Old Mill Grocery & Deli: Rescued and Reopened in Westport

Double smash burger after a day at the beach? Don’t mind if I do!

On the heels of a slick renovation at their Rye, NY location, The Granola Bar founders, Julie Mountain and Dana Noorily are at it again. This time, however, their focus is in Westport. No, not at their flagship of TGB, but in the Compo Beach area at Old Mill Grocery & Deli.

Old Mill, though, is a very different venture for this dynamic duo. But before Mountain and Noorily could put their magic touch on this neighborhood gem, a lot had to happen.

Pastries and sourdough come to Old Mill via Flour Water Salt Bread

First, the building that was built in 1919—which had been many iterations of Old Mill and a few Elvira’s in an over 100 year span—needed to be saved after the owners up to last year, Betsy and Hal Kravitz, moved out of Westport, putting a longtime neighborhood favorite at risk of being purchased and demolished for what likely would have been another beach area home. That’s when Westport residents Jim Hood, Ian Warburg, and Chris Tait formed Soundview Empowerment Alliance to rally the community to preserve the historic space.

Via donations from residents current and former, and a public GoFundMe that raised another couple hundred grand, Old Mill was able to be rescued for a total of over $1.5 million.

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Now that Old Mill has been saved and resurrected, there’s a dream team in place that won’t only see it operated as a grocery store plus a deli and coffee shop, but they’ve filed for a 501(c)(3) as they plan to train and employ individuals with disabilities as well as support and fund environmental protection in the community.

But with a resurrection comes an updated, more elevated menu. Don’t worry, you can still grab random household items, Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, chips, and we have it on good authority they even have some Choco Tacos—but you better hurry if you want a few of those.

Sandwiches are a focus, like the “Off the Boat,” grilled chicken, homemade pesto, fresh mozzarella, and roasted red peppers.

It’s not all burgers and fried chicken! “The Gardener” combines grilled veggies, avocado, hummus, and fresh herbs on multigrain bread.

The “elevation” is where Mountain and Noorily come in with a few new TGB team members in executive chef Anthony Rinaldi (formerly of Kawa Ni) and food and beverage director JJ Henao (Fortina, Taco Daddy).

JJ Henao and Anthony Rinaldi come to Old Mill and to The Granola Bar with a ton of industry experience. Mountain says, “They’re part of our overall team. Anthony and JJ are helping move Old Mill forward because we’re (me and Dana) are not chefs. They’re instrumental in getting this place ready. Our whole staff is amazing.”

“This is not a Granola Bar, but it has aspects of it like the coffee program,” Mountain explains. “We’re residents and our kids are in the school system here, so we can’t mess this up. We have fond memories of taking them to Elvira’s. We posted a photo recently of a kid eating ice cream that said, ‘the next generation is here,’ and we want to continue the legacy. The tight knit community here is so passionate and came together to save this building, so our goal is to give them something that’s a little more elevated.”

A stacked hot honey coated fried chicken sandwich. It’s fine if you drooled a little.

Aside from a bacon, egg, and cheese or the breakfast burritos, avocado toasts, smoothies, and salads that you should expect, there’s some guilty pleasure happening here amongst all the healthy fare. Inspired by the evening menu at TGB Rye is a juicy, cheesy, pickle-laden smash burger doused with thousand island. Trust this, you’ll want to make yours a double.

Sticking with the upscale fast casual theme, there’s a fried chicken sandwich coated in hot honey, stacked on a Wave Hill brioche bun with creamy coleslaw, a touch of green goddess dressing, and plenty of tangy pickles.

Some pizza creations are veggie or vegan friendly. Others are covered with sweet, tangy BBQ chicken and onions.

And while grab and go sandwiches are a central theme, Rinaldi and the kitchen crew have added artisan pizzas with a light vegan dough that’s a cross between Neapolitan crust and New York style. For the latecomers who wish you grab something carby, OMG has six pasta dishes and two types of garlic knots that are available after 4 p.m.

Spice up those garlic knots! For inquiring minds: garlic-chili furikake. Or you can go classic garlic parm.

Cacio e pepe!

According to Henao, coming soon for Old Mill and the team are pop-up dinners to be held off site and in the center of the deli. “We’re planning on hosting dinners on the beach for 10-15 people with special curated themed menus,” he says. “We’re thinking of bringing in guest chefs that are friends of ours, too. From there, we’ll see what the community asks for and build off that. In the winter, we’ll host them inside. We’ll clear out the space and put a big community table in the middle.”

OMG! Old Mill Grocery is here to stay!

222 Hillspoint Road; Westport
203.701.9969; oldmillgrocery.com