Dere Street Restaurant, Bar, and Bakery located in the historic Chase/Atchison Building on the corner of Main and West Streets is poised for a much-anticipated opening this month. Beginning with the Saturday, March 12, opening of the Dere Street Bakery, in the antique building behind 33 Main Street, food lovers can begin to sample the wares that owner David Cooper and Chef Iain Sampson promise will be unlike anything else in Newtown - or the surrounding area. Then one week later, on March 19, the restaurant will welcome its first guests, introducing them to the British and Italian fare that is the signature of the business, from beverages to entrees to baked goods.A Dual-Country PassionUpscale and Affordable Bakery

The openings will culminate half a year of intensive work by Mr Cooper, Mr Sampson, and Sandy Hook interior designer Agni P. Kyprianou of APK Design, LLC, to bring a vision to fruition.

Exterior and interior portions of the remaining space in what is now known as the Liberty Pole Building have brought new life to the historic 33 Main Street building, since 2013, when developers Chris Wilson and Chris Hottois of Flint Ridge Development, LLC, in Monroe began renovations. Mr Wilson and Mr Hottois also completed exterior renovations to the building that houses the Dere Street Bakery, this past fall. (See "A Return To Grandeur For A Historic Main Street Property" in the October 2, 2015, issue of The Newtown Bee.)

Mr Cooper, a native of England and Newtown resident for the past 27 years, has had this project in mind for a long time, even before he and wife, Robin, who passed away in 2014, started turning out scones and English pastries from their Newtown home in 2004. The couple turned that cottage business into a thriving wholesale manufacturing business known as Dere Street with a move Danbury in 2005, expanding to its current Eagle Road location in 2013. The traditional English tea scones and English desserts are sold to caterers, inns, hotels, resorts, colleges, supermarkets, and B&Bs all up and down the Mid-Atlantic, in Florida, Texas, Colorado, California, Arizona, Nevada, and the Bahamas - and locally at Caraluzzi's Newtown Market on Queen Street.

"I always said that this space would be a perfect location for the restaurant I had in mind, but everyone said it was never going to happen," said Mr Cooper, looking around the dining room of the restaurant, Monday morning, March 7. He put the idea aside, but did not forget about it.

In 2012, the Coopers vacationed in Wales, and it was there that Iain Sampson came to their attention. Dining not once, but twice at The Bear in Crickhowell, Wales, where Chef Sampson was in charge of the kitchen, they asked to meet him.

"They said, 'Pull up a chair - it's going to be a long one,'" recalled Chef Sampson. It was the first time, but would not be the last, that he heard of the restaurant idea in which he knew he could believe.

The Coopers did not realize what a gem they had discovered in Chef Sampson until they returned to the states, said Mr Cooper. "We Googled him and found out that he was one of the best chefs in Wales," he said.

Chef Sampson is also a native of England, who moved to Wales 16 years ago. He began his culinary career working at the Ritz in London, followed by stints at a number of other prestigious, 5-star hotels. In Wale, he continued to develop his skills, and The Newbridge in Usk, Wales, was named 2006 Restaurant of the Year while Chef Sampson was overseeing the kitchen there. In 2010, he was named Wales Chef of the Year.

The Coopers stayed in touch with the chef, although not quite ready to develop the restaurant idea. Shortly after his wife's death in 2014, Mr Cooper saw a "For Lease" sign at the Chase Building. Late that year, he talked with Mr Hottois, and found that the owners and the town were open to the idea of a Main Street restaurant there.

"I got back to Iain, and he moved here in April of 2015," Mr Cooper said, and began developing menu ideas. The keys to the building were in his hands by mid-October, and it seemed their dream of a top-notch restaurant was underway.

But unexpected setbacks kept them from moving forward as swiftly as they had hoped. Chef Sampson's wife died unexpectedly while traveling to England, and then "nuances of putting a restaurant in a historic building" created still more setbacks.

"I knew I wanted a European interior, something contemporary, chic, conversational, bright, and hip," Mr Cooper said, and when he discovered Ms Kyprianou, he knew she would capture the atmosphere, and be able to meet the challenges posed by the building's aged structure.

The exterior may scream "New England," but inside Dere Street Restaurant, diners will find a polished urban interior. A color scheme of blue tones, grays, and whites is carried through in Italian tiles on the walls, and sleek upholstery of the chairs and banquettes. A 15-foot solid mahogany bar and a windowside bar with seating for five echo the mahogany woodwork framing the exterior doors and windows. Separating the dining area from the bar area, ten large canvas prints depict Italian and British models in various European settings. Warm weather will find diners enjoying the West Street side patio, with a retractable awning protecting them from the elements.

It sets the scene for the food, which is really what Dere Street Restaurant and the Dere Street Bakery are all about.

