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Destination: The Stand

It’s just 8:30 a.m. on a balmy summer Sunday, and a steady stream of fluffy egg, bacon and cheese “Standwiches” are already chugging out of the canteen to satisfy patiently waiting fans of The Stand.

The tasty breakfast Standwiches, thick with smoky sweet bacon, hint at the succulent lunch and dinner barbeque joining the menu later in the day. Locally-sourced meats bask for hours in a smoker at the edge of The Stand’s farm garden at 196 South Montowese St. The scent alone is enough to pull in new customers, and it does, said chef/restaurateur and business co-owner Eamon Roche.

”You get really devoted followers very quickly with that food,” said Roche.

Roche and his partner, Branford-New York entrepreneur Greg Nobile, sat down with The Sound recently to talk about their vision for re-imagining The Stand into a place like Branford’s never seen, but has already embraced.

First and foremost, props go to The Stand’s originators and past owners, Mike and Sue Beatty of Indian Neck. The couple carried on the multi-generation Beatty family’s Indian Neck Garage business for decades. About ten years ago, they began morphing the property into a year-round general store and seasonal farm stand offering local (and Stand garden-grown) produce, as well as cut flowers and local products like organic honey.

Next to be recognized are current property owners, Kevin O’Neill and Ted Cwiertniewicz, visionaries in their own right. They bought the garage land and adjoining property in 2014 and didn’t want to see one of the last large chunks of this shoreline enclave fall to a developer’s backhoe.

”They live down here and they didn’t want it to become a convenience store,” said Roche. “Neither of them wanted to see anything change, except to the extent you had to make alterations to make a viable business. The way that we signed the lease, the terms that we have, all of it is speaking to everybody in this community wanting this to work out as a community center. So I think that we were the perfect fit for them.”

The Vision

Roche and Nobile are dedicated to creating a vibrant, new kind of community locale that keeps its local heritage intact.  Site changes will bring a level, gravel parking lot onto an open piece of land that once held cars waiting for garage work. There will be upgrading the entrances and exits fronting the current parking area (creating better sight-line and traffic circulation) and, by next April, the addition of a year-round counter service restaurant and bar (with live music) in the existing garage building.

The building already contains Nobile’s satellite office for New York-based Seaview Productions.All of the new changes have already been approved  Branford’s Planning and Zoning Commission. It’s all been done a dizzying speed, considering the Nobile and Roche signed the contract for the lease less than six months ago.

”It was one of these projects where Eamon and I know each other through a mutual colleague, and I knew that he had the food truck and was looking to do some more things with it; and, like me, he was looking to do some more development work in this community,” said Nobile.

Nobile heads the Tony-Award winning Broadway and West End production company Seaview Productions with co-owner and Branford resident Jan Shea.  Nobile was hunting down a Branford office space for an employee moving back to Connecticut when Branford realtor Greg Robbins mentioned the garage was going on the market.

”He said, ‘Tomorrow I’m listing the Indian Neck Garage,’ and I said, ‘No, you’re not, we’ll take it.’ I called Eamon that afternoon,” said Nobile.

A lifelong Branford resident, Nobile, 23, has a built-in appreciation for his hometown and recognized a renaissance underway in this area. The change is buoyed by recent upgrades. This spring, Branford’s Crowley family opened the new Stony Creek Brewery alongside the Branford River. A soon-to-be completed southbound “up and over” platform is being added to the expanded Amtrak rail station. Both are located just a few minutes down the road from The Stand.

”It seems in these couple of square miles a lot of stuff is happening, but I really think more and more people are discovering Branford,” said Nobile. “And I think that the people that are here and know the community the best are starting to discover Branford, even though they’ve been here; and  the people that have the means to do so are investing in it. And a lot of them are really local people, like the Crowley’s, who are putting their money where their passion is.”

Nobile added, “There’s this sense of community throughout the entire town (and) I think our interest here, and making a significant investment in this community, is to nurture that. I’m super excited in how people are developing and people are investing here. Because it’s smart and it’s creative and it’s different —- and it’s all centered around community.”

Filling a Niche, Breaking New Ground

The Stand adds more to a busy hive of businesses neighboring the property, including  restaurant and bar commerce. Shoreline favorite Lenny’s Indian Head Inn is just across the street. Local fave Indian Neck Pizza is just a few doors down; small-but-popular E. McHenry’s Pub is a few steps more and Owenego Inn & Beach Club is a short walk away.

”We’re aware that there’s really good pizza down here, and of course there’s great seafood across the street; but there’s a lot of other stuff that there isn’t,” said Roche. “So we’re happy to be the guys who fill in for everything that isn’t — including just being able to sell a loaf of bread and basic staples people want and need.”

In addition to the great food coming out of the smoker and canteen, The Stand offers fresh, local products people have come to expect in season, thanks to the groundwork laid by the Beatty’s.

”People know this site, and since we didn’t knock the building down there’s an expectation that we’re maintaining pieces of it, and it’s also very important for us to inherit all the things that were here,” said Nobile. “Milk was here from a certain brand and we wanted to maintain that. There were 11 girls on staff here we and wanted to maintain that. We’ve given the opportunity, if it works out, for everybody to stay on our team; including the gardeners and the managers and the vendors.”

The Stand even offers small propane tank fill-ups (a hold-over from the garage days). And while the garage building’s exterior has been freshened up with paint, it still carries its vintage Mobil Gas “Pegasus,” a red flying horse, above the entrance. When adding in the new business name, Roche and Nobile saved Indian Neck Garage’s original blue hand-made wooden letters and re-used them with additional letters replicated by local artist Ben Baker.

