Around Town

PHOTOS: Another Successful ‘Caffeine & Carburetors’ Downtown as Rain Holds Off

By |

Thousands of auto enthusiasts joined baby stroller-pushing and dog leash-wielding New Canaanites downtown on Sunday morning for this season’s third installment of Caffeine & Carburetors. With a handful of sponsors that include Bankwell and Rand Insurance, the popular gathering of antique and specialty car enthusiasts featured somewhere between 900 and 1,000 autos for the second of two installments located in New Canaan’s business district (the fourth and final Caffeine & Carburetors will be held Oct. 16 at Waveny), officials said. “The car gods were looking out for us,” said Doug Zumbach, owner of Zumbach’s Gourmet Coffee on Pine Street and founder of the event. “The weather changed dramatically from 80 percent thunderstorms to the sun is out.”

Though clouds threatened to soak the “show” mid-morning, the rain held off and a partly sunny, comfortable morning greeted visitors to Pine and Elm Streets, closed to pedestrian traffic and overseen by New Canaan Police and volunteers.

Around Town

PHOTOS: Caffeine & Carburetors Makes 2016 Waveny Debut

By |

Despite a rainy forecast and some early-morning precipitation, scores of locals and auto enthusiasts gathered in New Canaan Sunday for the 2016 Waveny debut of Caffeine & Carburetors. Directed by police as well as by volunteers recruited by Doug Zumbach to help operate the popular event, attendees moved strolled around the grounds near Waveny House, chit-chatting and snapping photos of classic and specialty cars parked on either side of the main road through the park from Lapham Road and in the lots near the mansion. Zumbach, who founded Caffeine & Carburetors as a small Sunday gathering outside his eponymous gourmet coffee shop on Pine Street, told NewCanaanite.com that the event went “very, very well.”

“I think more and more locals are coming,” Zumbach said about one hour into the morning gathering. “They’re poking their heads out of the window and still coming. It’s turned out to be a very good show.”

Sunday also is set to be a busy day downtown, with the 7th Annual Dog Days New Canaan to run at 1 p.m. at Pet Pantry on Grove Street.

Around Town

PHOTOS: Caffeine & Carburetors Opens 2016 Season in Downtown New Canaan

By |

An estimated 5,000 people and 1,000 cars visited downtown New Canaan on a clear, comfortable spring morning Sunday for the 2016 season opener of Caffeine & Carburetors, the auto enthusiast event that town resident Doug Zumbach launched more than one decade ago as an small gathering at his eponymous coffee shop on Pine Street. Vintage and specialty car lovers joined photo-snapping parents and residents holding leashes and pushing strollers up and down Pine and Elm Streets, while police and the Community Emergency Response Team directed traffic and ensured safety. Zumbach said the sunny skies helped draw the big crowds, and that people have been phone for a few days ahead of time to make inquiries about the popular gathering. “Could not have done it without the governing body of New Canaan, so I’m very happy,” Zumbach said. Sponsors include Bankwell and Rand Insurance, and FM 95.9 The Fox’s DJ and local resident Peter Bush helped emcee Caffeine & Carburetors.

Around Town

Did You Hear … ?

By |

Studio Elan, an established business on Burtis Avenue, is moving into the former Candy Scoop space on Elm Street, up the alley by Chef Luis and next to New Canaan Music. ***

New Canaan Public Schools cafeterias recently earned the No. 1 “Best Food Ranking” from Niche.com. Here’s a peek at the top-10 (Darien is No. 23—nanny nanny boo boo):

New Canaan
Middlefield
Weston
Westport
Wilton
Chester
Killingly
Waterford
Simsbury
Glastonbury

***

Police responded to a call at 1:28 p.m. last Saturday that a dog near Forest Street and Locust Avenue was “going crazy in a car.” The dog’s owner, who was inside the nearby New Canaan Diner, paid her bill and left the restaurant to take care of the barking animal.

Around Town

Parks Officials Support May 22 and Oct. 16 Caffeine & Carburetors at Waveny

By |

Following a successful trial of two Caffeine & Carburetors gatherings at Waveny in 2015 that yielded zero complaints, the event’s founder on Wednesday night secured support from parks officials to pursue two more dates this year. The Park & Recreation Commission voted overwhelmingly in favor of May 22 and Oct. 16 for Caffeine & Carburetors at Waveny—both Sunday mornings. Commissioner Jason Milligan was the sole member of Park & Rec not voting in favor of the event. Doug Zumbach, owner of the eponymous gourmet coffee shop on Pine Street where Caffeine & Carburetors was born as a far smaller gathering of automotive enthusiasts, told the commission at its regular monthly meeting that he’s already garnered Police Commission support for April 17 and Sept.