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Friday, December 13, 2013
A Vine how do you do?
Popular bistro reopens with new owners
The Hidden Vine Wine Bar & Bistro, a quaint little eatery tucked into Constitution Square that’s been closed for nearly a year, reopened this week. On a recent evening, new owners Mario and Josie Letourneau hosted town dignitaries like Mayor Steve Woods, who used to frequent the spot. They opened officially Tuesday night with a new menu crafted by Head Chef Kevin Corso. Justin and Jackie, two of the Letourneau’s three adult children, will be heading the restaurant as manager and bartender. “The kids get along so well; I Volume 53, No. 49
Free
think this is going to be a great family business,” said the warm and down-to-earth Josie, who raised her family in Newington. When she saw The Hidden Vine up for sale last year she jumped on the opportunity to pursue a longtime dream. After discovering her family was as excited about the idea as she was, she went for it. “My father owned a coffee shop on Franklin Avenue in Hartford many years ago; I used to help out there and I always wanted to open my own place,” Josie remembers. If menus handcrafted out of cork and copper by their wine distributor aren’t evidence enough — wine is their specialty. Unusual selections from over eight countries are offered and staff underwent wine training courses to learn about pairings. Jackie also offers a creative martini list. The “Joeytini” is named in honor of her 2-year-old son Gianni and
Erica Schmitt | Staff
Liz Scott, the mother of Alex Scott, founder of Alex’s Lemonade Stand, on Wednesday accepted a check for $18,883 from the Newington Rotary Club, which held a golf tournament in late September to help the charity.
Alex’s mom visits Rotary
By ERICA SCHMITT STAFF WRITER
The dream of Alex Scott lived on Wednesday through the Newington Rotary Club, whose members presented the late philanthropist’s mother, Liz, with $18,893 for childhood cancer research. Newington Rotarians hosted a golf tournament fundraiser in late September for Alex’s Lemonade Stand, an international chari-
See HIDDEN, Page 4
ty started by the Scott family, Connecticut natives. Eight-and-a-half-year-old Alexandra “Alex” Scott passed away of neuroblastoma in 2004 after meeting her $1 million lemonade stand fundraising goal and the organization has continued on her work ever since, raising more than $7 million to date. “Because of people like you it’s happening, and I want to thank you from the bottom of my
heart,” Liz Scott told the group Wednesday with tears in her eyes. She traveled from the family’s home in Pennsylvania back to Connecticut this week just for the Rotary event. Many of Alex’s relatives still live in West Hartford, where she spent her first years before moving to Pennsylvania for experimental treatments. It was her aunt who approached the Rotary Club in See ALEX’S, Page 8
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