More than a decade ago the Matto family of Shelton rolled the dice on Michele and Fred Bialek, leasing the couple space to start The Liquid Lunch, a restaurant aimed at giving downtown diners more choices than the common fare of pizza, burgers, or Chinese food.
“You took a chance on us,” Michele Bialek told the Mattos Wednesday. “You could have had a Domino’s come in here.”
Now, the eatery has been “reimagined,” in the Bialeks’ words — with an eye toward distancing it even further from mass-produced meals.
The new restaurant, GROW, is a farm-to-table eatery.
On Wednesday the business celebrated its official grand opening and ribbon cutting.
The restaurant opened at 434 Howe Ave. as The Liquid Lunch in September 2004. But it was badly damaged during a massive fire on Jan. 6, 2014.
The Bialeks have two other Liquid Lunch locations, one at 6 Research Drive, Shelton, and another at 84 Broad St., Milford.
GROW is different.
It will support local farms — partners include Stone Gardens Farm, Beardsley Orchard, Jones Family Farm, and Farmers Cow Dairy.
Greater Valley Chamber of Commerce President Bill Purcell said he appreciated use of the word “reimagined.”
“I love that word,” he said. “That’s what you have done here for downtown Shelton and the Valley for the future.”
Purcell thanked property owners Ralph and Elaine Matto for taking a chance on the Bialeks’ Liquid Lunch business more than a decade ago.
Elaine Matto said she and her husband are thrilled for the Bialeks.
“I know they’ll do a great job,” she said.
The Matto family plans to rebuild the retail-apartment building that was destroyed during the fire.
Michele Bialek thanked the Valley Chamber of Commerce and the Matto family for their support.
The restaurant’s walls are painted in subdued shades of green and brown, with mirrors and hand-made furnishings throughout the dining areas.
“Everything here was made with love,” Bialek said.
Click here to visit Grow’s Facebook page.
Click here for the eatery’s website, where you can find lunch and dinner menus.
