New Restaurant In Fairfield Serves Up Craft Beer, American Comfort Food

FAIRFIELD, Conn. – It has taken four years of talking and putting the plan together for three friends to get Craft 260 up and running. But since it opened in February, the beer has been flowing.

Business partners Tomer Raviv of Stratford, Vincent Mascaro of New Haven and Kosta Proskinitopoulos of Fairfield, say that the three of them been talking about opening a restaurant for four years.
Photo Credit: *Contributed*

Craft 260 is located at 260 Post Road in Fairfield and is open Tuesday through Thursday from 11:30 a.m. to 1 a.m. On Fridays and Saturdays, hours are 11:30 a.m. to 2 a.m. and Sundays from 1 p.m. to 1 a.m.
Photo Credit: *Alissa Smith*

Americana was the theme when putting together Fairfield's newest craft beer-based restaurant.
Photo Credit: *Alissa Smith*

The beer list on the wall at Craft 260 in Fairfield is written in chalk so that they can change it whenever a beer runs out.
Photo Credit: *Alissa Smith*

There are 10 beers on tap at Fairfield's new restaurant, Craft 260, but they change whenever one runs out.
Photo Credit: *Alissa Smith*

by Alissa Smith

03/25/2014 5:15 a.m.

Business partners Tomer Raviv of Stratford, Vincent Mascaro of New Haven and Kosta Proskinitopoulos of Fairfield say they have been talking about opening a restaurant for years -- even when Mascaro and Raviv were working at another local eatery.

They stopped just talking about it last year and started looking around for a space, Raviv said. The location they found on the Post Road was perfect, they said, right between downtown Fairfield and Black Rock.

“Our main thing is beer and amazing food,” Raviv said. The restaurant offers a relaxed atmosphere where patrons can put technology aside and just enjoy the food and company.

The menu looks like typical Americana comfort food, but it is inspired by each of the owners' heritage. Raviv is Israeli, Mascaro is Italian and Proskinitopoulos is Greek -- and chef Mascaro said that he tried to bring in each of their nationalities.

The types of beers in their 10 draft lines are constantly changing. When one beer runs out, they pick something different, Raviv said. On Fridays, they have a line dedicated to a one-night-only beer.

“I use a lot of the beers in the food,” said Mascaro. And it can be found in any number of places on the menu, from beer-soaked Brussels sprouts, to the cheddar sauce used on the Craft 260 Burger and in the cookies used for the ice cream sandwich. “We have people eating their way through the menu,” he said.

The owners say they are trying to create a communal experience. They encourage small parties to sit at the communal table. Some are hesitant at first, but most people come away from their meals with new friends and having had a great experience, they said.

“I feel like we’re doing something different,” Proskinitopoulos said when it comes to customer service. “I feel like we’re doing it right.”

One of the owners is always at the restaurant, they said, which they hopes adds a ‘hands-on’ feel so the customers always feel like their concerns are being taken care of.

“We’re paying very close attention to the details,” Proskinitopoulos said.

Craft 260 is located at 260 Post Road and is open Tuesdays through Thursdays from 11:30 to 1 a.m.; Fridays and Saturdays, from 11:30 to 2 a.m.; and Sundays from 1 p.m. to 1 a.m.

They are also offering a happy hour with discounted drinks and food on Tuesdays through Fridays from 3 to 6 p.m.

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