Adam Jacobson

Pet Pantry’s Self-Serve Dog-Washing Stations Back Up and Running [UPDATED]

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Representatives of a family-owned local business are urging their customers to book appointments for a popular service soon, as Thanksgiving approaches. Launched two years ago, the self-serve dog washing stations at Pet Pantry Warehouse on Grove Street often get booked out even in a regular week, according to Ira Schwartz, a manager at the store. Family holidays see demand increase dramatically. “Before a major holiday, book at least five to seven days in advance,” Schwartz told NewCanaanite.com on Sunday as one of the Grove Street store’s customers washed what appeared to be a Labradoodle in one of the two stations inside. 

Pet Pantry Vice President Adam Jacobson said the popular washing stations had been taken out of commission temporarily before coming back in October. Schwartz said locals “are back” in the store following the break.

Business

‘It’s Just Been Amazing’: Barvida Marks One Year on Elm Street

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Asked what his first year in business in downtown New Canaan has been like, Barvida owner Brennan Branca says “it’s been overwhelmingly positive.”

The organic vegan juice bar and café he opened last November at 137 Elm St. has seen a steady stream of customers, according to the Darien native, and his business is integrating into the community in ways he couldn’t anticipate. 

The New Canaan location is Branca’s second, after his native Darien, though even there he had patrons coming down from the “Next Station To Heaven” to sample cold-pressed juices, smoothies and organic foods including bowls, wraps, salads and toasts. “When we were in Darien, we had a bunch of people from New Canaan come over and ask us to open,” Branca recalled. “And as soon as we opened, we had a bunch of people come in that kind of knew the name and honestly, everyone in New Canaan has been extremely nice, more so than I could ever imagine. They were extremely welcoming.

Business

New Spa To Open on Main Street Next Week [PHOTOS]

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New Beauty & Wellness spa will open next week on Main Street opposite the Morse Court parking lot, according to the business’s owners. 

Described as a “state-of-the-art luxury medical spa” on its website, the spa will open its doors Oct. 31 at 128 Main St., the former New Balance space. “After much anticipation, the New Beauty & Wellness team is proud and excited to bring a new standard of luxury wellness to the New Canaan community, marking a significant milestone in our journey,” owners Michele and Paul Dowicz told NewCanaanite.com in an email. Offerings at New Beauty include non-surgical facial treatments, medical grade facials and skincare products, injectables, massage therapy, holistic wellness treatments, lymphatic drainage/cupping/cranial sacral therapy and weight loss. Laura Budd, executive director of the New Canaan Chamber of Commerce, said it’s “an honor that their experienced team chose New Canaan as the location to expand their business.”

“New Beauty & Wellness has already demonstrated a commitment to our community by joining the Chamber before they were even open and participating in Sidewalk Sale,” Budd said.

Business

New Canaan Woman Launches ‘Posh,’ a High-End Consignment Shop Downtown

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The idea for a high-end consignment shop had been percolating in recent years for New Canaan’s Christine Knox. 

She’d always liked beautiful things and—after earning a bachelor’s degree in art history at Skidmore College and a master’s in art history from Williams College—she went to work for about six years in the field of art, through museums and at Christie’s Auction House. “I’ve always been interested in the art field—everywhere I traveled, I could always go to museums and look at everything,” Knox told NewCanaanite.com on Tuesday morning from a desk at the rear of Posh Home Décor Consignment at 33 East Ave. “I have everything here from—right over my shoulder is a 16th century Italian etching, which is very famous—everything from antiques to contemporary things. I vet things extremely carefully when they come in so that everything is sort of unique, different and good prices. Very marketable prices.

Business

Retired NCPS Teacher Launches ‘LB Education & Life Coaching’

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The idea for a business that helped kids solve problems came to LB Reddington five years ago. A teacher in New Canaan Public Schools for nearly three decades before retiring last year, Reddington had spent most of her career as a fifth-grade science teacher at Saxe Middle School, also teaching third- and-fourth graders at West School, and sixth-graders at Saxe. During that time, Reddington took professional and personal pride in helping kids solve problems, far beyond just content delivery. “Their management and their organization, and trying to draw their strengths out—you’re working in so many different supports for the kids,” Reddington said during an interview at New Canaan Library on a recent morning. “I enjoy bringing pieces together and solving problems and seeing that growth and success.”

Seeking to use what she gleaned in her 28-year career, Reddington last year launched LB Education & Life Coaching.