‘Whatever You Wanted, We Had It’: A Look Back at Breslow’s

In this day and age of specialty superstores and chains, it’s often difficult to imagine the variety store of yesteryear—quaint one-stop shops replete with pretty much everything and anything you’d need to get through the day. Such stores were common throughout suburbia for most of the 20th century, serving a specific need and purpose in a simpler time. And here in New Canaan, no one served that need and purpose better than Breslow’s. Founded in the 1930’s by brothers Ben and Mike, Breslow’s was a New Canaan fixture for nearly half a century, occupying the site of the town’s third firehouse, which—according to the New Canaan Historical Society—had stood at 32 Elm St. (Papyrus currently occupies the space) since 1892.