Business

‘Sidewalk Sale’ Set for Saturday, July 20 [Q&A]

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One of the community’s most anticipated summer traditions—the annual Village Fair & Sidewalk Sale downtown—is coming Saturday, July 20. We put some questions to Laura Budd, executive director of the New Canaan Chamber of Commerce, ahead of the big sale. 

Here’s our exchange. ***

What are some of the highlights of this year’s Sidewalk Sale on Saturday, July 20? The event is special because it reflects a full community effort. Along with great deals from amazing retailers you can check in with some of our favorite non-profits, hear music from local bands, enjoy food from many of our restaurants and cafes and the YMCA will have its amazing Family Entertainment Zone at the Elm/Main intersection. 

What happens on Friday, the day before the official Sidewalk Sale?

Augusto Baldini

New Canaan Teen Launches Portable Pizzeria

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Augusto Baldini, 17, a pure-blooded Italian who graduated from New Canaan High School two weeks ago, half-seriously proposed the idea of a portable pizzeria business with his family several weeks ago. He’d been cooking pizza for his family in their wood-fired oven on the patio, as they like to do in the summer, and innocently asked, “What if I started this pizza business where I went house-to-house and made pizzas for people?”

“They said, ‘Sure, it could be a good idea,’ but we never really thought of it again,” Baldini recalled on a recent morning during an interview at New Canaan Library. “And then I had an event for my mom. She hosted a bunch of people over for work at our house, and she asked would I mind cooking pizzas for them? I said sure, of course.

Business

‘Polestar’ Auto Dealership Planned for Park and Cherry Streets

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A new car dealership is planned for the corner of Park and Cherry Streets, a vacant structure long known to locals as the “Merrill Lynch building.”

According to a Zoning Permit application filed on behalf of property owner DP 4 Cherry Street LLC, the property at 4 Cherry St. will be converted into an “auto dealership.”

Renderings that accompany the application show a sign outside the building that says ‘Polestar.’

Polestar is a Swedish-born manufacturer of electric vehicles, according to the company’s website. The existing building, which currently is undergoing renovation, will have four bays for vehicles inside, renderings show. Interior renovations call for a “new wetbar,” according to the plans. It isn’t clear just when the new dealership will open or whether it will operate as a sales floor or show floor.

Business

‘It’s Just So Rewarding’: New Canaan Woman Launches Girls’ Dress Line

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New Canaan’s Morgan Clifford is no stranger to the fashion industry. 

Her eponymous outerwear line has dressed stars from Nikki Hilton to Selena Gomez, and is found in stores such as Loveshackfancy. 

Her newest venture? A line of girls dresses called ‘Emlagh.’

“I wanted to do something totally different, and I love girls’ dresses,” Clifford said. “It just kind of evolved into starting an entirely separate line.”

After launching her own fashion label in New York City in 2015, selling outerwear online, Clifford—a graduate of Hobart and William Smith Colleges in Geneva, N.Y.—moved to New Canaan with her young family. Now she’s launched the new line, which is seeing strong uptake in the early going, and is looking to future creations. 

Clifford also created ‘Emlagh’ because she has a daughter of her own. 

Clifford said creation and distribution of the Emlagh line has gone smoothly, in part, because it’s her second brand launch.  “I already had all the contacts,” she said.

Business

‘The White Buffalo’ Seeks Permission for Twice-Weekly Outdoor Music through October

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Saying the business has met a number of Planning & Zoning conditions, the owners of a popular bar in downtown New Canaan are seeking permission to have outdoor music twice-weekly from May through October. Located down an alley just past Chef Luis on Elm Street since it launched in 2019, The White Buffalo has reviewed letters of complaint about past outdoor events, established an acceptable decibel level, produced a site plan for the access, talked to neighbors and produced documentation requested by the Planning & Zoning Commission, owners Rich Hewitt and Chris Meier said in a letter to P&Z. “We have combed through each complaint and made sure that we have addressed each complaint with sensitivity and empathy,” their letter said. “We feel we have addressed those complaints with our compliant actions. We have met with Chef Luis and feel we have come up with a great compromise to work together in order to generate business for both our restaurants.