘Caffeine & Carburetors’ will be held Sept. 12 on Pine and Elm Streets, following approvals this week by health and other municipal officials. “it will definitely be a big show,” said Doug Zumbach, owner of the eponymous coffee shop at Pine and Grove Streets where Caffeine & Carburetors was founded. “So I’m really excited.

Podcast: Zumbach’s Coffee Owner Doug Zumbach

This week on 0684-Radi0, our free podcast (subscribe here in the iTunes Store), we talk to Doug Zumbach, owner of Zumbach’s Gourmet Coffee at Pine and Grove Streets downtown, and founder of Caffeine & Carburetors, the popular car show that is to return to New Canaan at Waveny this October, after taking a year off due to COVID-19. Zumbach tells us how his business navigated the pandemic and what the community response has been like, and he hints that there may be more than one Caffeine & Carburetors this year. Here are recent episodes of 0684-Radi0:

October ‘Caffeine & Carburetors’ Car Show Canceled 

The founder of a popular car show that draws 3,000-plus people to New Canaan has canceled what was to be the final installment of 2020. Originally scheduled for Oct. 18 at Waveny, Caffeine & Carburetors has been cancelled due to COVID-19 virus and related restrictions, according to Doug Zumbach, owner of an eponymous coffee shop on Pine Street. “The state of Connecticut is allowing outdoor events with up to 500 attendees or 25% of last year’s attendees,” Zumbach said. “With over 3,000 people attending each of our events last year, our C&C event format clearly does not conform to the current state regulations.”

Though rates in Connecticut are low, “I believe no automotive event large or small is worth an attendee catching COVID-19 or that our event could cause the spread of this virus,” he said.

May ‘Caffeine & Carburetors’ Downtown Canceled 

The founder of a popular car show that draws thousands of people to New Canaan each year said Tuesday that he’s canceling the May event for health and safety reasons. 

Doug Zumbach, owner of the eponymous coffee shop at Pine and Grove Streets, said the May 17 Caffeine & Carburetors scheduled for downtown New Canaan would be canceled. The situation in town hasn’t changed much in the past month “and I think we all owe it to each other to keep ourselves healthy, and our neighbors healthy,” Zumbach told NewCanaanite.com. 

“In running a Caffeine & Carburetors event, there is just no possibility of keeping a social distance, and I just will not tax our systems—the police, EMTs, the town—just to run a car event,” he said. “We have to keep everyone safe and happy.”

He already canceled the April gathering, which had been planned for this past Sunday. As of Tuesday night, New Canaan had 152 positive cases of the COVID-19 virus and 21 residents had succumbed to coronavirus disease, according to the Officer of Emergency Management. Schools, parks and non-essential businesses all have been forced to shutter by orders of the governor and first selectman, while restaurants have switched to delivery- and pickup-only models, and retailers have pushed e-commerce channels.