Business

‘Subway’ Sandwich Shop To Reopen on Main Street

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Nearly four months after it closed, the Subway sandwich shop on Main Street is to be reopened within one week under new ownership, officials say. The national made-to-order sandwich shop could be reopened as early as Friday, or possibly Monday, according to Zack Ullah, a Norwalk resident who will manage the Subway at 64 Main St. The staff has been hired at Subway and Ullah said the shop is “going to do something special for ‘Back to School.’ ”

“I know they’re playing football and the camps are going on as well, so we can have them in or deliver for their convenience,” Ullah told NewCanaanite.com. Located directly opposite Town Hall and popular among both municipal workers there and the guys at the Fire Department up the street, Subway had been a fixture of downtown New Canaan for more than 25 years. A sign appeared in its window in April that the store was closing, just as the national chain closed hundreds of stores nationwide, faced with a slowdown in sales.

Around Town

‘They Support the Community’: Local Businesspeople Recognized by New Canaan Chamber of Commerce at Annual Awards Luncheon

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Local businesspeople in New Canaan work tirelessly year-round to serve the town of New Canaan and its residents—giving of their time and rolling up their sleeves to provide goods and services for those in need, coach youth sports and volunteer to support community events. On Tuesday, the New Canaan Chamber of Commerce recognized three businesses who have made a significant impact. “We do this every year—this is our way of honoring the businesses that support our town,” Tucker Murphy, the executive director of the New Canaan Chamber of Commerce, said during the organization’s Annual Awards Luncheon, held at Gates. “It’s always hard because there are so many that do so many great things.”

This year’s winners are:

Rob Hutchinson and Hutchinson Tree Company for Golden Shovel
Steve and Leo Karl for Volunteers of the Year
Nick Martschenko and South End for Business of the Year

“The Golden Shovel is for an organization or club that lends to the beautification of downtown,” Murphy told NewCanaanite.com, referring to Hutchinson’s Christmas lights that run throughout town in the winter months. “The lights is just an all time favorite.

Business

‘Take It to the Next Level’: New Canaan Music Moving to Main Street

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New Canaan Music is poised to move this summer from its original location in “the alley” on Elm Street to a larger, more conspicuous space on Main Street, officials say—a great sign for the locally owned business as well as for a block that’s seen merchants vacate street-level storefronts in the past year. Owner Phil Williams said that after four years in the alley near Chef Luis, “we are ready to take it up to the next level” in moving to 90 Main St., most recently the temporary site of the New Canaan Post Office, near the corner of East Avenue. “We will have bigger and better lesson rooms, a bigger and better store and a more prominent location,” said Williams, a town resident with a son in public schools here and who serves on the Board of Directors of the New Canaan Chamber of Commerce. “This really puts us more on the map. This [the original location] has been a good place that has really served us well for the past four years—I can’t believe it has already been that many years—but it has given us a good launching point to take it to the next level.”

New Canaan Music’s space will increase by more than half as much in the new space, from approximately 1,200 to 2,000 square feet, Williams said.

Business

‘Good Weather is Coming’: Local Businesses Hope for Warmer, More Inviting Weather

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With temperatures ranging from the mid-40’s to high-70’s, this spring’s weather has kept New Canaanites guessing—perhaps no group more so than local merchants. Local businesses have been feeling the effects unusual weather patterns, and though customers are still walking around, buying clothes and eating out, merchants are hoping that consistently summer-like temps arrive soon. Despina Tsartsabalidis, manager of the New Canaan Diner on Forest Street, said that the unusual weather has slowed down business due to customers preferring to sit inside, decreasing the amount of seating available. “It has affected the outside business,” Tsartsabalidis said. “Right now, it’s cold, no one is gonna sit outside, even though we have the heaters.

Business

New Parking Machines to Be Installed Thursday at Downtown Lots

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If you frequently park in downtown New Canaan for work, shopping or dining, there’s good news: New parking machines are being installed Thursday at Morse Court and Park Street lots (two apiece), with single machines going to Locust Avenue, the Playhouse and Center School lots. The solar-powered Parkeon Strada Pal Rapide model machines will be a significant improvement over the old machines, according to New Canaan Parking Bureau Superintendent Stacy Miltenberg. “They are an improvement because the instructions are right on the screen and walks people through each step, the screens are larger, in color and will be easier to see even in direct sunlight,” Miltenberg told NewCanaanite.com. “Since [the parking machine company is] located in New Jersey, communication from the machines will be quicker as well as contact with the company will always be done during regular business hours. I believe they will be more user friendly overall.”

Miltenberg added that the new machines will still take coins (nickels, dimes and quarters) as well as credit cards. The 7-inch screens will show the rates, the maximum amount of time each vehicle is permitted to park in the lots, minimum coin and credit card amounts, and enforcement hours.