Saturday "Munsch" in Belmont

Bel Trio: Jim Baldi, Dave Simpson, and Gareth Weldon bring "Munsch" and the "Window on the Belmont Riviera" to Downtown Belmont.
FILE PHOTO BY DAVE MCNAIR

C&O Restaurant owner Dave Simpson and the folks at Bel Rio appear to have invented a word. The word is "munsch," and besides being a surname, we could find no other uses for it. Simpson, though, is using it to describe a new dining concept  (a combination of lunch and brunch, he says) at Bel Rio, the Belmont eatery and music joint he opened with two partners last November. Basically, Munsch will be a family music and food event held on Saturdays from 11:30am to 1:30pm, the first of which will begin on July 11.

"We want to make it affordable for families to bring kids, " says Simpson. "There will be latin bands, stuff for kids to do...and hopefully it will give adults a chance to talk."

Simpson says the series is being organized by Estela Knott, a singer and director of Blue Ridge Music Together, a music program designed for kids and adults.

"I love playing music, but I really am done with the late night, smoky bar seen," says Knott. "  I want my little girl and other children and families to feel like there is a place, ritualistically, that they can come to every week at a decent hour and in a safe environment to experience fantastic music with a global perspective."

There will be different performers each week, mostly from the growing local Latin and World music scene, including Knott's own group Lua, the samba-reggae of Beleza Brasil, the Latin folk of Bruni, and the gypsy lazz of the Olivarez Trio.

In other Bel Rio news, Simpson says they also plan to open up a walk-up window, called Window on the Belmont Riviera, on the corner of Douglas Avenue and Monticello Road, which will serve panini sandwiches, ice cream, crepes, soft drinks, and lemonade.