Black Creek Designs

Local Businesses and COVID-19: Black Creek Designs

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For today’s Q&A with a local business owner, we hear from Tom Throop of Black Creek Designs. The Grove Street furniture designer and maker, a 1982 New Canaan High School graduate, has a number of pieces available. Here’s our exchange. 

New Canaanite: Tom as far as I know, except for Primo your handsome Vizsla, you work alone there in the shop on Grove Street, so I don’t expect your day-to-day has changed too much in terms of the schedule. Even so, you have to be able to meet with those commissioning work from you or to show them what you’re doing. What has this experience of the COVID-19 public health emergency been like for you? Tom Throop: You are correct, it has been pretty much business as usual for Primo and I. We are at the shop every day, I’m working on commissions and Primo is sleeping soundly.

Adam Skalman

Local Businesses and COVID-19: The Shade Store

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For today’s Q&A with a local business navigating COVID-19, we hear from Adam Skalman, vice president of sales at The Shade Store. The business at Elm and Main Streets is open 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday. 

Here’s our exchange. New Canaanite: The Shade Store’s opening at Main and Elm turned out to coincide with the onset of the COVID-19 public health emergency. What has this been like for you?  

Adam Skalman: Our experience has been like so many across the world—a renewed sense of community, social partnership and unified purpose. We are so lucky to be a part of the New Canaan neighborhood, and so many areas like it across the country, where local businesses and residents work together to create a healthy and safe environment during this stressful time. Many people are spending a lot more time at home and appear to be getting some long-planned home improvement projects done.

Business

‘Core Burn Pilates’ Coming To Park Street

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A pilates studio is planned for a commercial space in downtown New Canaan, according to an application that is to come before the Planning & Zoning Commission on Tuesday. Core Burn Pilates is to be located in the former L’Amoire space at 102 Park St., according to applications for approval of a sign out front of the prominent brick-exterior building and site plan to allow a change in use from retail to personal services. According to a narrative filed on behalf of property owner Caroline Realty LLC, nothing is changing with the building and the new tenant will have access to a large parking lot off of Cherry Street. 

The space had been occupied by L’Armoire for 34 years, according to the narrative from the LLC’s managing partner, Rob Mallozzi. “Last July I received a call from a neighboring businesses alerting me to moving vans outside of that location; the tenant moved out without a word leaving a year left on the lease,” Mallozzi said in the letter. L’Armoire’s owner was Diane Roth.

Business

Local Businesses and COVID-19: New Canaan Healthfare

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For today’s Q&A with a local business, we hear from Margaret Wenzel, who owns New Canaan Healthfare with her husband, Jim. The Morse Court provider of organic foods—including wheat-free and gluten-free—as well as vitamins, pure cosmetics and more, is offering outside pickup and delivery in addition to its safe in-store shopping. 

Here’s our exchange. New Canaanite: New Canaan Healthfare is a business in the field of health and wellness. What has it been like for you to experience the onset of the COVID-19 virus? 

Margaret Wenzel: Overwhelming. There were so many unknowns and so much fear, but we knew we were crucial to our customers.

Business

Town Approves Street Closures for Modified ‘Sidewalk Sale’ Planned for August

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The Police Commission voted 3-0 Tuesday to close parts of Elm and Forest Streets to motor vehicle traffic for two days in August so that downtown merchants can set up tables and racks in the roadway for bargain-hunting shoppers. The modified “Sidewalk Sale” would take place on Friday Aug. 21 and Saturday Aug. 22, contingent on state guidance for retailers, spikes in COVID-19 virus here and approval from an administrative team that approves special events in New Canaan. Unlike the traditional Sidewalk Sale of summers past, there would be no food vendors or entertainers at the August event, no nonlocal businesses would be allowed to set up tables in the road, nonprofit organizations would not have displays out in the accustomed way, and Main Street would remain open to vehicular traffic, according to Tucker Murphy, executive director of the New Canaan Chamber of Commerce. 

“This is not a Sidewalk Sale here,” she told the Commission during a special meeting, held via videoconference.