Since Labor Day, how many new places to eat have opened their doors in Old Saybrook? If you count only places that are serving customers now, the list is short. Sal's Pizza & Pasta Restaurant on Spencer Plains Road closed on Sunday, August 23, 2026, after 32 years. By September 8, Curry Queen at 93 Elm Street had closed too, and an auction of its restaurant contents was underway. Those two closings came within a few weeks of each other. The places expected to fill the gap are on a slower schedule. Most are under construction, labeled "coming soon," or waiting on the town's land-use boards.
So the best guide to where Old Saybrook eats next isn't a menu. It's the town's meeting calendar for the rest of October.
What Actually Opened This Year
Two places reopened this summer, and the one on Main Street is a new concept in an old building. The James Pharmacy reopened at 323 Main Street under Chef Colt Taylor, who also owns The Essex restaurant in Old Saybrook. The building now houses a butcher shop, a gourmet sandwich counter, an ice cream parlor and a provision market. It sells house-made sausage, Prime and Wagyu beef, rotisserie chickens, small-batch ice cream and Japanese chef knives. It is open Tuesday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
The building has history behind it. It dates to 1820 and was home to Ann Petry, the first African American woman pharmacist in the state. Over the years it has housed several restaurants, including Cocotte, Caffe Marche and Tissa's Le Souk Du Maroc. The new concept is retail and takeout rather than a dining room, so it serves a weekday dinner pickup as much as a night out.
The second reopening was on Mill Rock Road East. Mill Rock Gathering Pizzeria & Cucina at 45 Mill Rock Road East reopened in July under the management of Cast Iron Chef Pizza & Bar, which was formerly in Seymour. The 18-hole mini golf course next to it was renewed and reopened as well, with overhead lights for play after dark. Those lights matter more in October, when it gets dark early.
At Saybrook Point, Fresh Salt has been steady through the changes. It serves breakfast, lunch, dinner and Sunday brunch year-round, and it stays open until 9 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 9:30 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. Harvey's Beach food vending, by contrast, is allowed only from Memorial Day to Labor Day under the town's 2026 vendor application, so the beach-side options ended in early September.
Route 1 Is Where the Waiting Happens
Sal's closed on Spencer Plains Road, and the next new businesses are also going in along that stretch of Route 1 and the Boston Post Road. None of them has announced an opening date.
A new building at Max's Place, 22 Spencer Plains Road, is under construction in front of Big Y. Chipotle has signed on as a tenant. On September 30, The Connecticut Scoop reported that Jersey Mike's had leased a 1,300-square-foot unit in the same building, with no opening timeline announced.
Farther along the Post Road, Valentino Stakaj is working to open Da Fortunato Restaurant at 1596 Boston Post Road. That is the site of the shuttered Farm Table and, before it, Cantina Beach. Stakaj owns Il Gabbiano Italian Steakhouse and Adrianna's in New Haven and La Lupa in North Haven. He plans to serve Italian food and hire chefs directly from Italy. In June he told CT Insider it would open sometime in 2026, and described his timing this way:
"but not yet, because everything I'm doing – I'm doing to make it right."
Club Pilates, which isn't a restaurant, is part of the same Route 1 pattern. It was announced in July for 665 Boston Post Road in the Old Saybrook Shopping Center, between Quest Diagnostics and Five Below, with an opening expected later this year. Its official location page still says "Coming Soon" and gives no opening date.
Here is where each pending project stood as of October 8, 2026, based on the most recent public record for each:
| Project | Address | Latest public step | Date of that step |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jersey Mike's | 22 Spencer Plains Road | Lease signed, no opening timeline | September 30, 2026 |
| Chipotle | 22 Spencer Plains Road | Building under construction, no timeline | July 19, 2026 |
| Da Fortunato | 1596 Boston Post Road | Sign application on Architectural Review Board agenda | Meeting set for October 14, 2026 |
| Club Pilates | 665 Boston Post Road | Official page lists "Coming Soon" | Undated listing |
| Dock & Dine replacement | 155 College Street | Zoning Commission hearing continued | Continued to October 19, 2026 |
| Former Sal's space | Spencer Plains Road | No new tenant announced | Closed August 23, 2026 |
| Former Curry Queen | 93 Elm Street | No successor announced | Closure reported September 8, 2026 |
Two October Meetings Are Next for These Projects
The first is on October 14. The Old Saybrook Architectural Review Board agenda for that date includes a sign-compliance application for Da Fortunato at 1596 Boston Post Road, filed by the owner. A sign review doesn't mean a restaurant is about to open, and it doesn't approve one. It is the first public filing for the site since June, though, and it shows the project is moving through the town's process.
