Business

Aquarium Store ‘Life Aquatic’ To Move from South Avenue to Park Street

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After more than seven years on South Avenue, New Canaan’s full-service aquarium store is moving one block away downtown, to the former Radio Shack space on Park Street. Life Aquatic’s owner, Randy Jahier, said he’s very excited about switching to “a much bigger location.”

“I am going to expand my offerings,” Jahier told NewCanaanite.com. “I am primarily saltwater now, so I am going to be going more heavily into freshwater and freshwater plants and upkeep and accessories.”

The move will take place Sept. 1 and Jahier said Life Aquatic will be open through the transition. The new location at 94 Park St.

Business

SLIDESHOW: 20 Things You Only Know If You Shop and Dine in New Canaan

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New Canaanites have plenty of reasons to shop and dine locally, and those reasons go far beyond the fact that the village center has scores of independent businesspeople—retailers, restaurateurs, service providers—who work here and have had a tough go with the weather these past few weeks. Our owners-on-site specialize in their fields and offer a wide range of expertise. They support most every community event that locals associate with the town—fishing derby, Waveny summer concerts, Santa’s visit, little league, Holiday Stroll, ice cream social, Halloween Parade. It’s hard to find two important community events in a row in New Canaan that aren’t sponsored in some way by Walter Stewart’s, Karl Chevy or both. Because familiarity breeds conversation and rapport, we can come to know our local small business owners and workers better than we may at, say, out-of-town chains. The slideshow above is a testament to that strong connection—click through to learn more about some of those who make up the economic lifeblood of the business district.

Biz on Biz

Biz on Biz: Life Aquatic on Station Eats Cheeseburger (Extra Hot Peppers)

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For this installment of Biz on Biz, we asked Bobby Johnson, livestock manager at Life Aquatic on South Avenue (across from the Mobil, near Mackenzie’s) to tell us about a favorite item or service at another New Canaan business. His answer: cheeseburger from Station Eats down the street, with lettuce, pickles, extra hot peppers and fries on the side. “I like the burger, they make it well,” said Johnston, a Fairfield resident. “It’s made in front of you and all natural. Just a very well-taken-care-of place.”

The cheeseburgers are popular and getting extra pickles is “fairly common,” Station Eats line cook Cesar Suero said, “because they give you a kind of spice, because the cheeseburgers have a kind of mild cheese.”

“When I first tried one, it’s like I can’t eat them anywhere else anymore.