"It's going to blow people away," said Mr Cooper of the restaurant menu. "No one is doing upscale British and Italian fare," he said, emphasizing that it is not a fusion of British and Italian, but a showcase of the best of the two countries. The name of the business itself reflects the dual-country passion. Dere Street is the name of the ancient road built by the Romans, linking York to the Roman camps in what is now Scotland.

While Americans will tick off British classics like fish 'n' chips, or bangers and mash, "England has always had wonderful food," Mr Cooper declared, utilizing fresh seafood, vegetables, meats, and poultry. At Dere Street Restaurant, guests will experience the best of English cuisine with Chef Sampson's innovative twists. Italian dishes will not be buried under heavy sauces, either, he said. Delicate sauces that complement and elevate the food can be expected.

"I'd say it is rustic Italian," said Chef Sampson, meaning that it is the use of high quality ingredients simply and creatively combined.

"We are carrying a concept through and through in the food we make and the drinks we sell," said Mr Cooper. "We want you to try something you can't get anywhere else. It's absolutely the opposite of the same old, same old," he said. That goes for presentation, as well. "It's not just about eating the food, but it's a plate beautiful enough that you want to stare at it first," he added.

Even the full bar is "ahead of the game," said Chef Sampson, "in things like the gin revival." Gin is very British, the two men said, and Dere Street will stock 28 brands of gin not normally found in American bars, and just one brand of vodka, from New Zealand. All drinks, including 16 signature cocktails, are based on high-quality spirits, said Mr Cooper, with no well drinks. However, he added, "We will gladly but sadly substitute vodka for the gin."

The wine list is predominantly Italian, with the addition of a few other regional wines from the US and other countries. The British "wine" list, Mr Cooper laughed, consists of 28 gins, 12 single malts, blended whiskies, port wine and sherries. All beers are Italian or British, and British hard ciders are also served.

A few steps down West Street finds guests at the door of the Dere Street Bakery, where "upscale and affordable" British and Italian baked goods fill the sleek cases within the tiny shop. Items such as the scones, muffins, cookies, pastries, and breads are baked at the Danbury Dere Street site each morning, and delivered daily. "Anything that doesn't sell, goes. It's fresh every day," Mr Cooper said.

Cakes, pies, tarts, and other desserts - many of which can be sampled in the restaurant - are sold ready to bake at home, or already baked off and ready to go.

Sandwiches and salads in the grab-n-go section of the bakery will be no less special than anything found in the Dere Street Restaurant, Mr Cooper assures. "All the things you can buy in the bakery, you can't get anywhere else, except for some of the pastries that are locally available," he said. Only British and Italian soft drinks will be sold there, and coffee and tea are poured by the cup. There is no seating in the bakery, but fair weather patio seating in front of and behind the shop will be available.

The Bakery will also sell a selection of British and Italian nonperishable items, and its own Dere Street preserves and chutneys. A small refrigerated case will feature artisanal British and Italian cheeses, sliced to order.

The restaurant will cater not only to lunch and dinner diners, but to those who want a special breakfast experience, as well. Eggs, sausages, and potatoes will be on the menu, but in guises not found in diners or other area breakfast eateries. "Don't look for pancakes here. This will be a totally different breakfast experience," Mr Cooper said.

Chef Sampson and Mr Cooper emphasized that Dere Street Restaurant, Bar, and Bakery is affordable, as well as it is upscale, with main course dinner entrees priced between $17 and $28. "Quality is what drives the products used at Dere Street," Mr Cooper said, and customers will find that the value of any item is equal to or greater than its price.

Dere Street Bakery will be ready when the first customers step through the door at 9 am, on March 12. Regular hours are 9 am to 5 pm, Monday through Saturday; 9 am to 3 pm, Sunday.

The Dere Street Restaurant is closed Monday and Tuesday. Breakfast is served Wednesday through Sunday, from 8 am to 11 am; lunch, Wednesday through Friday, noon to 2 pm, and Saturday, noon to 3 pm; dinner Wednesday, Thursday, and Sunday, 5 to 9 pm; Friday and Saturday, 5 to 10 pm. A traditional British afternoon tea is served Wednesday through Friday, from 2 to 4 pm.

From noon to 2 pm on Sunday, seatings are taken for a traditional British "roast," typically roasted sirloin with Yorkshire pudding and horseradish cream, and vegetables served family style; or choose from a poultry, fish, or vegetarian entrée.

A "bar bites" menu is served Sunday afternoons, in the bar.

Mr Cooper and Chef Sampson eagerly look forward to opening day. "It has been a mammoth, daunting, and challenging task to open these two buildings," admitted Mr Cooper. "I feel confident, though, with the size of the restaurant, the ambiance, the chef, and the food that reservations will be needed for the main dining room. I want food lovers to come in and have an experience they have never had before. That," he said, "is what we are all about."