Around Town

Did You Hear … ?

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The Cedar Knolls, N.J.-based company that brings in coaches from the United Kingdom to instruct youth soccer players in New Canaan hit a snag in immigration this year that’s limited its ability to bring back most of its coaches from last fall. The matter is being addressed head-on with parents by the New Canaan Football Club. The contracted company, UK Elite, has accelerated its search to bring in replacement coaches for the NCFC’s Travel and Academy teams this spring. ***

Police received a report at about 10:22 a.m. Sunday about a distressed dog in a car at the Acme (Food Emporium) lot on Elm Street. The owner turned up and left the with dog, according to Officer Allyson Halm of the New Canaan Police Department’s Animal Control section.

Business

Sneak Peek: ‘Kaahve’ Coffee Shop To Open Next Week on Main Street

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The coffee shop planned for the prominent commercial space at Main Street at East Avenue, vacant since Ten Thousand Villages closed last May, is set to open next week, according to the new business’s owner. Turkey native Esref Cezzar said Tuesday morning that he’s excited to introduce “nice, tasty specialty coffees” to New Canaanites at ‘Kaahve’ at 96 Main St. “We’re going to have Turkish coffee, too,” Cezzar said from a spacious, naturally bright space that’s undergone a dramatic transformation from its retail predecessors. “We’re trying to create something a little different from the usual coffee shops.”

It’s on track to open in about one week to 10 days, he said. Stressed wood tables and straight-backed chairs will combine with two large sofas to offer seating for up to 20 people, while a large new granite countertop is in place along one long wall of Kaahve (Turkish for ‘coffee’) and track lighting set amid the 10-foot-high, exposed ceiling.

Around Town

Did You Hear … ?

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4th Man Out – TRAILER (Green band)

4TH MAN OUT is coming out on February 5, in theaters and VOD. Evan Todd (“Switched at Birth”) stars as Adam, a small-town, blue-collar mechanic who likes beer and hockey but surprises his buddies when he tells them he’s gay.

Some very exciting news to share here: 1998 New Canaan High School graduate Jed Mellick is producer of a highly acclaimed new feature film, “Fourth Man Out,” which is set for a Feb. 5 release in 11 cities including New York City. The movie (check out the trailer above), reviewed here by Variety, has earned accolades from critics and at film festivals over the past several months. We hear from Jed that for anyone who cannot make it to a theater, Feb. 5 will mark a release date on VOD and other platforms, and there’s a pre-order link on this web page with the trailer.

Business

Turkey Native Plans New Coffee Shop ‘Kaahve’ for Main Street at East Avenue

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A new coffee shop is planned for the former 10,000 Villages space at the northeast corner of Main Street and East Avenue. Esref Cezzar told NewCanaanite.com that he plans to open ‘Kaahve’—that’s Turkish for ‘coffee’—in about two months at 96 Main St. It will be “a friendly place where people come in for a little socializing, sit down and chat and [I’m] hoping they will drink coffee, too,” said Cezzar, a Stamford resident who came to the United States from his native Turkey in 2002. His first job here in the States was as a Starbucks manager, a position he held for a few years before taking a job with CVS. Asked why he’s chosen to open a coffee shop, Cezzar said: “Coffee, I like it so much myself and I wanted to have a business that is fun for me, [where I can] interact with people, talk to them and they are coming in and having fun.”

Asked for her thoughts on the prospect of Kaahve’s opening, New Canaan Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Tucker Murphy said: “We’re very pleased to know that such a visible commercial space will be re-activated by this small coffee shop with an owner on site, and wish Esref the very best in his venture.”

The space has been vacant since 10,000 Villages left in May.