How Crust Issues Evolved from a Local Takeout Spot to Destination Dining

Features Interview Restaurant Crust Issues Norwalk Pizza Sandwiches Supper Club Breakfast Interview Homepage

Andrew Dominick April 19, 2026

When John Nealon opened Crust Issues, three years ago, he wondered if he’d be able to pay the electric bill each month. He knew going in that giving it another go as an owner after Fortina and after Taco Daddy, The Lila Rose, and Cugine’s Italian, that the restaurant game is a gamble. And he was already up against it by taking a lease across the street from Bob’s Discount Furniture, next to a car wash, and in a spot in a strip mall next to a hair salon, a tattoo parlor, and an adult novelty store. Oh, and the parking there, it sucks. But Nealon’s early mornings slaving over his dough recipe wouldn’t be for nothing. He kept at it and kept pushing, daring to create pizza, pasta, and sandwich combinations that not many others would attempt.

Cosetta Pizzeria and Paninoteca Opens in Fairfield from Bailey's Backyard Team

Features Ingredients Interview Restaurant Pizza Pizzeria Sandwiches Breakfast Coffee Fairfield Opening Homepage Interview Ingredients

Andrew Dominick September 30, 2025

In 2024, when I interviewed Sal Bagliavio, the co-owner of Bailey’s Backyard, about his second spot, Taco Dia in Newtown, he very cryptically mentioned that he and chef/co-owner Forrest Pasternack were actively looking to open something else, somewhere else to follow up their taqueria.

Cosetta Pizzeria and Paninoteca on the Post Road in Fairfield is that something else—and what it is, simply put, is a more gourmet version of the neighborhood slice shop, plus sandwiches (including breakfast), house-made pastry, and coffee.

The Torta Shop Opens in Bridgeport Serving Epic Mexican Sandwiches

Features Interview Restaurant Bridgeport Tortas Mexican Sandwiches Opening

Andrew Dominick January 16, 2024

Go up or down Bridgeport’s North Avenue roughly a mile or so before or after the Fairfield town line and you’ll notice a neon blue awning with an emoji-like sandwich logo paired with the words “The Torta Shop” printed on it.

What’s not new, however, are the owners. Mariella Garcia and her husband Jose Santiago previously owned the bodega since 2017. Around a year and a half ago, the couple decided to flip the concept into something different.

“We’re originally from Oaxaca, then we came to Norwalk, and my husband and I moved to Bridgeport in 2016,” Garcia says. “In 2017 we got the grocery store and thought about switching it up over the years and wanted to make a bigger change. We wanted to bring this to Bridgeport. And there are a lot of Mexican restaurants here, but we wanted to focus on tortas, Mexican sandwiches. Other places do it, but we want to be known as a tortarilla.”

Fryborg Food Truck Opens Restaurant in Trumbull

Features Interview Restaurant Trumbull Homepage French Fries Burgers Hot Dogs Sandwiches Interview Opening

Andrew Dominick July 13, 2023

“A lot of the food we serve is inspired by being a kid,” says Fryborg owner Jonathan Gibbons. “In Milford, an older guy in his 80s comes in regularly and he remarked that my food is like when he was a kid. That made me feel really good. The food, the video game table, the bubble hockey, it’s all about nostalgia.”

For many, me included, “nostalgia” is the right work to describe Fryborg.

Old Mill Grocery & Deli: Rescued and Reopened in Westport

Features Interview Restaurant Westport Deli Sandwich Sandwiches Pizza Beach Eats Old Mill Grocery The Granola Bar Homepage Opening

Andrew Dominick August 13, 2022

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.

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.