Beer and Hot Sauce and ... Cupcakes? Oh, Yes

Men, women, and kids of all ages flocked to the sidewalks late one November evening and waited eagerly for the lights to brighten up the night. The atmosphere felt more like New Year's Eve as there was a palpable excited energy in the crowd. Even though many were still digesting their Thanksgiving turkey (it was the 25th after all) there was still an excited ripple of gasps and laughter through the crowd as a horse drawn carriage holding Santa Claus and Middletown officials pulled into view.

As the carriage made a laborious turn down our street, police officers blocked traffic to allow Santa's vehicle to approach. "Awesome," I heard someone in the crowd chuckle, "the cops are stopping traffic for Santa."

Santa disembarked to roaring cheers, waving, and whistles. Throwing up a hearty wave himself, Santa shook hands with the kids, then assembled in front of the Taproom's storefront with Eli Cannon's owner Phil Ouellette.

After a short speech, Phil thanked the tree raisers, the security team, the police department and the community for helping make the event and Eli Cannon's Taproom successful. Present near Santa and Ouellette during the speech were honored guests from the city including Middletown Mayor Dan Drew, police chief William McKenna, and Middlesex Chamber of Commerce president Larry McHugh.

After the speech, Santa lit the storefront lights across the street of NORA Cupcakes (Eli Cannon's upcoming bakery) and the Eli Cannon's Trading Co. (a store next door to the cupcakery) with a wave of his specially made candy cane. Next, with a turn and flourish, Santa merrily lit the lights in front of the Taproom as snow poured joyfully from the rooftop.

Santa was then escorted across the street to the Trading Post to introduce the store to the public, have photos taken, and pass out cupcakes to the merrymakers. The inside of the Trading Post mirrors the art design of the Taproom with re-purposed furniture, local art, and plenty of edgy bric-a-brac scattered throughout the story in a shocking (yet oddly tasteful) layout.

The Eli Cannon's Trading Company is serving right now as part Eli Cannon's merchandise shop, were you get T-shirts and other swag, a vendor of dozens of hot sauces, a place to purchase artwork from local artists, and a homebrew supply shop. 

NORA Cupcakes will open during the Middnight on Main event this New Year's eve (Dec. 31st) at 3 pm. The point of Nora is to have a cupcake shop/ bakery that is not your typical bake shop (for instance it has evening hours). There will be "unexpected baked goods" (as Eli's head manager and cupcake baker extraordinaire Carrie Carella puts it), eclectic cupcake designs, and a rotating variety of cupcakes much the way the Taproom rotates their beer stock frequently.

To see more on this story and posted pictures, go to my blog: Malted Musings. For even more pictures from the event, check out Jere Adametz's Flickr collection here.