Remember Vonetes Palace of Sweets on Main Street in Derby?
Salvatore Coppola sure does, and the Derby native just published “The Palace of Sweets,” a 600-page book in which the old eatery plays a central figure.
Coppola’s self-published tome (available on Amazon) is a love story intertwined with “the Vietnam War, the arson bombing of Sponge Rubber, the explosion of River Restaurant and the attempted takeover of Derby Savings Bank by Great Country Bank,” according to the book’s summary.
Coppola was interviewed Dec. 21 on “Valley Navel Gazing,” this publication’s weekly talk show. Click play to listen!
Story continues after the photo.
Then, with “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” breaking domestic box office records, we interviewed two “Star Wars” fanatics — David Lenart of Derby, and Glen Baisley, a New York-based indie filmmaker.
Lenart talks about what the “Star Wars” franchise means to he and his family, while Baisley comes this close to revealing major plot points from the new flick.
Baisley has seen the movie three times since it opened Thursday.
Coppola’s interview is at the start of the broadcast.
Lenart comes on at the 22-minute mark.
Baisley’s interview starts at the 37-minute mark.
Click play to listen!
Also on this week’s show:
— The most read Valley Indy stories of the week.
— This week in Valley history.
— A plug for an upcoming screening of “Home Alone” and “The Grinch” in Seymour.
Things mentioned on the air during this episode:
— Anthony Montefusco’s 1997 column about Vonetes.
— A reader names the car in the Vonetes photo.
— A 1989 New York Times article about Derby’s Main Street.
