Business

‘We’re So Thankful’: The Adirondack Store on Elm Street To Close Friday

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The Adirondack Store, a beloved retail shop and café that opened on Elm Street seven years ago, is closing its doors this week, the business’s owners say. Christopher English and Stephen Shin said they’re deeply thankful to the New Canaan community for making their store a unique and special place. 

“We’re so thankful that a community like New Canaan really supports its brick-and-mortar,” Shin said. “They come into town, they shop, and we truly have appreciated that, especially in the holidays, from Labor Day to Christmas Day.”

English said that when they opened the Elm Street location, he and Shin “never really imagined that it would turn into a social hub for the community.”

“That’s something we never expected,” English said. “But the people that have worked for us the seven years that we’ve basically been here are just loving and incredible.”

Shin added that those valued workers are “exceptional” and “a reflection of the community.”

“Every single person that’s ever worked for us has been incredible,” he added. English and Shin said that expenses have made the store too difficult to work financially, with $24,000 in monthly rent and bills that have risen steeply in recent years (for example, electric up from $1,200 to $4,000 per month, and health insurance up from $1,600 to $3,900).

Business

‘Serving with Dignity’: New Canaan Woman Launches ‘God’s Acre Concierge’

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A longtime New Canaan resident has launched a new business designed to help local families in need of home healthcare services. Katarina Tchakorov, a registered nurse and private-duty and post-surgical care specialist, said she launched God’s Acre Concierge to cover “care for seniors, end-of-life responsibilities and also recovery after aesthetic surgeries.” 

“So many times people don’t want to go or stay in the hospitals when they are recovering after aesthetic surgeries—they go home, but they need the support of a registered nurse,” she said. “We provide the support and match the client with a registered nurse.”

Known to scores of local families as the former director at The Inn assisted living facility, Tchakarov said that care “is not just about physical assistance to people, but it’s also about serving with dignity.”

“We try to make people independent and bring peace of mind for loved ones,” she said. The company offers several levels of service, including daily care, memory care, hospital-to-home recovery and end-of-life care. One service, called “Total Care,” is for clients who are “bedbound or significantly mobility-limited,” according to the God’s Acre Concierge website.

Business

Shopping Local and the Health of Downtown New Canaan [Q&A]

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With happenings in downtown New Canaan top of mind for many these days, we decided to put some questions about the local business community to Laura Budd, executive director of the New Canaan Chamber of Commerce. 

Here’s our exchange. ***

New Canaanite: We’ve reported on one Main Street business closing in the past month, as well as another Main Street business opening across the street, and the launch of a new business on Vitti Street. What is the Chamber’s take on the state/health of downtown New Canaan today? Laura Budd: Downtown New Canaan is healthy — and the activity you’re describing is actually proof of that. Openings and closings are a normal part of any living, breathing commercial district.

Business

‘It’s Been a Long Winter’: Outdoor Dining Season Launches in Downtown New Canaan

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New Canaan’s restaurant owners say they’re excited about the formal start of the outdoor dining season downtown, as an unpredictable and unseasonable early spring begins to show signs of sustained warm weather. Temperatures are expected to soar into the mid-70s Tuesday, just four days into the 2026 outdoor dining season in New Canaan, which runs through October. 

“We are very excited,” said Daniel Lombardi, co-owner with his brother Andrea of both Dolce and Lombardi’s on Elm Street. “It’s been a long winter and we’re very happy that finally the weather has started to get better.”

Noting that this year’s outdoor dining is confined to sidewalks—in some cases, recently widened sidewalks—with no in-street tables, as allowed immediately after the pandemic, Lombardi added that “it probably won’t be as big as in previous years.”

Even so, he said that Lombardi’s—which doesn’t have a widened sidewalk outside—has reached a town-approved agreement with J. Crew next door that will see the high-end Italian restaurant offer about 30 seats of outdoor dining starting at 6 p.m. daily. Another restaurant making new use of its sidewalk outside with the disappearance of in-street tables hemmed in by plastic barriers is Chef Luis up the street. Owner and chef Luis Lopez said he’s making the best use of the space by offering two long tables and communal seating.

Business

New Canaan Women Launch ‘On Brookside’ Tabletop Rentals

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It all started with a book club. The origin story of Ella Barnette and Jessica Merrill’s tabletop rental service is the stuff of small business dreams. 

When Barnette and Merrill, co-founders of On Brookside, started a book club in 2023, their aptitude for creativity and aesthetics found a natural home in creating table settings and decorations for book club nights. Barnette has 20 years of experience in fashion and styling, and Merrill is a former wedding planner turned graphic designer. 

“We were just putting together these really beautiful tablescapes and that led to conversations around, ‘I would love to own more plates and flatware and glasses, I either don’t have anywhere to store or all of it, or I don’t necessarily want to spend the funds to collect all of it, or I don’t really have the eye,’ ” said Merrill, who also used to run the social component of the New Canaan Newcomers Club. “It was just kind of a fun, creative expression for us… and we kind of had our own moment of being like, ‘Should we do this?’ ” Barnette added. “Because everyone’s reacting to it and giving us such a positive response.