Volume LXXI, Number 27
Auto Special on Pages 18-20 Girls Develop Creative Apps at Tech Camp . . . 5 Safe Streets Events Will Celebrate W-J Community . . . . . . . . . 7 Hopewell’s Basilico Trattoria Eyes Expansion . . . . . . . 9 Girouard Providing Aggressive Play for Princeton Post 218 Baseball . . . . . . . . . . 27 PHS Star Hawes Ends Football Career in Sunshine Classic . . . . 28
Marking Nathaniel Hawthorne’s July 4 Birthday With a Taste of Twin Peaks . . . . . . . . 10 Art . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Books . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Calendar . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Cinema . . . . . . . . . . . 16 Classified Ads. . . . . . . 31 Mailbox . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Music/Theater . . . . . . 15 New To Us . . . . . . . . . 23 Obituaries . . . . . . . . . 30 Police Blotter . . . . . . . . 6 Real Estate . . . . . . . . 31 Religion . . . . . . . . . . . 30 Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 Topics of the Town . . . . 5 Town Talk . . . . . . . . . . . 6
www.towntopics.com
Main Street Bistro & Bar Leaves Many Memories For Owners and Patrons When Main Street Bistro in the Princeton Shopping Center closes its doors some time this fall, it will leave many fond memories for its owners, employees, and thousands of patrons over the past 25 years. “I think we left a mark in Princeton,” said original owner Sue Simpkins. “And we had a good time doing it. We had a great Main Street family that stayed with us for many years.” Main Street started in Kingston in 1984 with a catering business, quickly expanded to take-out, then a coffee house, bakery, and lunch restaurant. “It was her brain child,” said Ms. Simpkins’ son John Marshall, who came on board in 1986. They opened Main Street Commissary in Rocky Hill in 1989 to house the catering division, and then looked forward to opening a restaurant in Palmer Square. But a Palmer Square lease agreement fell through and they had to look elsewhere. Mr. Marshall said he got the news on the July 4 weekend in 1991 that Great Tastes, a restaurant which had been in the shopping center, had suddenly packed up and left. In October 1991 Main Street opened the section where the bar is, then, in February 1992, they opened the bistro side. The next major development, delayed by the 2008 recession, was the Clocktower Cabana, which opened in 2010. “That space always looked like a bar to me,” Mr. Marshall commented. “Opening night was August 1 and it was 98 degrees, and my wife and I were the only people there,“ Mr. Marshall recalled. In April of 2016 Fenwick Hospitality Group (FHG) purchased the Main Street Restaurant Group, and last week Jim Nawn, owner of FHG announced that Main Street Bistro will close, probably this fall. “I was a customer and a fan of the bistro long before we purchased it,” Mr. Nawn said. “However, despite attempts to upgrade many aspects of the experience there — the menu, the energy, the wellworn space — we did not see an impact on guest counts and became less optimistic that it would attract new customers. As we approach the end of the lease, we have opted not to renew. Sadly, we have decided to close.” Continued on Page 12
75¢ at newsstands
Wednesday, July 5, 2017
School District Makes Offer for Westminster On the same day last March that Rider University announced it was putting Westminster Choir College and its Walnut Avenue campus up for sale, the Princeton Public Schools (PPS) made known its interest in acquiring the property. But a few weeks later, PPS appeared to put the idea on hold following protests from those intent on keeping the prestigious music college in place. Last week, PPS made an official offer for the property. In an email, Superintendent Steve Cochrane confirmed the offer. “The process with Rider University is a confidential one at this stage, but I can share that we have officially expressed our interest in acquiring the Westminster Choir College property,” he said. “That expression of interest was due to Rider by June 7. If Rider chooses to talk with
us further about our interest, that meeting would likely take place in July.” Rider has owned Westminster Choir College since 1991. Suffering from financial difficulties and declining enrollment, the Lawrence-based University announced the decision to sell Westminster this past spring. At the time, Rider President Gregory Dell’Omo said the goal was
to find another academic institution that would either keep Westminster in place or move the school to its own campus. But in a federal lawsuit filed on behalf of the Coalition to Save Westminster in Princeton, Inc., no such academic institutions are listed. The suit, which says Rider does not have the legal right to sell the Continued on Page 12
Princeton’s Affordable Housing Obligation Is Still Undecided as Talks Break Down This past April, the town of Princeton announced it had reached a “settlement in principle” with the Fair Share Housing Center regarding how many affordable units the town is obligated to provide through 2025. But negotiations appear to
have broken down. Fair Share Housing, which advocates for affordable housing in New Jersey, said in a statement last week that Princeton has “walked away” from the settlement. Continued on Page 7
SOARING MAJESTY: This bald eagle was photographed at Lake Carnegie, one of Princeton’s most open and natural spaces. The lake’s fish, open water, and surrounding trees attract numerous bird species, both seasonally and yearround. Bald eagles have been sighted regularly at the lake in recent years. (Photo by Charles R. Plohn)
MAZUR NURSERY
Open 7 Days a week
Still time to plant your garden for the summer! Annuals, Perennials, Herbs and Vegetable Plants Lots of Hanging Baskets and Patio planters for your decks and patios Plus all the extras you need to finish off the garden! Bird Baths, Ceramic Pots, Bagged mulches and soil, and plant food
(609) 587-9150 • 265 Bakers Basin Road •Lawrenceville, NJ 08648