Five small food and coffee businesses opened in Norwalk between June and August 2026, and none of them is in SoNo or on Wall Street. They are on Westport Avenue, Main Avenue, Wilson Avenue, Harbor Avenue and West Avenue. Those are the roads people use to drop off a child, run an errand or get to the Merritt. Three of the five post hours that end by 4 p.m. on the days they list, and one of those closes at 1 p.m. on weekends.
Taken together, the posted schedules describe a new kind of Norwalk dining. It runs on weekday hours, sits near home and is built around a counter rather than a host stand.
The Clock Tells the Story
Here are the posted hours, side by side. The first four come from each business's own website as of this fall. MOTW's are the hours Patch reported in July from the shop's website.
| Spot | Address | Posted hours |
|---|---|---|
| Chez Jack | 666 Main Ave | Tue–Fri 8 a.m.–2 p.m.; Sat–Sun 9 a.m.–1 p.m. |
| Between Friends Sandwich Co. | 314 Wilson Ave | Mon–Fri 10 a.m.–3 p.m.; closed weekends |
| Silvermine Coffee Roasters | 29 Harbor Ave | Mon–Tue noon–4 p.m.; Wed–Fri 9 a.m.–4 p.m. |
| TAC Burger | 249 Westport Ave | Mon–Tue noon–9 p.m.; Wed–Sun 11 a.m.–10 p.m. |
| MOTW Coffee & Pastries | 467 West Ave, Suite 5 | Mon–Thu 7 a.m.–9 p.m.; Fri 7 a.m.–midnight; Sat 9 a.m.–midnight; Sun 9 a.m.–9 p.m. |
TAC Burger and MOTW are the two places in the group that stay open into the evening, and MOTW runs until midnight on Friday and Saturday. TAC's own site is inconsistent about Mondays: it lists Monday hours and also says "Closed Mondays," so check before you go early in the week. Silvermine labels its schedule "Winter Hours" and lists no Saturday or Sunday times. For the three daytime shops, the posted week is built around weekday mornings and lunch.
Westport Avenue: A Bakery's Burger Counter
One of the evening exceptions comes from a daytime business. TAC Burger at 249 Westport Avenue belongs to Tim Topi, who owns Wave Hill Breads, and CT Bites wrote in June that the buns come from "a few steps up the sidewalk." The name stands for Topi's family: Tim, his son Timothy, his wife Angela, and his daughters Claire, Charlotte and Catelyn.
It is a fast-casual setup. You can order at the counter, at one of two kiosks, online, through TAC's own app or through delivery apps. Seating is three booths and a high-top. The ingredients are what set it apart:
- Beef from Plymouth Beef Co., a brisket, chuck and short rib blend at about 70-30 lean to fat. Topi worked it out with Jared Sippel of L'Ostal, and Niman Ranch grass-fed beef is available for a small upcharge.
- Cooper Sharp American cheese, bacon from Nodine's Smokehouse in Goshen, and mushrooms from Seacoast Mushrooms in Mystic.
- Hot dogs from New Haven's Hummel Brothers, chicken from Murray's, and fries and onion rings cooked in tallow.
- Ronnybrook Farm soft serve in chocolate or vanilla, served as a cone, cup, float or shake.
The menu includes the Leftcoast, with sautéed mushrooms, Swiss, caramelized onions and roasted garlic aioli. There is also the 'Noreaster, with sharp Vermont cheddar, maple-bacon jam and mustard aioli, and the Hatch, with green chile queso and fried jalapeños. When CT Bites visited, Topi said he hoped to add "just beer." Nothing since then confirms that he has.
Main Avenue: Quebec City at the Wilton Line
Farther north, a strip-mall storefront "right on the Norwalk – Wilton line" changed hands this summer. The Dilly Duck Shop had been there for nine years. The new tenant is Chez Jack, which serves breakfast, coffee, sandwiches and poutine with a Québécois touch. Owner Jacques Talbot ran the Cosmos restaurants in Quebec City. He told CT Bites he had four restaurants and a catering business there before COVID. His son, Chris Samatar, works with him.
The sandwiches are tall. Jack's Club has turkey, bacon, tomato, lettuce, Swiss and house-made mayo, and comes with a side salad or hand-cut fries. The coffee bar makes cortados, lattes and cappuccinos. In September, Moffly Media put Chez Jack on its list of new Fairfield County restaurants for back-to-school dinners. The café's website now lists closing times of 2 p.m. on weekdays and 1 p.m. on weekends, though, so a dinner there would have to happen very early. The August profile also mentioned plans for beer and wine, holiday meal boxes and catering. None of those has been confirmed yet.
