Business

‘I Like the People Who Live in New Canaan’: Eco-Friendly Dry Cleaners ‘Pressing Matters’ Opens on Cross Street

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Mike Weisel had built up his dry cleaning business to four locations over 27 years—in Westport (two stores), Stamford and Trumbull—when he sold them off (“I decided that I didn’t want to do the retail dry cleaning anymore”). Then in January 2015, the North Stamford resident launched a pickup and delivery cleaners service that covered Fairfield County, and something unusual stuck out as the new company—Pressing Matters—grew increasingly popular. “My growth happened all in New Canaan,” Weisel said Monday afternoon from the floor of his new space at 16 Cross St., his son Josh and 9-year-old golden retriever Molson keeping standing by in the first-ever permanent location of Pressing Matters. “I had stops in Greenwich, stops in Stamford. But majority of my stops were here.

Around Town

Foursomes Needed for Sept. 25 Annual Golf Outing, Supporting the New Canaan Chamber of Commerce

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The local organization that puts on some of New Canaan’s most cherished local events—Holiday Stroll, Halloween Parade, Sidewalk Sale, Taste of the Town and Pop Up Park, for example—is calling on residents and local businesses that enjoy those perks to support it through a major fundraiser slated for later this month. The New Canaan Chamber of Commerce’s Annual Golf Outing, to be held Sept. 25 at the Country Club of New Canaan, is “a large part of our budget that allows us to do what we do on a daily basis,” according to Tucker Murphy, the organization’s executive director. “While it is a great networking event and it’s a great day and a lot of fun, it’s also a big part of the fundraising efforts that keep us going.”

Specifically, the Chamber is eager to see more foursomes (see details here) sign up for the Golf Outing, which includes a buffet lunch, 18 holes of golf in shamble tournament format and then cocktail reception, dinner and prizes. Jenny Esposito, a town resident and past president of the Chamber Board of Directors who also has arranged to have foursomes from her workplace—she’s store manager at TD Bank—participate in the Golf Outing called it a “great event.”

“Everyone I’ve ever had from TD as a foursome has really enjoyed it,” she said.

Business

‘Taste of the Town Stroll’ Benefitting Food Pantry, Lions Club Set for Thursday Evening

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The weather forecast calls for clear, sunny skies on Thursday for New Canaan’s annual Taste of the Town Stroll. A “food-raiser” for the New Canaan Food Pantry that this year will double as a benefit for the Lions Club (see below), the Taste of the Town Stroll is to be held 6 to 9 p.m. on Aug. 24. Sponsored exclusively by Berkshire Hathaway New England Properties and organized by the Chamber of Commerce, this year’s event downtown will feature 24 participating shops and restaurants “that are going to provide food or a taste of some sort,” Chamber Executive Director Tucker Murphy said. “A new feature this year is that we partnered with the Lions Club so not only can people bring a food donation but you can bring gently used eyeglasses or hearing aids that will be refurbished and donated to people that need them,” she said.

Around Town

‘We Are Supporting Each Other’: New Canaan Merchants Keep Business in Town

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When walking down Elm Street on a sunny Saturday afternoon, it is more than likely that one will hear a couple visitors from New York City or beyond lament that New Canaan seems to be ripped from an episode of “Gilmore Girls.” Indeed, this town offers many of the same surface qualities as the fictional Star’s Hollow, with a beautiful downtown and quirky residents and business owners. The similarities go deeper, however; on the show, it is not uncommon to see Luke, the owner of the local diner, cross the street to buy supplies from Doosey’s Market. It’s a perfect illustration of local charm; these two small businesses support each other while also contributing to the integrity of the town. If it seems too good to be happening in real life, it’s not, and businesses right here in New Canaan are using the same model.

Business

‘It’s the Perfect Location’: Ashtanga Yoga Opens on Elm Street

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Noelle DeStefano first found yoga as a business professional suffering from stress. DeStefano had been running an area website and graphic design business for 15 years, and began searching for an answer. “Sitting at a desk all day takes a toll on your body,” she recalled on a recent afternoon, seated on an embroidered pillow at the center of a sunwashed Elm Street studio, “I knew as soon as I stepped on the mat that yoga was what I needed.”

She added: “I think yoga can help just about anyone.”

DeStefano recently launched Ashtanga Yoga New Canaan in a second-floor space in the heart of the downtown. A relatively self-led style, Ashtanga yoga was founded in Mysore, India by Shri K Pattabhi Jois and it has just three authorized teachers in Connecticut, including DeStefano. “In a regular yoga class, everyone starts at the same time with the teacher in the front of the room, and everyone’s sort of moving together,” she said.