Fill The Spot: 453 Montauk Ave.

This was another one on my list of places to visit someday for lunch. But alas, I didn't get around to it and the business departed as quietly as it had arrived.

Dagwood's Kansas City BBQ had a grand opening at 453 Montauk Ave. shortly after Christmas of last year. Its slogan: "Kansas City style and worth your while!" The meals ranged from beans and meat to pulled pork sandwiches to the gargantuan whole slab pork ribs ($22 and good for about three people, the menu advertised).

The owner of Pequot Colony Wine & Spirits, located next door, told me that the restaurant closed at the end of June. He said he was disappointed to see them go, as any businesses next door inevitably help boost traffic to his own store.

The menu remains on one wall, and an artistic flame has been painted on the counter. In one window, stenciled with the Dagwood's logo, a "For Rent" sign is up. In the door there is a sign advertising the sale of restaurant equipment including smokers, utensils, and paper goods.

The space was formerly occupied by the Montauk Marketplace and Handi-Mart Grocery before that. The latter represented New London's reputation for delicious grinders so well that an ABC crew visited there in 1988 after asking the local Chamber of Commerce which small business made the best sandwich in the area.

Aside from the neighboring package store, the storefront is located just south of Lawrence & Memorial Hospital in an area heavily populated by medical offices. Mitchell College is within easy walking distance, as are the marinas of Pequot Ave.

What do you think should go in this space? Let us know in the comments, and learn a bit more about another barbecue business that has also left a space in need of a new business on Bank Street.

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