It’s a Friday night, and at the 18-seat community farm table that runs the length of the Boot, seating is elbow-to-elbow.
Owner Aaron Confessori circles the table surveying the scene, checking to be sure water glasses are filled, wine is poured, everyone is relishing the food, and there are no dirty dishes waiting to be bused. Recognizing one of the diners at the table, he shakes his hand and chats him up for a few minutes in an effort to make him a regular.
Despite a still sluggish economy, Confessori and 22-year-old partner Richard Wiles are wasting no time creating restaurant concepts. The Boot, a hip yet rustic Italian restaurant, opened early this year, next door to their initial venture, the French bistro-themed Westport Cafe & Bar, which opened in 2010.
So why open a second restaurant next to the first, and then add a food truck on the same street?