Around Town

Winter Storm Hub: What’s Open & Closed, Road Closures, Photos [UPDATED]

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New Canaan Public Schools and New Canaan Library will be closed Monday as a winter storm bears down on the region. The National Weather Service as of Monday morning called for up to 16 inches of snow in New Canaan and the area has been placed under a Winter Storm Warning through Tuesday morning. “Travel will be very difficult to impossible,” the Weather Service said. “The hazardous conditions will impact the morning and evening commutes. Gusty winds could bring down tree branches.”

As of 6 p.m., Eversource reported 831 New Canaan households without power, or nearly 10% of customers.

Around Town

‘Grace Farms Foods’: Local Organization Launches New Company, Products

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Adam Thatcher was working as director of operations at the newly opened Grace Farms five years ago when he noticed something unexpected coming out of its popular food service. Visitors from across the nation who’d had a cup of coffee in “the Commons” section of Grace Farms’s River building began phoning the organization to say they loved the brew and wanted to buy some. The coffee itself—grown on fair trade, women-owned farms, as per Grace Farms CEO and founder Sharon Prince, and donated by town resident and Grace supporter Joe Apuzzo, who owns coffee roasting and importing companies—was called “Heavenly Roast” at the time. Its beans were available for sale, though in a limited way. In the spring of 2019, Thatcher—who prior to Grace Farms had opened restaurants at Lake Tahoe, Calif.

Business

Podcast: New Canaan’s John Walsh

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This week on 0684-Radi0, our free podcast (subscribe here in the iTunes Store), we talk town resident John Walsh of Voice Over Walsh. A career sales professional, Walsh launched a second career in voice over work after having an revelation at church—though not exactly the type of epiphany you might imagine. 

Here are recent episodes of 0684-Radi0:

Business

Police Commission Votes 3-0 To Extend Outdoor Dining Set-Ups on Main and Elm through Feb. 17

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The Police Commission last week voted unanimously to allow Main and Elm Street restaurants to keep their COVID-19 outdoor dining set-ups—where tables are out on sidewalks, and some pedestrian access ways dip behind barriers into the street—for another month. Created last May and extended periodically since then, the temporary sidewalk and parking configurations are designed to give more outdoor dining space to restaurants that have been under changing capacity restrictions since the onset of COVID-19 virus. (As of Nov. 6, under the governor’s order, they’re allowed no more than 50% capacity total between indoor and outdoor dining.)

“It’s more that the weather’s been great,” Commission Chair Paul Foley said at the appointed body’s Jan. 20 meeting, held via videoconference.

Business

TD Bank Branch on Elm Street To Close in April [UPDATED]

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Update 2 p.m. Monday

TD Bank issued the following statement in response to an inquiry from NewCanaanite.com (the New Canaan branch is the only one closing in Fairfield County, officials said):

“As one of the top 10 banks in the U.S., TD is continually evolving the way we serve our customers and communities to best meet changing customer expectations and behaviors, remain competitive and drive long-term growth. We strive to deliver an optimal mix of convenient TD Bank locations and digital banking products and services that are second to none.  With those goals in mind, we regularly evaluate our existing TD Bank stores and new locations. “After a thorough review, we have decided to close our location at 272 Elm Street, New Canaan, effective April 23. While this is a change, we look forward to continuing to serve our New Canaan Customers at our TD Bank Store at 380 Main Avenue in Norwalk, CT, just a few miles down the road, as well as through our convenient online and mobile banking services; live Customer service support available 24 hours/day, 7 days/week, 365 days/year; and our vast network of ATMs.
“In reaching a decision to close a specific TD Bank store, we consider many business factors, including the number of Customers visiting our stores, transaction volumes, the location’s proximity to other TD Bank stores and the number of Customers who use multiple store locations. We have already begun notifying impacted customers.