Business

Suburban Couture on Main Street To Close July 31; New Canaan Ski and Sport Moving In

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After more than four years on Main Street, clothing and accessories shop Suburban Couture at month’s end will close its doors for good, according to its owner. Meri Hopkinson called the decision to close her store “bittersweet.”

“We feel the climate of retail is changing in general, and although we love the town and we feel that people support the town, we feel that the online presence is bigger than the brick-and-mortar can support,” Hopkinson told NewCanaanite.com. The Ridgefield resident, who had the same shop set up in her hometown for more than eight years prior to moving it to New Canaan, said she earned her Realtor’s license earlier this year and plans to launch a new career in that arena. New Canaan Ski & Sport will move into the space at 110 Main St., Hopkinson confirmed. “Thank you to my New Canaan customers—I have made so many great friends and I have made this decision knowing we will be missed,” she said.

Around Town

Did You Hear … ?

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Congratulations to the South School Chess Club, which won first place at the Fairfield County Scholastic Team Chess Championship. The Nov. 8 tournament featured competitors from nine K-5 Fairfield County elementary schools. The South School team was led by Joseph Ho, Michael Telesco, Henry Chandra and Luke Gencarelli, who each won three games out of four. Strong contributors included Jenna Ho and Luke Van Dussen. This tournament also brought out young talents Quinn Kilkenny, Yuna Ho and Emily Telesco who were each playing in their first or second professional tournament.

Business

‘The Changing Room’: A Cold-Weather Wear Boutique, Personal Shopping Service Opens on Burtis Avenue

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Few New Canaan businesses built a reputation for unique products in demand and strong customer service as did the Alberino family-owned New Canaan Ski and Sport, a Main Street fixture for decades. Fueled by a love of skiing and offering a wide array of outdoor wear, the iconic shop that John Alberino launched on Cherry Street in 1976 would serve locals for most of its 36 years in a commercial space opposite Morse Court before moving to Forest for its final eight years in town. It closed in October 2012. By then, daughter Pam Alberino, a 1990 Wilton High School graduate and accomplished skier, already had worked for most of her life at the shop, and the family had opened a store in Ridgefield with another soon to launch in Westport. Yet the Alberinos’ deep New Canaan roots remained, and when Pam—now mom to a 4-year-old boy and living in the Silvermine district of Norwalk—brought her high-end winter wear to a trunk show at a downtown salon two winters ago, an idea for a new business came to her.