Business

‘Carpet Trends’ Seeks P&Z Approval Ahead of Spring Opening on Main Street

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A family-owned business moving into a long-vacant commercial space in downtown New Canaan is seeking formal permission from the Planning & Zoning Commission to provide its residential and commercial flooring and related services. Carpet Trends is planning to open a satellite showroom at 97 Main St. next month. The former Garelick & Herbs space has been vacant for about eight years. Under the New Canaan Zoning Regulations, P&Z site plan approval is required for retail businesses with a gross first-floor area of less than 5,000 square feet operating in the Retail A Zone (page 77).

Business

‘Exceeded All of My Expectations’: Look New Canaan Marks One Year in Business

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Look New Canaan, an eyewear vendor and optometry practice located on 21 Forest St., has reached its one-year milestone. Owned and operated by Dr. Jennifer Stewart, a Rowayton resident with more than 15 years of optometry experience, the retail shop and practice provides patients of all ages with eye exams, custom lens fitting, ocular disease management and more. Stewart said that her first year has been “more than she could have ever expected or planned on.”
“It’s been an unbelievable first year,” she told New Canaanite. “Patients have been really great, and the town has been so supportive of us. It really exceeded all of my expectations.”
In addition to the wide range of services offered at Look New Canaan, Stewart said she believes that the location has been a major factor in her success.

Business

Mead Park’s Apple Cart To Open Friday

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As winter draws to a close, one of New Canaan’s favorite seasonal restaurants, The Apple Cart Food Company, is getting ready to open its doors. The eatery’s owner, Emad Aziz, was hard at work last Thursday morning, making preparations for the restaurant’s official opening—a task he has undertaken each spring for the past two decades. “I’m very excited about it,” Aziz told the New Canaanite. “It’s been a very long vacation for me. I took a lot of time to go over everything, trying to get the perfect menu to keep my prices fair and my customers happy.”
In keeping with tradition, The Apple Cart will feature several new menu items this season, including options for those with certain dietary restrictions.

Business

‘Flour Water Salt Bread’ Coming To East Avenue [UPDATED]

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A popular area baker is planning to open a shop in New Canaan. The New Canaan Building Department on Tuesday received an application for a sign at 53 East Ave. for “Flour Water Salt Bread,” records show. Launched by Robert VanKeuren in Darien seven years ago, Flour Water Salt Bread (here on Instagram) makes a sourdough loaf among a wide variety of breads and pastries. 

The shop is about one or two months from opening and VanKeuren told NewCanaanite.com that his team is “very excited to join the New Canaan community.” “Flour Water Salt Bread is a fully sourdough American interpretation of a traditional French boulangerie, offering sourdough everything: breads, croissants, bagels,  pastries, English muffins, sandwiches and more,” he said in a text message.

Business

Property Owner Seeks To Establish Pet Store with Grooming Services at Grove and Elm

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The owner of the vacant commercial building at Grove and Elm Streets is seeking to amend the New Canaan Zoning Regulations so that a new pet store planned for the space can also offer grooming services. The 2007-built glass-and-brick exterior building at 272 Elm St. has been vacant since TD Bank closed its branch there nearly four years ago. The property’s owner, V.M.I. Inc. managing principal Frank Vuoso, in 2023 proposed installing a high-end car dealership there. During a special meeting in December, the Planning & Zoning Commission approved part of a new plan from Vuoso, to change the property’s use from a bank to a retail pet store.