By Thane Grauel
WESTPORT — As a proposed large-scale rebuilding of Saugatuck looms, a property at the corner of Charles and Franklin streets has been quietly mothballed.
The property at 30 Charles St. — long ago a filling station, car rental location and various eateries — most recently was one of the three Tarry Lodge locations.
Tarry Lodge was the creation of celebrity chef Mario Batali. Batali found cable channel fame some years ago, but then was accused by female employees of groping.
Lawsuits followed. Batali stepped down from the business, but the New Haven, Port Chester, N.Y., and now Saugatuck locations, appear to have been shuttered.
The windows in the Charles Street building are covered up with paper.
The Tarry Lodge website lives on, but when using the locations dropdown menu, New Haven says, “site no longer available.”
The same for Westport.
The phone number for the Westport location also lives on.
“Thank you for calling Tarry Lodge in Westport. We’re currently closed, but our phones open daily at 11 a.m. For restaurant reservations and information …”
The eatery’s Facebook page has been silent since people were invited people to dine al fresco June 4.
The building at 30 Charles St. is 2,643 square feet in size, sitting on a 0.27-acre lot, according to the listing on the commercial real estate site, LoopNet.
Noise from I95 made Tarry Lodge’s viability questionable.
Tarry Lodge lasted eleven years – they seem to have been quite viable (even after Batali’s departure from the business), but the pandemic was likely the nail in the coffin.