NewCanaanite.com (https://newcanaanite.com/category/new-canaan-business-2)
New Canaan businesses are the lifeblood not just of the “Magic Circle” downtown and other hubs of arts and commerce, but also are critical drivers and supporters of community events, human services and preserving the character of “The Next Station to Heaven.” In this section, we spotlight New Canaan businesses and profile their owners, in long-form interviews and spot features, celebrating our anchor businesses and welcoming those new to town.
A beauty shop in downtown New Canaan appears to have closed. Cosmetic Boutique at 86 Elm St. has been cleared out, its doors locked. A branch in Chappaqua, N.Y. remains open, according to a woman who answered the phone there. It wasn’t immediately clear why the New Canaan location was shut down or whether it’s closed permanently.
An AT&T retail store is planned to open on Elm Street.
The telecom company’s signature blue-and-white lettering appears on an awning at 155 Elm St. The 928-square-foot commercial space has been vacant since Gingerbitz closed last summer. Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Tucker Murphy said, “This store will certainly benefit all the AT&T customers in town who would otherwise leave town to get to an AT&T store and then they are gone and shopping elsewhere.” According to Karen Twomey, senior public relations manager for AT&T New England, the store will be authorized retailer Mobily’s second in Connecticut. “It is what we call our classic store design” Twomey said in an email.
An established women’s clothing store with East Coast locations that include Greenwich has opened on Elm Street. Lilly Pulitzer, a self-described “resort lifestyle” brand that feature printed dresses and swimsuits, opened in part of the retail space at 146 Elm St. that had been occupied by design solutions. Launched in the 1950s in Palm Beach, Fla. by Lilly Pulitzer—whose husband Peter was grandson of Joseph Pulitzer, founder of the Pulitzer Prize—the company makes clothing that suits “happy, colorful and free” moods, according to its website.
South Avenue Butcher in downtown New Canaan appears to have closed.
Open since December 2016, the butcher shop at 17 South Ave. hasn’t opened in several days and is empty. Phone and email inquiries went unanswered for more than two business days. In its most recent Facebook page update, posted two weeks ago, the business said it was looking for full- and part-time staff. It hasn’t posted on Instagram since publishing a schedule for the Easter holiday.
JP Morgan Chase Bank last week filed an appeal in state Superior Court that challenges the town’s decision to uphold a recent $4.8 million assessment of its Main Street building.
The bank also is suing New Canaan over the Board of Assessment Appeals’ decision to uphold its $2.4 million valuation of a drive-thru facility off of East Avenue, according to court filings. The valuations of 122 Main St. and 21 East Ave. are “grossly excessive, disproportionate and unlawful,” attorney Steven Nagengast of New York City-based Janata, Lacap & Hazen LLP said in the appeal, received May 7 by the Town Clerk. “The applicant is aggrieved by the action of the Board of Assessment Appeals of the town in that, as the taxpayer of the subject real property, it will be responsible for its property taxes based upon the unlawful assessment if the action of the Board of Assessment Appeals is upheld,” the suit said. Also on May 7, the Town Clerk received an appeal filed on behalf of the owner of commercial property on Cross Street that challenges the Board’s decision to uphold the town’s $5.9 million assessment.