Week in Review: Agricola Eatery, New Gelato Store and More

Although many of the specific details are still be finalized, a subcommittee has begun to outline a community celebration to recognize Princeton historic muncipal consolidation effective Jan. 1, 2013. According to a memo prepared by the Transition Task Force Communications Event Subcommittee, the event will cost no taxpayer dollars and will instead by paid for by private sponships and donations and staffed by volunteers. 

Tourism expenditures in Mercer County were $1.08 billion in 2011, an all-time high, according to the Princeton Regional Convention and Visitors Bureau, a program of the Princeton Regional Chamber of Commerce. That figure is a 10 percent increase over 2010’s expenditure, according to the State Division of Travel and Tourism's recent release of the 2011 Economic Impact Study of Tourism in New Jersey. 

After months of speculation and anticipation, the owner of Great Road Farm in Skillman has announced he will open Agricola Eatery on Witherspoon Street in Princeton, in the location formerly occupied by Lahiere's restaurant.  The farm-to-table cuisine is described as “rustic American” with a focus on fresh, seasonal ingredients from Great Road Farm and other regional growers.

Frontier Airlines will begin new nonstop service between Trenton-Mercer Airport and Orlando, Fla., Mercer County Executive Brian M. Hughes announced on Wednesday. “This is an exciting development for our region," Hughes said. "More than any other destination, residents of Mercer County have made it clear to me that Orlando tops their list, and I am so pleased that we are able to deliver." Frontier celebrating its new flights from Trenton beginning Nov. 16 by having a special low-price ticket deal. Through Aug. 11, travelers can purchase tickets to Orlando on Frontier’s website for as low as $69. 

Hundreds of members of the Sikh faith from throughout Central New Jersey, from Cherry Hill to Edison, turned out to the Sikh temple in Lawrence Township Wednesday evening (Aug. 8) to attend a prayer service and candlelight vigil held in honor of those who were killed and wounded in the shooting that took place at a Sikh temple in Wisconsin on Aug. 5. Joining the interfaith service were non-Sikh residents as well as local, state and congressional representatives.

When Scott Greenberg of Princeton used to travel to Italy, he missed the gelato, the coffee and the pasta once he returned home. Now Greenberg and master gelato maker Daniele Cavini and café manager Massimo Bocelli have partnered to launch Gelavino Gelato, which opened July 12 at the Princeton Shopping Center. Offering at least 18 milk and fruit sorbet gelato flavors prepared fresh daily, plus coffee, espresso, semifreddi, cannoli, cheesecake and other delicacies, the emphasis at Gelavino Gelato is on using fresh, local ingredients.

Thunderstorms swept through Princeton Thursday evening, sparking two structure fires- one on Jefferson Road and one on Henderson Avenue. Emergency crews responded to a three-car accident on Cherry Valley Road near the intersection of Heather Lane just across the Princeton/Montgomery border. The fires on Jefferson Road and Henderson Avenue were both sparked by lightning, according to Bob Gregory, Princeton's Director of Emergency Management.