Home Care In New Milford, CT

You could call it a cafe with a gothic flair.

But it’s so much more too.

The owners have created a space dedicated to literature and art, with digital artwork, photography, books, board games, and comfortable spaces for customers to relax with coffee and a pastry.

Raven’s Bakehouse, a European style café, is one of the newest additions to the business community on New Milford’s Bank Street.

The interior has a decidedly gothic mood, with a devotion to Edgar Allan Poe and other writers.

The walls are painted black, with an accent wall papered with ravens, black tree branches and red roses. The seating includes plush loveseats and couches, small tables for two or four, and a longer table for larger groups.

The décor includes bejeweled chandeliers, old-fashioned lamps, a small fireplace, a curated book collection, and a red electric guitar formerly owned by Slash from the band Guns ‘n Roses, according to Shirley Calogero and her husband Frank.

And that theme, they said, is attracting writers and other creative people who have found a place to network and make new friends. Visitors say it’s got a “great vibe” and reasonably priced food and beverages.

“I’m a huge Poe fan, also Lewis Carroll,” Calogero said. “And I love ravens – I think they’re beautiful creatures. Many of the artists featured here, I found on Etsy.”

Her favorite artists, she said, are Disney creators Michael Reyes and Jasmine Becket; she also likes Salvador Dali, and loves the illustrations in Lewis Carroll’s “Alice in Wonderland” stories.

A resident of Woodbury and a New Rochelle, N.Y. native, she said she is still learning about Litchfield County towns and what makes them so attractive to visitors and residents alike.

The Calogeros discovered New Milford’s downtown a few years ago.

“It’s just amazing downtown, and there’s a lot going on in town,” Calogero said. “But there wasn’t a coffee shop. We started looking around to see what was available.”

They settled on the former home of Bank Street Books, which closed in 2018. Since then, several other businesses have used the space, including a bridal shop and a cheese and gift store. When the latter business closed, the Calogeros jumped at the chance, and signed a lease in April.

The business space is next door to the Bank Street Theater and across from Lucia restaurant and Jamie’s Sweet Shop, which brings plenty of foot traffic to Raven’s door.

Shirley Calogero said she worked in the fashion design industry for 20 years, after studying art and design in college.

“I did it for a long time, but I wanted to do something else,” she said. “I was ready for a change. I’ve never owned a business before, so I’m learning a lot.”

Her baking skills keep her busy in the small kitchen in the rear of the café, where she makes scones shaped like spades from a deck of cards and topped with berries, fruit-topped personal cheesecakes; crumb cakes, cannolis and tiramisu.

Her curated bakery selections also include sfogliatelle, an Italian pastry; croissants and homemade macarons in a variety of flavors and colors. These treats are made by local bakers, “because I can’t make everything myself,” she said.

The café serves coffee from Saccuzzo of Newington, which the couple says is the best. They prepare coffee, espresso, lattes and cappuccinos, with a range of flavorings available, as well as cold beverages.

But in spite of the name Raven’s Bakehouse, the Calogeros said, it’s not a bakery.

“The idea is a European style café, with good coffee and things to eat,” Shirley said. “People think there’s bakery in the back but it’s just me and a small oven. I guess people really love bakeries; they ask for a dozen of this or that.”

Raven’s Bakehouse will be offering events, the Calogeros said: book signings, live music and perhaps book discussions or other literary-related gatherings. An Alice-In-Wonderland-themed evening tea party or a Tarot card reading night are also possible, Shirley Calogero said.

“We want people to find this place inviting, somewhere they can sit and write, or talk to their friends, or meet other people,” she said. “I’ve seen it happen already, people meeting here because they have the same interests.”

To reach Raven’s Bakehouse, located at 50 Bank St., New Milford, visit the Facebook page or call 860-717-4448.

NEW MILFORD – A Colorado company planning to build a large-scale energy storage battery farm capable of powering tens of thousands of homes for a few hours drew opposition from a crowd of residents and town leaders over safety concerns during a 2 ½-hour informational meeting.

“You made a comment [on an application] that this project is less impactful to the environment and ecologically more beneficial than a housing project,” said William Taylor, chair of New Milford’s Zoning Commission, during the packed meeting. “Can you explain what you mean by that and how you came to that conclusion? Because it’s not obvious”

“This part of the country is in critical need of capacity services due to the aging electrical infrastructure,” said Charlie McGovern, director of development for Flatiron Energy, which wants to build a 140-megawatt battery energy storage plant on residential Aspetuck Ridge Road. “The ability for us to interconnect into the grid at this point and provide such a service to the local distribution system is huge for the local resiliency of this community.”