The second is on October 19, at Saybrook Point. A replacement Dock & Dine has been proposed for the Duffy Pavilion at 155 College Street. On August 19, 2026, the Planning Commission voted 4 to 1 to give the proposed 3,471-square-foot restaurant a favorable recommendation. That recommendation went to the Zoning Commission, which makes the final zoning decision. On September 21, the applicant asked to put off opening the public hearing until October 5. On October 5, the applicant asked to continue the hearing to October 19, and the minutes record no decision. Under the commission's September 21 agenda, the hearing was to be opened, continued or closed by October 19 and no later than October 25.
Agendas and minutes for both boards are posted on the Old Saybrook Agenda Center. This October, they will tell you more about the town's waterfront dining than any restaurant announcement will.
What to Do Around Town in the Meantime
Main Street's fall calendar is full, even with the pending projects on hold. Here are the dated events from now through the holiday kickoff:
- October 9 and 10, The Kate. The The Band Band plays Friday at 8 p.m., and Eileen Ivers plays Saturday at 8 p.m. at the Katharine Hepburn Cultural Arts Center.
- October 16, Trunk or Treat. Old Saybrook Parks & Recreation hosts its Halloween Trunk or Treat from 6 to 8 p.m., with a DJ, games and refreshments. The rain date is Saturday, October 17.
- October 16 through 31, Scarecrow Fest. Scarecrows from local families, businesses and civic groups are on display around town. Voting runs October 16 to 23 and October 24 to 31 through a Google Form and Facebook photo likes, and you can vote once per week on each. The winner is announced on Halloween, according to the Greater Old Saybrook Chamber.
- October 31 and November 1, The Kate. Sister's Back to School Catechism plays at 2:30 and 7:30 p.m. on Halloween. Vintage Vixens plays at 1 p.m. on Sunday, followed by The Zambonis & Big Fat Combo at 7:30 p.m.
- November 8, Museum Talk at The Kate. "Revolutionary Acts: Women's Suffrage, the Hepburns, and America's Founding Ideals" starts at 1 p.m.
- November 26, Thanksgiving at Saybrook Point. Saybrook Point Resort & Marina hosts a Thanksgiving Day Dinner Buffet from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Reservations are required.
- November 29, Brunch with Santa. Saybrook Point lists the brunch on its special events page, with timing and reservation details still to come.
- December 12, Torchlight Parade. The Old Saybrook Torchlight Parade starts at 6 p.m., running from 63 Main Street to 300 Main Street.
The James at 323 Main Street sits just past the parade's posted endpoint at 300 Main. It closes at 6 p.m. on Saturdays, which is when the parade steps off, so plan to stop in during the afternoon on parade day. For an evening show at The Kate, the Point and Mill Rock Road East are the late-hours options this fall: Fresh Salt serves until 9:30 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays, and the mini golf at Mill Rock Gathering is lit at night.
Visitors and newer neighbors can find a wider look at the town on our Old Saybrook neighborhood page. Our summer guide to Main Street and Harvey's Beach covers the season that just ended. The next update on the Saybrook Point waterfront is due on October 19, when the Zoning Commission takes up the Dock & Dine hearing again.
At Jacek Mikolajczyk, we track Old Saybrook's commercial changes the same way we track its housing market, through the town's own agendas and filings. If you'd like to talk about how a project like Max's Place or the Duffy Pavilion proposal could affect your corner of town, Let's Connect.
