Around Town

New Canaan Winter Storm Hub: What’s Open & Closed, Photos, Updates

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With up to 12 inches of snow expected in New Canaan, public schools, Town Hall and the library all are closed Thursday. What follows are lists of what’s open and closed in New Canaan—we will update it throughout the day, as we add photos from around town and any pertinent information on road closures and outages. If you run a business or organization in town and want us to share your hours today, please fill out this form (it’s also embedded below):

Open

Walter Stewart’s open 7:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.
Stewarts Spirits open 9 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Francos Wine Merchants is open 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Karl Chevrolet is open 8 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Weed & Duryea opens at 7 a.m.
Fish Tales open 1 to 7 p.m.
Joe’s Pizza open 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Embody Fitness Gourmet is open
New Canaan Toy Store is open
NAPA Auto Parts of New Canaan open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
JAK Handyman is open and on-call for emergencies
Chef Luis is open

Closed

Halo Studios is closed
New Canaan Library is closed
Pennyweights is closed
Baskin Robbins is closed
Zumbach’s Gourmet Coffee is closed
Public schools are closed
Town Hall and all other municipal buildings are closed
Pet Pantry is closed
Rand Insurance is closed
New Canaan Racquet Club is closed
Nurenu Brand Marketing’s office is closed though its talented staff is working remotely
Ciel Eau spa is closed
Elm Street Books is closed
Family & Environmental Medicine’s office is closed (available for phone consultations)
Pryority Wellness is closed
Morning classes at Sama Yoga cancelled—stay tuned for the evening
New Canaan YMCA is closed
Station Eats is closed
New Canaan Cleaners is closed

The town is under a Winter Storm Warning from the National Weather Service through 6 p.m. Temperatures will drop into the 20’s and officials warn of dangerous driving conditions with “snow covered roads and poor visibilities,” according to the Upton, N.Y. based weather service. “Blowing and drifting snow is likely,” the agency said. “Local power outages with downed trees and power lines [are] possible.”

Business

Stewarts Spirits To Open Friday in New Elm Street Building

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One of New Canaan’s best-established anchor businesses is set to open Friday in a brand-new, open, naturally lit and highly visible commercial space on Elm Street. Stewarts Spirits in moving across the parking lot from Walter Stewart’s Market, has doubled its floor space, according to New Canaan brothers Doug and Alex Stewart, great-grandsons of Walter and Nellie Stewart. “We are really excited,” Doug Stewart said as he joined store manager John Robinson and others stocking the tall shelves and wide new refrigerator at 215 Elm St. “It’s been a lot of work, and the work has paid off. We’re excited to open.

Business

Stewarts Spirits To Move Into New Elm Street Building This Fall

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The modern, two-story building that’s been taking shape this year in a prominent, conspicuous location opposite the train station on Elm Street is set to welcome its first major tenant in the coming weeks, officials say. Stewarts Spirits, the fine wine shop added in 1974 to the New Canaan’s family’s longtime market by Robert Bailey Stewart—grandson of Walter and Nellie Stewart and son of Walter A. Stewart Sr. and Audrey Bailey Stewart—is on track to open in the brand-new structure this fall, according to Doug Stewart. “We are excited that the new home of Stewart’s Wine & Spirits is taking shape and we seem to be in the home stretch,” he said. The shop will occupy the 1,623-square-foot first floor of the building, designed by Westport-based Frederick William Hoag Architect. Melissa Engel, who owns the property and has overseen the new building’s construction as project manager, said the glass walls of the second floor space will go in this week.

Business

Parking Relief Sought for New Elm Street Building, Future Home of Stewarts Spirits

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The owner of an Elm Street commercial lot that soon will see a new two-story building go up—a structure that officials say will serve, in part, as a future location for Stewarts Spirits—is seeking some relief from a local parking requirement as a basement level now also is proposed. Permits to construct the 3,011-square-foot building on the .28-acre lot at 215 Elm St.—located just east of Walter Stewart’s Market and Stewarts Spirits—already have been secured. Now, the property’s owner, Melissa Engel, is seeking to create a 1,598-square-foot basement which, under the New Canaan Zoning Regulations (see page 109 here), triggers the need for six additional parking spaces. The parcel’s site plan, as it is, will fall three spaces short. Engel is seeking relief under Section 6.2.E.2 of the zoning regs (page 112 here).