The legend, Paul Newman in his last recorded interview before his passing in Sept. 2008, with Renée Loux
After starring in some of the most famous films in movie history, he became the face of a salad dressing that launched millions of charity dollars. So, what Paul Newman is doing now seems, well, natural. He's giving back to his local community by combining his love of acting with his passion for food by opening a restaurant in the shadows of a local theater in his home of Westport, Connecticut.
Mr. Newman said, "In the early days it was the try-out theater for the Theater Guild and every great American actor and actress played in that barn [the Westport County Playhouse theater]."
In 2000, the original Playhouse was falling apart and Paul's wife, Joanne Woodward led the charge to restore the barn and Paul took a special interest in the old dressing rooms.
According to Mr. Newman, "This building had been a restaurant for a number of years - some successful, some not very successful. So the barn was falling apart and in order for it to survive, we knew we would have to build something...And then while the theater was being rebuilt...I decided it was time to put another restaurant in there."
Executive chef Michel Nischan said, "A couple of years ago, Nell Newman approached me, and her father [Paul Newman] was interested in opening a restaurant. And she called me frantically asking me for one of two favors and that was either to talk him out of it or to help him do it."
World renowned organic chef, Michel Nischan, stepped in at Nell's request to help Paul's vision become a reality.
Renée asked Paul, "Are you surprised to find yourself associated with a restaurant? Is this something you envisioned yourself doing?"
Paul responded, "I never thought of it but it seemed to make sense. And also, after we've paid back the bank, it should provide a subsidy for the theater, which is what is my goal."
In Michel Nischan's words, "The premise of the restaurant is everything is local, sustainable, organic. Know who is growing your food is the absolute tenant. Our quest in helping people make it easier to be green is trying to bring green things to them so that we can break through that wall of convenience that just exists. It's there, it's human nature. So when we can make it easy for them to have access to locally grown, organic, biodynamic products, that's helping them.