A Flatiron colleague added that the installation of dozens of lithium iron phosphate battery cells represented a “low impact project.”

“There’s not going to be trucking coming in and out,” said Sarah Salem, director of environmental justice and community investment for Flatiron. “It doesn’t add to the localized pollution. It won’t add traffic.”

New Milford leaders and 22 residents didn’t agree, raising concerns about battery fires and the plant’s impact on environmentally sensitive land, which includes a stretch of the West Aspetuck River.

“What is in it for the town other than tax revenue?” asked Sharon Shuester during the Dec. 3 meeting.

Much of the frustration expressed by residents during the hearing was that New Milford has standing but no real say in the debate over a major battery farm in its own back yard.

Instead, the Connecticut Siting Council has jurisdiction over the decision.

“We have had these informational meetings before for things that are beyond the control of this zoning commission [such as] cell towners and solar projects over one megawatt,” Taylor told the crowd. “We will write a letter after this [meeting] expressing our concerns or our positives and negatives, however this comes out.”

“We can say ‘no,’ but does it mean anything?” asked Cheryl Hill from the crowd.

“We have taken our concerns to the Connecticut Siting Council before and had hearings in front of them before on a 20-megawatt solar project that was never built,” Taylor said. “So we do have some influence. Am I going to say it’s huge? No. We have some. Just not a lot.”

Flatiron Energy’s interest in New Milford comes at a time when there are increasing numbers of battery farms under development across Connecticut.

ISO New England, which oversees the region’s wholesale power market, listed 30 active battery farm projects last year statewide.

Flatiron Energy, which is building a 200-megawatt battery farm in Uxbridge, Mass., said it plans to complete construction in New Milford by mid-to-late 2028.

A public hearing is expected to be conducted in the summer.

In the meantime, the company said it can begin formulating a host community agreement with New Milford to tailor the delivery of unspecified benefits to the town.

“I can recognize how sensitive this is for the community,” Salem said. “We hear you and we’re here to be a partner with you.”

“A lot of people are asking, ‘What do we get out of this’ as residents?” said Robert DiMichele, a Zoning Commission alternate. “What’s in it for us?”

“We have the ability to work with you guys on what a community host agreement may look like,” said McGovern. “We would like to customize that so that it is working for you in a way that is beneficial.”

NEW MILFORD – Leaders have backed a couple’s vision to breathe life into a vacant Bank Street building by creating a European-style inn that would cater to weekenders from Boston and New York.

Christienne Gerlinger and her husband Manfred say their vision for the Bank Street Inn is to capitalize on New Milford’s “nostalgic small-town charm” and New Milford’s connection to the television series, “Gilmore Girls.”

“[The couple] explains how the Bank Street Inn will stand apart from the typical cookie-cutter accommodations,” reads a letter to New Milford zoning commissioners from Laura Regan, the town’s zoning enforcement officer.

New Milford’s Economic Development Commission agreed.

“(T)he commission members [feel] this would be an asset to the town of New Milford,” wrote Paul Murphy, the commission chair, in an endorsement of the Gerlinger’s inn earlier this month. “The proposed project promotes local tourism, local businesses, and also offers a place to stay in the center of town, something as you know we do not currently have.”

Leaders are referring to the couple’s plan to convert the top two floors of a 1905 Colonial Revival at Bank and Railroad streets into a hostel-style hotel featuring six private guest rooms with communal spaces including a library, a remote work area, and a living room-style lounge.

New Milford’s Zoning Commission gave its unanimous approval with the caveat that there be “no exterior building or site modifications.”

The reason: The red brick building at 64 Bank St. is in the New Milford Center Historic District, which is listed on the National Register of Historic places.

Locals might remember the structure as the Lautier building, after the pharmacist who once owned it. More recently, the building’s street level storefront was home to Archway News, and later to a restaurant that has since closed.

The Gerlinger’s don’t control the street level store front and have no plans to incorporate it into their inn.

“We both have been really excited about doing something like this,” Christienne Gerlinger told Hearst Connecticut Media Group in October, referring to her partnership with her husband. “We’re both in the entertainment industry and have experience running operations and budgeting … and we both have similar tastes and style.”

