Business

Local Restaurants and COVID-19: South End

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For this installment of our daily Q&A with a restaurant owner navigating the COVID-19 emergency, we hear from Nick Martschenko, chef-owner of South End and SE Uncorked. South End is open 4 to 8 p.m. Sunday through Friday, and 12 to 8 p.m. Saturday. (SE Uncorked’s building is closed and the business is operating out of South End on Pine Street.)

We note here that Martschenko created a relief fund to help South End and SE Uncorked employees affected by layoffs. “These funds will be used to help those at SE & UC who will face significant hardship in the weeks and maybe months to come,” he said on a GoFundMe page that is hosting the fundraiser. 

Here’s our exchange. New Canaanite: What has this past week been like for you? 

Nick Martschenko: This week has been a mystery basket filled with many emotions.

Around Town

Did You Hear … ?

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Exciting news: We’re hearing that New Canaan’s defunct Outback Teen Center is being renamed ‘The Hub’ by the re-formed board charged with developing new uses for the structure behind Town Hall. Word is, the board is looking at a mix of human services, as well as wellness and possibly food providers to generate revenue at the disused building. New info: New Canaanite Bob Albus, head of the board, told us a program for special needs adults in town will run in the lower level of The Hub on weekdays, and that other activities could include after-school tutoring and mentoring and babysitting for parents who are shopping or dining downtown, and notable local agencies such as Getabout and Staying Put In New Canaan are part of the conversation. “We want to touch virtually every life in town from infants to seniors and really have an expansive program that addresses what are some unmet needs in town,” Albus told NewCanaanite.com. An online fundraising campaign is underway here—designed both to secure some “start-up” money for The Hub and to engage the community, Albus said.

Around Town

Did You Hear … ?

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2016 Cyclocross National Champion David Thompson Junior Men 9-10

Uploaded by Cyclocross Magazine on 2016-01-09.

Congratulations to New Canaan’s David Thompson, who last weekend earned the title 2016 Cyclocross National Champion in the Junior Men 9-10 division (see video above). We hear that David is a 9-year-old who attends the fourth grade at West School, and local cycling guru Lou Kozar of New Canaan Bicycles informs us (dryly) that David’s accomplishment is “kind of a big deal.”

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After impounding and multiple roaming dogs that all had invisible fence collars on them, New Canaan Animal Control Officer Allyson Halm is urging residents to double-check the batteries on those devices as well as their systems at home. A golden retriever on Skyview Lane, Labradoodle on Jelliff Mill Road and a pair of dogs on Oenoke Lane—a German shepherd and pit bull—all were collected by the New Canaan Police Department Animal Control section in recent days. ***

We’ve got the details on New Canaanite and “What’s Up With Wendy” radio show host Wendy Lowy Sloane’s sixth anniversary broadcast at 11 a.m. on 1490 AM-WGCH and online at WGCH.com. Her guests include actress Monica Potter, NBC Sports broadcaster Leigh Diffey and Bob Leary, founder of Trimino.

Business

Pine Street Renaissance Expands Downtown New Canaan Footprint

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With a growing array of commercial storefronts expanding New Canaan’s downtown footprint, the Pine Street of 2015 is a far cry that of years’ past. Once known primarily for the location of the Post Office and a Grand Union supermarket, Pine Street has undergone a rebirth in recent years, evolving into a destination for established and new businesses alike. “I love our location, I don’t think it could be better,” Eugene Chun, owner of CT Sandwich Co., told NewCanaanite.com. “We’re close enough to Elm Street and all the action but we’re not caught in congestion—it makes things a lot easier.”

Retail businesses are not the only ones attracted to Pine Street. For BJ Flagg, principal at Nurenu Brand Marketing, a need for additional space was one of the reasons in her move from an office on Elm to one on Pine last month.

Around Town

Did You Hear … ?

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Many New Canaanites by now have seen a rendering of the Midcentury Modern-inspired commercial building that John and Melissa Engel have planned for the lot at 215 Elm St. The architect on the project is Westport-based Frederick William Hoag. Some time after John Engel explained what he had in mind to a University of Maryland School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation professor, a document that included some truly fascinating concepts came in from students (see above). The Maryland architecture program been called the only one in the nation that includes professional Masters programs and related PhD-level studies in planning, preservation and real estate development within the same school. ***

Bill Egan, the newly hired principal of New Canaan High School, has gotten into the spirit of the job very quickly: At his formal introduction at the Board of Education meeting on Monday night, board member Sheri West astutely noted, Egan was sporting a NCHS Rams tie.