Wilson Avenue: Lunch, Weekdays Only
Between Friends Sandwich Co. at 314 Wilson Avenue keeps the shortest week in the group. It is open Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., for takeout and catering, and it is closed on Saturday and Sunday. The shop says each sandwich is named for a real person and that person's usual order; the descriptions below use the food rather than those names.
The best-known sandwiches, as CT Bites described them in July:
- Chicken sandwich: crispy chicken cutlet, smoky bacon, cheddar, lettuce, onion and a house Russian dressing.
- Chicken cutlet sandwich: topped with vodka sauce, burrata, Parmesan and house pesto.
- Vegetarian sandwich: crispy eggplant with burrata, sun-dried red peppers, arugula and pesto.
The shop says it serves Norwalk along with Westport, Darien, Stamford and New Canaan, and orders can be placed online for pickup or delivery. It is set up for an office lunch order or a workday break, and the hours make that clear.
Harbor Avenue: A Roaster Built Not to Need a Room
Silvermine Coffee Roasters at 29 Harbor Avenue put its daytime model into words. Owner Thomas Morsanutto started roasting at home because he didn't like the coffee at the financial technology company in Wilton where he worked. In August he told CT Bites:
"We wanted a concept that could succeed even if people weren't gathering into a cafe."
The shop sells takeout coffee and beans, with nearly 30 coffees from places including Costa Rica, Ethiopia and Tanzania. Two blends sell best. The Maritime Blend is made from two Colombian coffees. The Hangover Blend combines a Brazilian coffee with a Dark Excelso, and Morsanutto says it has milk chocolate and brown sugar notes. He asks customers how they brew at home and what equipment they use, then suggests a roast to match. He also said he was looking for a site for a full café, which would need a room after all. No address has been announced. Silvermine is in CT Bites' September 24 coffee guide for Norwalk.
West Avenue: Third Shop for a Family Group
MOTW Coffee & Pastries had its grand opening at 467 West Avenue, Suite 5, on June 13, 2026. Usama Aslam owns it with his siblings Bilal, Zainab and Ijlal. It is their third Connecticut shop, after New Haven and Middletown. Aslam told Patch that MOTW "blends specialty coffee with Middle Eastern-inspired flavors and hospitality," and the shop's motto is "Coffee with a Purpose." MOTW is also in the September coffee guide, so it is the second new Norwalk coffee shop of the summer to make that list. It keeps the latest hours in the group, open until midnight on Friday and Saturday, according to Patch's July report.
East Avenue: What a Road-Front Business Depends On
A storefront on a driving road depends on the road. Dippin' Chicken, a Korean fried chicken restaurant at 236 East Avenue in East Norwalk, opened in March 2025. On September 17, 2026, it put a sign on its door: "Due to construction in front of our store, we have been forced to close."
Jenn McMurrer, the city's communications director, told Patch the work is a joint cemetery project between the city and the state. The state is doing drainage work, and the project also adds sidewalks, crosswalks and traffic calming. It is part of the East Norwalk Connectivity Enhancement Project and the state Department of Transportation's WALK Bridge project, and it is expected to be finished by the end of the year. McMurrer said the city's Economic and Community Development team has been talking with the owner. Robert Lee told The Hour he is "not going away" and is looking for a new location in Norwalk.
Once that stretch of East Avenue has new sidewalks and crosswalks, it will be easier to walk to than it was when Dippin' Chicken opened. Whether Lee comes back to it is still open.
Two Evenings on the Calendar
Three of these counters close by mid-afternoon, and the next two big weekend nights in town take place elsewhere. The 10th Annual NICE Festival runs Saturday, October 3, from noon to 8 p.m. at Oyster Shell Park, with two stages and more than 50 food, art, craft and community vendors. Admission is free. On Saturday, October 24, the Norwalk Symphony Orchestra presents its Tchaikovsky Festival at 125 East Avenue at 7:30 p.m., with violinist Sirena Huang and the Pathétique Symphony. If you live near Main Avenue, Saturday breakfast at Chez Jack ends at 1 p.m., which leaves the whole afternoon free for the festival.
Small, owner-run businesses like these shape what a Norwalk street feels like day to day, and that is part of what buyers notice when they look at a home nearby. If you're thinking about what your location is worth this season, Kate Cacciatore can put that local detail into a careful, data-based estimate. Request a Confidential Home Valuation.