Business

‘Salon 5 East’ To Replace Hairquarters West, Closed After 40-Plus Years

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Toni Esposito had joined the staff Hairquarters West in 1992, when the longtime New Canaan business was located up the staircase alongside the former Post Office building on Pine Street. Ten years ago, Esposito opened her own place, Cherry Street Salon, which has been so successful that the 1986 Westhill High School graduate been looking for a bigger space to accommodate increased demand for hair and other services. On Monday, Esposito will move her staff into the East Avenue commercial space that Hairquarters West has occupied for the past two years, since Mrs. Green’s took over the entire building at 2 Pine St. The new salon, to be called ‘Salon 5 East’ (it’s at 5 East Ave.) will see Esposito’s 5-stylist staff move up the hill, and she’ll retain three stylists from Hairquarters West (yes, including Jose), which is closing, while expanding her offerings to include manicures, pedicures, waxing, facials and massages. “My clients are so excited because now they can have a manicure, have a pedicure while they’re sitting with color,” Esposito said from the deceivingly expansive floor at 5 East Ave.

Business

‘Clothing In Which Children Can Be Children’: New Shop To Open Saturday on Elm Street

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An area mom originally from Europe is planning to open a children’s clothing shop on Elm Street that features German lines serving newborns to 12-year-olds. Christine Eisenbeiss called the offerings at Ella & Henry at 137 Elm St.—anchored by clothing from Giengen, Germany-based Steiff—“high quality” and “functional.”

“Steiff has been very famous in the United States for teddy bears, but in Germany, in Europe, they have been making children’s clothing from quite some time and they’re very successful,” Eisenbeiss, a Germany native who moved to the states in the last few years and resides with her family in Port Chester, N.Y., told NewCanaanite.com. The price of the clothes is a middle range between Ralph Lauren and Gap, she said. If its initial shipment of merchandise clears customs as expected, Ella & Henry—so named after Eisenbeiss’s niece and son—will open this coming Saturday, Oct. 3, she said.

Business

Sokushindo Foot Reflexology on East Maple Street To Close Oct. 31

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Nearly 18 months after opening on East Maple Street, Sokushindo foot reflexology is slated to close at the end of next month, officials with the business say. According to May Zhang, Sokushindo’s always-sunny receptionist, despite many customers who spread word about the unique Japanese service to friends and family, the rent was prohibitively high to make the business work. “We love this town, have a good business in town and want to stay but for a lot of reasons, we can’t,” Zhang told NewCanaanite.com. A type of massage based on the principle that different parts of the body are connected to reflex points in the feet, hands and head, the word ‘Sokushindo’ is from the Japanese “Soku” meaning foot or leg, “Shin” heart, center or core, and “Do” a discipline or way. The business opened late last April.

Business

Ralph Lauren Children’s Store on Elm Street To Close in Mid-August

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The Ralph Lauren Children’s store at 115 Elm St. in New Canaan will close in mid-August, company officials said. It isn’t clear just what brought on the decision to close a store that has been involved consistently in downtown New Canaan events, including those organized by the New Canaan Chamber of Commerce. The Polo Ralph Lauren store at 51 Elm St. remains open.

Business

Preview: 50th Annual Village Fair & Sidewalk Sale

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It’s been a tradition for many New Canaanites over the past half-a-century, and this year’s New Canaan Village Fair and Sidewalk Sale is shaping up to be one of the biggest yet. Running 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. this Saturday, July 18, the event run by the New Canaan Chamber of Commerce, and sponsored this year by William Raveis, is an installment that organizers say will have all generations talking. “It’s the 50th year of the event, and what we always have appreciated is that during that time it’s always been called the Village Fair and Sidewalk Sale, because it is a fair as well—entertainment for all shapes and sizes,” Laura Budd, marketing associate for the New Canaan Chamber of Commerce, told NewCanaanite.com. “That’s something that differentiates New Canaan’s event from other surrounding towns.” “We have over 115 confirmed vendors for the day. There’s no bad seat in the house.