Abilis To Run Island Beach Concession In Greenwich

GREENWICH, CT — Visitors to Island Beach this summer will not only get to enjoy some fun in the sun, but they'll also be able to snack on some delicious food, all thanks to the Island Beach Concession stand and Abilis.

Abilis, the Greenwich-based nonprofit that serves more than 800 individuals with special needs and their families from birth throughout their lives, will be operating and staffing the Island Beach Concession. The stand should open up within the next few weeks, as Abilis awaits the arrival of equipment, refrigeration, and permits.

"We're thrilled," said Abilis CEO and President, Amy Montimurro, to Patch. "We were so delighted that the town approached us to be able to run the concession stand. They know people are looking for work, and many of our folks have skills and abilities that they can use to integrate and interact with their community and get paid for the summer. They're so excited."

First Selectman Fred Camillo said in a news release that this latest venture builds off of other Abilis-run businesses in town.

"Building on the successful Abilis businesses, such as The Café at Greenwich Library, Abilis Gardens & Gifts and the Abilis Café, the Town of Greenwich is excited to have Abilis on board as a partner to run the Island Beach Concession this summer," Camillo said. "Abilis’ inclusiveness and ability to provide meaningful job training and employment to individuals with special needs is a wonderful aspect to what they do. We are excited to have them serve our Greenwich residents."

Having Abilis clients involved with meaningful employment is vital to the organization's mission, Montimurro said.

"It provides self-worth, self esteem, ensures community integration, and what better than to be at beautiful Island Beach for the summer engaging and serving our community," she said. "All of our new initiatives give people an opportunity to develop their skills and confidence so that they can feel good about themselves with a meaningful day. Everything we do is about creating jobs, helping people find jobs, be competitively employed, and self-sustaining."

Abilis plans on offering a delicious array of cold and hot drinks, fresh baked goods, salads, hot dogs, sandwiches, nachos, hot pretzels, snacks, candy, ice cream and popsicles.

The concession stand will be open seven days a week from 10 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Abilis will also partner with various food purveyors in town, similar to what it does at The Café at Greenwich Library, and bring some of those items to Island Beach from restaurateurs such as Upper Crust Bagel Company, Happiness Is Back Country Market & Café and Arcuri’s Pizza & Salad. Coffee will be provided by Shearwater Coffee Roasters, which is based in Fairfield County.

Montimurro thanked the community for their support in each of these business ventures.

"We're first and foremost a service provider to help people with disabilities. Operating a cafe was not our first primary area of expertise, but we've learned. All those food providers spent time with us, teaching us, training us to make sure this was successful. We couldn't do anything we do without community," Montimurro said. "This has been an incredible venture, and we continue to get calls from other community members hearing about what's happening and trying to figure out how they can also help us."

Heather Brown, a Greenwich native with more than 30 years of experience working in restaurant and catering businesses, will manage the Island Beach Concession. She also manages The Café at Greenwich Library, Abilis Gardens & Gifts, and oversees employees and these new expansions of Abilis’ businesses.

Updates on an exact open date will be available on the Island Beach Concession social media accounts on Facebook, Instagram at @islandbeach.concession and Twitter @IslandBeachConcession.