Did You Hear … ?

We’re hearing from an inside source that the “new” Gates Restaurant, closed since the New Canaan mainstay was sold in April, will open early in January. We’re also hearing that locals will recognize some friendly, favorite faces at Gates when it reopens anew, including Rich “Doc” Ludemann (not our source)—a popular figure at the former restaurant (who many of us also call a good friend and former swim coach). The new restaurant will be heavy on craft beers, with an updated look and menu, stage for live music, wood-fired oven and grill, smoker, food bar and more features. ***

Joe Scarborough is listed as one of those who has supported (with $360) the Go Fund Me campaign for the New Canaan Police Department’s K-9 unit. In all, 29 individuals have donated a total of $2,300 to the cause.

Interior Demo of Gates Underway; Mid-Fall Reopening Planned

Gates Interior Demolition August 2015
Interior demolition of the former Gates is in full swing and the New Canaan mainstay’s new owners say it’s on track to reopen mid-fall with an updated look, layout and menu. New Canaanites Jay Luther and Paul Tully, partners in the venture whereby Gates was purchased in April with an eye on reopening with the same name, say locals are excited about planned changes that include a new food bar in the main dining room that looks into an open kitchen with a wood-fired oven, smoker and wood-fired grill. “We are almost as excited as they are to get this open and to reestablish Gates as a go-to place in New Canaan, appealing to a broad base of people,” Tully said on Friday morning, hammer in hand as he joined demolition workers in removing sheetrock to expose the industrial brick inside the restaurant. “Families. Couples.

New Owner of Gates on Plan for Restaurant: ‘Best of the Old and Best of the New’

The “new” Gates will offer classic and new American food, featuring a wood-fired oven and rotisserie as well as an open kitchen, with the overarching goal of restoring the iconic downtown restaurant to its place as the go-to family destination in New Canaan, the business’s new owner said. The restaurant will undergo extensive interior renovation through this summer with an eye on opening in early September, though the “basic locations of everything in restaurant are going to remain the same—they’re just going to get updated,” said Jay Luther, a town resident since 2003. “My objective is to keep it as Gates, it’s a great name—it has a lot of history and lot of awareness—and to contemporize the concept a bit,” Luther said. “Our objective is to create a cool environment that is very welcoming and that is contemporary—the best of the old and best of the new.”

Scores of current and former New Canaanites were reeling with the news last week that Gates, a Forest Street fixture since 1979, had been sold and would close. Owners Billy Auer and Jeb Swift thanked the community for its support as they moved toward their own retirement, and the Gates bar and restaurant were packed on a final night this past Sunday.

Did You Hear … ?

Many New Canaanites by now have seen a rendering of the Midcentury Modern-inspired commercial building that John and Melissa Engel have planned for the lot at 215 Elm St. The architect on the project is Westport-based Frederick William Hoag. Some time after John Engel explained what he had in mind to a University of Maryland School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation professor, a document that included some truly fascinating concepts came in from students (see above). The Maryland architecture program been called the only one in the nation that includes professional Masters programs and related PhD-level studies in planning, preservation and real estate development within the same school. ***

Bill Egan, the newly hired principal of New Canaan High School, has gotten into the spirit of the job very quickly: At his formal introduction at the Board of Education meeting on Monday night, board member Sheri West astutely noted, Egan was sporting a NCHS Rams tie.

SLIDESHOW: Last Call at Gates

Sunday, April 26, 2015 marked the end of an era in New Canaan as Gates Restaurant—a fixture in town since 1979—served up its last meals. “What a wonderful town,” Gates owner Billy Auer told NewCanaanite.com during the final Sunday brunch. “We are very lucky to have had a restaurant in it.” “I’ve been crying all week long” co-owner Ceal Swift said. “When I lock the door for the last time, and say goodnight to Frank’s picture in the urinal, then I’ll know it’s over.”