Business

‘A Lovely, Welcoming and Small Business-Friendly Town’: Element Medical Aesthetics Marks One Year on Main Street

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Downtown New Canaan’s Element Medical Aesthetics is nearing an important milestone. A provider of wrinkle reducers, filler, lasers and radiofrequency treatments, PDO threads, chemical peels, hair restoration and body and facial treatments, among other services, the business at 80 Main St. is marking one year here. We put some questions to owner Merry Thornton on the occasion. Here’s our exchange.

Beau's Boxing & Fitness

‘A Great Way To Get in Shape’: Beau’s Boxing & Fitness Opens on Main Street

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Jamal Beau had already been teaching New Canaanites fitness, including through boxing, for 15 years when he received a call from his then-employer that they were shutting down a gym, leaving him out of work. It was September 2022 and Beau—grandson of boxing middleweight Jimmy Beau, who compiled a 36-16 record in the 1940s and ‘50s, fighting at venues that included Madison Square Garden—had just returned from vacation. 

“So I kind of got put in a bad place,” Beau recalled Tuesday. “It wasn’t planned. It was just kind of, ‘OK you know what? I’ve got to take the next step.’ ”

He did.

Business

‘A Contribution to An Already Amazing Town’: The Farmer’s Grind To Operate New Café at Library

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A local provider of specialty coffee, pastries, organic breads, artisanal soups and sandwiches is on track to operate the new cafe in the rebuilt New Canaan Library. Michelle and Erich Smith, owners of The Farmer’s Grind in South Salem, N.Y., say they’re excited to bring their established business to the downtown. “It’s about bringing local back to the community,” Michelle Smith told NewCanaanite.com. Referring to New Canaan Library Executive Director Lisa Oldham, she added, “When Lisa approached us and talked to us about the library and all the new innovations and plans for the future, the forward thinking, it was very simple and easy to just slip right in. We are looking forward to making it another home.”

The Farmer’s Grind launched its first location in 2020, just north of the New Canaan town line.

Business

French Bakery and Café Planned for Burtis Avenue

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A new French bakery and café is planned for Burtis Avenue in New Canaan. La Parisienne is “coming soon” to 5 Burtis Ave., according to a sign in the window of the commercial space, the former home of Green & Tonic (now on Forest Street). It’s unclear when the business’s owners plan to open. They could not immediately be reached for comment. La Parisienne already has a location in Larchmont, N.Y. According to its website, the bakery sells sandwiches, salads, panini, breads, pastries, full-size cakes and tarts.

Business

New Coffee Shop Planned for Burtis Avenue

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A new coffee shop is planned for downtown New Canaan. The town Building Department on Jan. 19 received an application for about $40,000 of interior demolition work at 20 Burtis Ave. “Convert existing salon to a coffee shop,” the application said. “Interior walls and new finishes.