”We’re trying to take every single element, almost like archeologists unearthing what was here and what people want, and putting it back together again so it works,” said Roche. “Before it was a garage, and we’re not going to be fixing cars here; but it is funny when you’re running around getting food and filling propane and getting vegetables out of the garden. So we’re wearing a lot of hats already. Mike (Beatty) was amazing because he was wearing all the hats and he was going to fix your clutch!”

A Rising Restaurant

Roche, a Guilford resident, is a successful Manhattan restaurateur who operated both French  and French Vietnamese restaurants for demanding clientele. He’s currently working in New York City in his other field of interest, construction and development; while continuing to pursue his passion for creating good food. Roche has developed a following on the shoreline for his barbecue. He drew appreciative crowds last fall while serving at Bishop’s Orchards (Guilford) and also at The Stand (under different management) during a few visits last summer.

In opening The Stand’s current eatery and planning its next phase to add an indoor restaurant, Roche weeded out the “high wire act” and expense tied into coordinating and firing food in a service-oriented restaurant.

”I just thought down here we can still do great food, but if we can do it as food that’s basically already made — coming out of the smoker — served with a lot of composed salads and grains and things that hold, we can do it at pretty much half what it would cost to do ‘to order’ and we could have a lot more fun doing it,” Roche said.

The Stand’s indoor restaurant will include a full bar. Patrons will grab a tray, order service from a counter display cabinet, find a seat and head to the bar to order drinks.

”It’s a more typical way to serve food down south,” said Roche. “It’s extremely casual and fun and I’ve seen this model coming up to the northeast a bit lately — it’s happening in Brooklyn right now. I thought it was really kind of fun and perfect for the site. And we want that kind of a service model for year ‘round indoors, then indoors and outdoors during the high season.”

The way Roche coaxes flavor into the brisket, pork, chicken, ribs and other meats in his custom-made smoker is a story in itself.

”I got into barbecue about five years ago. I never really liked it, and then I happened to eat some really good food in New York at a street fair, and I started talking to guy who made it,” said Roche. “So I just sort of unraveled his story. I found the guy who taught him down in Macon, Georgia, and then went down and studied with him, and bought his smoker and brought it up here and just started doing it. I really got addicted to it.”

Roche takes advantage of fresh produce, including what’s picked from The Stand’s own rows, to whip up creative, light and tasty sides (check the daily menu board for the latest).”We don’t do all the typical barbecue sides because it gets very heavy. Because we have the garden, we’re able to mix it up. You can have the world’s freshest salad because we’ll pick it for you when you come here and order it, and we’ll dress it right then and you’ll have really healthy, light food,” said Roche. “It’s very simple stuff, well done. That’s really what we want to get back to. It’s sort of chef’s creations, which is very good cooking.”

Input and Evolution

The latest addition to the property, the pergola, has become a self-serve spot with baskets of produce lining outside shelves. Inside, a fridge with local milk, eggs, fresh cheeses and other staples face wooden shelves holding oversized glass containers of cold-brewed iced tea and coffee, and carafes of hot coffee (including exclusive The Stand blend from Willoughby’s of Branford). There are locally-made pastries and cookies to choose from, and board games to borrow and play at colorfully painted, umbrella-topped picnic tables.

Offerings will continue to evolve; due in part to customer input that’s been rolling in since the business quietly opened Memorial Day Weekend, noted Roche.

”We had an audience in search of a venue,” said Roche.  “Because it’s been such a slow roll out, we’ve been able to be more responsive to what people here want, and believe me, they’re telling us what they want, every day! So in the middle of trying to fill up propane tanks; they’re telling us what they want and we’re listening and we’re actually learning a lot. I mean, we didn’t realize how important breakfast was going to be; but it’s obvious now. And it starts at breakfast and it doesn’t let up all day.”

In fact, the very popular Standwich didn’t debut until three weeks ago. Roche created it to address patrons looking for hot breakfast items.

”The first day, we sold eight sandwiches and the next we sold 25, and third we sold over 100. It’s been a really strong response to that and it’s great,” said Roche, who also adds other delicious chef’s creations such as sweet potato flapjacks and French Toast casserole to morning menus.

Some credit for that quick Standwich response also belongs to Nobile, who has a huge base of contacts and supporters on the shoreline due his years of philanthropic and professional work here, beginning when he was not yet a teen.  Nobile often takes to social media to update followers on what’s happening at The Stand. He posted a Standwich pic on its debut date.  Soon, he’ll  announce a date when The Stand will hold a celebration weekend.

”We never did have an opening weekend celebration; we just kind of had a running start. So an opening weekend’s not far out,” said Nobile.

But don’t wait for an invitation to check out The Stand, because it’s already growing in popularity among customers hooked from their first visit.

”I think it’s important for people to come and see this place, because when you try to tell people what this site is, it doesn’t do it justice,” said Nobile. “Then they come and see it and understand it; and they keep coming back. So there’s a real sense of community and a sense of something very exciting being built here; and I think that’s part of the magic.”

The Stand, located at 196 South Montowese St., is currently open daily from 7 a.m. – 7 p.m. with Farm Stand products, general store sundries and serving breakfast, lunch and dinner (BYOB) through October 2015. The Stand will re-open in April 2016 with a new indoor food and bar concept added.  For more information, follow TheStandBranford on Twitter and Instagram or www.facebook.com/thestandbranford