NEW MILFORD – An eclectic new eatery, Zaza’s On Main, has made its home on the corner of Main Street with an opening planned for mid-December.

“This is different,” said Tyrone “Ty” Taylor, a New Milford resident and co-owner of Zaza’s On Main. “There’s no other spot like this in New Milford.”

Zaza’s on Main, 7 Main St., is a collaboration between Taylor and Arthur “Artie” Praino of New Preston, both of whom have experience in the restaurant industry. Taylor previously owned a “global lounge restaurant” Karma Lounge in Ossining, N.Y., while Praino ran the former tapas restaurant Zaragoza, which opened at 31 Bank St. in New Milford in 2016. Praino is also the owner of Gino’s Parlor of Sandy Hook in Sandy Hook.

Taylor said he met Praino through dining at Zaragoza, and the two of them became good friends. He said they would often go out for dinner and talk about opening their own restaurant.

Praino said he missed being in New Milford after Zaragoza closed in June 2023. When the restaurant space at 7 Main St. became available, he said “everything lined up just right” and they had a lot of support from their friends and family.

“We didn’t do this alone, that’s for sure,” Taylor said.

Zaza’s on Main will be opening Dec. 13, in the space formerly occupied by the Italian restaurant Al Dente. The restaurant will be open from noon to 10 p.m. on Sundays through Thursdays, and from noon to 12 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays.

“I feel like this is Zaragoza on steroids,” Praino said of the new restaurant. “(We’ll have) a lot of the old favorites from Zaragoza plus new items.”

Customers can savor a variety of familiar dishes, from paella, pizza and pasta to jerk pork and chicken, smash burgers, bang bang shrimp, salads, sandwiches and more. The restaurant’s full menu will also be available for takeout on apps like Door Dash, Grub Hub and Slice.

“We’ve got great food, but we (also) have an atmosphere where people can have a drink and relax,” Praino said.

Furnished with velour booths and lounge chairs, chandeliers and a VIP dining area decorated with iconic musicians’ photos, the atmosphere at Zaza’s on Main offers “sophisticated comfort” and “a soft balance between contemporary and classic,” according to the restaurant’s designer Wayne Best. Taylor said he previously worked with Best on the design for Karma Lounge.

With their restaurant’s opening on the horizon, Taylor said he plans to set up a social media presence for Zaza’s on Main. Praino, meanwhile, said his goals for the restaurant are simple.

“The key is to keep consistency, keep good food and atmosphere and keep them coming back,” he said.

Connecticut is known for a few famous things - 'Make it Here', 'The Pizza State', birthplace of the Hamburger, and above all - The Land that inspired Amy Sherman-Palladino to write Gilmore Girls.

Connecticut loves Gilmore Girls, so much so that for the past 10 years or so Gilmore Girls conventions and gatherings have taken place all over the state. Washington Depot tried to host a couple of events, and found out quickly that the real-life inspiration for the fictional series truly wasn't capable of hosting 10,000 rabid fans for a weekend. Then New Milford came along with their "Small Town Convention', and now they've landed their white whale for the 2026 event.

According to smalltownconvention.com, Sean 'Kirk' Gunn will appear at the 2026 event all weekend long from September 4-6, 2026. For those who have never watched Gilmore Girls, first, I strongly urge you as a resident of Connecticut to do so, and second, Sean Gunn is the reason why you will absolutely love the series. Gunn's portrayal of Kirk is one of the best roles of this talented actor's career, and I've repeatedly said right here in my articles that there is a slim chance that Lauren Graham or Alexis Bledel would appear at a fan festival in Connecticut, so the promoters should go after the true star of the show - Gunn, and it's finally happened.

Gunn will be joined at the 2026 Small Town Convention by Scott 'Luke' Patterson, and Gregg "Mitch Huntzberger' Henry, and additional cast members still to be announced.

I love supporting local businesses, it's vital in 2025 to try to devote as much of our income to our friends and neighbors, if not, the wave of closures will continue. I bought four products made in Litchfield County in the past few months that really impressed me. On a National stage, I believe they are as good, if not superior, to the name brands.

There are just some businesses too engrained in our neighborhoods that recession, price increases, cordyceps, and even the apocalypse could kill. I spent 50 of my years in Waterbury, and these four places have not changed, nor should they.