On the night of September 29, dozens of friends and customers filled the Old Mill Grocery & Deli at 222 Hillspoint Road. They came from the neighborhood and from well beyond it to say goodbye to Romanacci's, and owners Graziano and Maurizio Ricci covered the food and drinks. 06880 reported that the brothers chose not to renew their lease. They said they enjoyed their time and did not lose money, and they are turning to a new restaurant opening in Darien.
Romanacci's is the second operator to leave since 2022, and each gave its own business reasons. The next one will sign on while two open questions are still being decided: a court appeal and a Planning & Zoning proposal. Together they will settle what a market on this residential corner is allowed to offer.
A Century of Owners, Then a Faster Clock
Harry F. Sherwood built the store in 1919 and hired Sylvester and Florence Young to run it. The Youngs bought it in 1927. Kenneth Montgomery bought a half-interest in 1929, Mabel Montgomery bought the Youngs' remaining half in 1937, and Kenneth ran the store until 1985. Ownership passed to Old Mill Associates in 1986. In later years it traded as Kenny's, Elvira's and Joey's by the Shore.
Since 2022, the pace has looked very different:
| Period | Who ran the store | How it ended |
|---|---|---|
| 1929 to 1985 | The Young and Montgomery families as co-owners until 1937, then Kenneth Montgomery until 1985 | Ownership moved to Old Mill Associates in 1986 |
| Before March 2022 | Joey's by the Shore | Closed several months before the rescue campaign while the owners weighed a residential sale |
| July 2022 to September 30, 2023 | TGB Hospitality Group, operators of The Granola Bar | Did not renew while focusing staff and resources on new Connecticut and New York locations |
| January 2024 to September 29, 2026 | Romanacci | Did not renew while turning to a new restaurant in Darien |
Kenneth Montgomery was part of the store from 1929 until 1985. The two operators since the 2022 rescue stayed about 14 months and roughly three years, and both left to put their attention on other restaurants. In 2022 the owner also changed, from private hands to a nonprofit with a stated mission.
The Neighbors Who Bought a Deli
When 06880 covered the store in March 2022, it had already been dark for months. Its owners couldn't find an operator and were looking at a sale to a residential buyer. That spring, five founders organized Soundview Empowerment Alliance: Jim Hood, Ian Warburg, Chris Tait, Emily Ashken Zobl and Tommy Febbraio. The nonprofit had three goals: keep the building from going residential, keep it running as a market and deli, and provide training and jobs for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
In about two months, organizers raised the $1.51 million purchase price through community contributions and a Fairfield County Bank mortgage, as 06880 reported in May 2022. The store had served nearby households along with beachgoers headed to or from Compo, joggers, cyclists, workers and other passersby.
Under that structure the nonprofit owns the building and an outside operator runs the store. Each operator works inside the rules attached to the lot.
The Box Every Operator Inherits
In its October 21 report, the Westport Journal explained that the store does not conform to the zoning for its residential location. It is allowed to stay only because it was operating before those rules were enacted. Under the town's agenda, the lot sits in the Residence B District.
In practice, that means a grocery and deli can keep running on the corner, but the use has limits on how far it can expand. The town tried to change that once. A text amendment would have extended outdoor eating and on-premises alcohol sales to retail food establishments operating in residential zones since before September 2024. According to the Westport Journal, Superior Court Judge Dale W. Radcliffe overturned that law in a February 18 ruling. He agreed with opponents that it was a "transparent tactic designed to circumvent the prohibition against expanding nonconforming uses."
Under the ruling, outdoor eating and on-premises alcohol sales stay off the table at 222 Hillspoint Road unless the appeal or a new regulation changes that.
Two Tracks Running at Once
The owners are now working on two fronts, both described in the Westport Journal's coverage:
- The appeal. The Appellate Court has accepted the owners' petition to review Judge Radcliffe's ruling. Their attorney, Eric Bernheim, told Planning & Zoning he expects a decision to take more than a year.
- A new district. While the appeal is pending, Bernheim proposed a new regulation creating a Food and Beverage Planned Development District, with the Commission choosing which lots could be included. He also proposed putting 222 Hillspoint Road in that district.
The town's November 2 agenda lists the proposal as Text Amendment #875, a new section §32-30 for lots used as grocery stores, delicatessens, retail food establishments, restaurants, cafes and taverns. It would permit outdoor eating areas and on-premises alcohol sales in a retail food establishment. A companion item, Map Amendment #876, would rezone 222 Hillspoint Road from Residence B to the new district, contingent on the text amendment passing.
This goes beyond Hillspoint Road. The Westport Journal reported that other properties in residential areas that could be included in the district are Gruel Britannia at 161 Cross Highway and the Country Store deli at 332 Wilton Road. At the hearing, Bernheim said the district is meant to give the Commission "as much discretion as you need to make sure that only the right lots are placed into this PDD."
Residents have spoken on both sides. A residents' group, the Old Mill Preservation Group, opposes the alcohol sales, and its attorney told the Commission he expects the new regulation to be rejected by the courts as well. Three RTM members spoke in favor. One of them, Chris Tait, said, "What we're looking for is to keep this gem alive. And we're not trying to make it any more than that."
Both public hearings were continued from October 19 to November 2, and the agenda says each must close by November 23, 2026. Meeting materials are posted on the town's P&Z Pending Applications & Recent Approvals page, and the Planning & Zoning Commission agenda lists how to submit written comments. This is a summary of public filings and news coverage, not legal advice. Anyone whose property or business could be affected by a zoning change should speak with a land-use attorney.
What the Landlord Is Offering Instead
The zoning question sets the limits. Rent is the other half of what an operator weighs, and Soundview Empowerment Alliance has addressed it publicly. In a September 18 opinion piece on 06880, Jim Hood and Ian Warburg wrote on SEA's behalf:
"SEA didn't acquire 222 Hillspoint Road as a real estate investment. And our goal isn't to maximize the financial return on the property."
They said that position lets them offer the next operator "a modest, commercially reasonable rent designed to help the business succeed." They also wrote that they are "not out to recreate Elvira's, or Kenny's before it." The goal, in their words, is to find the operator who can build "the 2026 version of the neighborhood market Westport has embraced for more than a century."
So the offer to a prospective operator has two parts. The rent is set to help a business last, not to maximize the landlord's return. The permitted uses are fixed by the store's nonconforming status unless the appeal or the new district changes them. As of the September 30 coverage, SEA was talking with potential operators and hoping for a fairly quick reopening. The September 18 statement said the same about those talks and added that the owners believe they can find the next right operator.
The Dates That Shape the Corner This Winter
The P&Z hearings on Text Amendment #875 and Map Amendment #876 must close by November 23. The appeal of the February ruling is now before the Appellate Court, and the owners' attorney expects that review to take more than a year.
Down the road, Compo Beach is in its off-season dog schedule. Dogs have been allowed back since October 1 for a six-month season. They must stay leashed outside the off-leash area south of the pavilion, which includes South Beach, and they are not allowed in the pavilion, playground or walkways.
When Bernheim made his case at the October hearing, he called the 107-year-old store "a jewel to the beach community," the Westport Journal reported. Whoever runs it next will be working within whatever the Commission and the courts decide about that corner of Residence B.
Shoreline properties near Compo and Old Mill have their own mix of zoning, history and neighborhood institutions, and buyers notice all of it. If you own near the water and want to know how those details affect what your home is worth, Jackie Davis & Team can walk you through it. Request a Confidential Home Valuation.
