Side Dishes
Its six-year, frittata-fueled run has drawn national accolades. But on March 10, Hartland’s beloved breakfast and lunch spot, Stella’s, will close. The announced opening of the Hartland Diner in the space, shortly afterward, hasn’t dampened the chagrin of Stella’s fans.
It isn’t the last they’ll see of owners Stacy and Jon Capurso, however. The couple is in the process of purchasing the shuttered Windsor Station Pub in nearby Windsor, where they plan to open a restaurant, lounge and event space this summer.
“It’s quite a magical building,” says Jon Capurso of the 1901 station that has been a restaurant off and on since the 1970s, and whose closure two years ago was a blow for Windsor. “Another restaurant is something we see a need for in Windsor.”
The Capursos, who both built careers in restaurants and hospitality long before they opened Stella’s, always knew they would move on. “We said, ‘Five years,’” Jon Capurso says. “It seems like a good time to try out our next concept.”
The Hartland Diner will be owned and run by Nicole Bartner and is expected to open by April 1.
— C.H.
Despite rumors to the contrary, the Clover House in Colchester is still serving dinner six days a week and brunch on Sundays.
Previous owner Doug Simms and chef Levi Carter decamped to the Lighthouse Restaurant & Lounge, also in Colchester, in January. Since then, Mike O’Brien has taken over as owner, and brought in chef Jason Beeman at the 42 Church Road pub. Beeman says the focus of his current menu is fresh seafood, delivered five days a week, and hand-cut Black Angus steaks.
— A.L.