One Year Later, Are Jars of Grotto Sauce Valuable in Waterbury?
In mid-September 2023 I found out that after 80+ years in business, Waterbury's Grotto Restaurant on Watertown Avenue was going away forever. I made a mad dash to LaBonne's in Watertown and bought three jars of Grotto sauce. One-year post-Grotto-mortem, are these worth any more than the $7 I paid?
On September 29, 2023, I wrote A Last Look Inside The Grotto & Mrs. G's in Waterbury, after I met the new owner of the property, Rich, who graciously let me take a last look around and snap some pics. To say that the job looked overwhelming at the time is a huge understatement. The bowels of that building on Watertown Avenue were filled with Mrs. G's basket making business remnants, and most of the old machinery from the Waterbury food industry of the 1960's-1990's.
Today is Monday, September 16, 2024, and I'm sorry to say that 634 Watertown Ave in Waterbury sits empty.
My wife fell in love with The Grotto's Homestyle Spaghetti Sauce in the early 2000's, and it remained her favorite until the end. We cracked open one of our jars for Christmas 2023, but I still have one left, and a jar of Grotto Pizza Sauce in the cool, dark confines of my cabinets. According to Martha Stewart, the average jarred pasta sauce will stay in decent shape unopened for 12-18 months, and I could freeze it to try and make it last longer.
Do I have a Babe Ruth/Jordan Rookie card in my pantry?
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Gallery Credit: Lou Milano
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