New Canaan Olive Oil Moving To Shared Space on Main Street Jan. 1, with ‘Against The Grain’ Furniture Shop

New Canaan Olive Oil, a popular shop on Elm Street’s “50-yard line” for more than four years, will move into a shared commercial space on Main Street next month. Heidi Burrows, the business’s owner, said her lease is up Dec. 31 and that she’s moving the retail shop into Against The Grain at 91 Main St. There will be no disruption for customers, Burrows said. “We expect almost everything to stay the same, just in a different location,” she said.

‘The Ball Is in Your Court’: New Canaan High School Seniors Begin Internships

Starting May 16, scores of New Canaan High School seniors have flooded local businesses and organizations in New Canaan and throughout Fairfield County to teach kindergarten, shuck oysters, plant onions and otherwise gain what for many has been first-time, first-hand real world work experience. The Senior Internship Program is seeing 269 students participating this year—that’s 83 percent of the senior class and a 23 percent increase from 2016. The program offers a wide range of internships, from law offices and local government to nature and environmental science agencies. NCHS Senior Internship Coordinator Heather Bianco said she believes the program helps students learn concepts that cannot be taught in a traditional school environment. “I think the [the program] not only provides a hands-on learning experience for students that they can’t get from school, but also helps them decide on their career path,” Bianco said.

Editorial: ‘Moral’ Shopping in New Canaan

One lesson I learned in seven years of studying Latin in the New Canaan Public Schools involves the word ‘mos.’ It’s a noun and in the singular it means habit or custom. In the plural, ‘mores,’ it translates as character because, taken together, a person’s habits and customs form his or her character. It’s where we get our word ‘morals.’

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At the time I launched NewCanaanite.com, nearly three years ago, convenience and cost alone guided my own spending habits. I only asked ‘Can I find it here in New Canaan?’ if I were downtown already and needed something straightaway. Yet today, before purchasing or signing up for anything, I consciously seek out a local retailer or service provider—a habit so ingrained that it’s become second nature, part of my character.

New Canaan Businesses “Not Anxious” About SoNo Collection, Darien Redevelopment Competition

With the approved SoNo Collection mall in Norwalk and the proposed Corbin/Post Road redevelopment in Darien, the immediate area around New Canaan will see an influx of new retail shops during the next two to three years. These projects spark the question, what impact will these new stores have on local New Canaan businesses? Chamber of Commerce Marketing Associate Laura Budd said the Chamber is looking positively at the increased competition. “We like it that other areas close to us are upping their game in terms of shopping,” Budd said. “We believe it makes southwestern Connecticut and our town more of a destination for shoppers.”

Located just off I-95, the million-square-foot SoNo Collection will bring Bloomingdale’s, Nordstrom and 80 to 100 smaller retailers to Norwalk, according to The Hour.

‘Early Bird Sales’ To Premiere Friday, Setting Up New Canaan Sidewalk Sales

For 51 years, New Canaan has held its Sidewalk Sale & Village Fair in July. With the third week of the month already underway, New Canaan stores and shops have already started to set up for this weekend. Although the town has had this date set for every year, the Darien and Greenwich weekend sales fall on the same days this year. Expected to lose some of the crowd to the other towns, the New Canaan Chamber of Commerce has worked with stores and town officials that many expect will please bargain-hunters and merchants alike this year. For the first time, street-level stores downtown will hold ‘Early Bird Sales’ on Friday.