Business

Migoto Boba Tea Marks One Year on Main Street

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Migoto Boba Tea is not Amanda Cui’s first business venture, but so far, it has been her most popular. 

Cui first entered New Canaan’s competitive retail scene back in 2016 with Funky Monkey, which she described as a “high-end kids’ store,” but decided to shut the business down as the COVID-19 pandemic approached, just two years after it opened. 

Last August, Migoto first opened its doors at 168 Main St. across from the New Canaan Library, and since then it has found itself many regular customers. Cui attributed the success to the “artificial free” ingredients used by the store. “Everything is real fruits, real ingredients,” she said. “The customers keep coming back, they stick with the same drink, they like it so much.”

A former New York City resident, Cui moved to New Canaan with her family eight years ago, seeking as safe as possible an environment for her children.

Around Town

Selectmen Approve Pop Up Park for Abbreviated Summer Run

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Saying the New Canaan Chamber of Commerce’s support is a key condition, the Board of Selectmen on Tuesday approved an abbreviated summer season for the Pop Up Park at South and Elm. Originally scheduled for a July 21 to Sept. 3 run, the makeshift park will operate Aug. 3 to 23 following a 3-0 vote by First Selectman Kevin Moynihan and Selectmen Kit Devereaux and Nick Williams to issue a Special Events permit. “I am skeptical,” Moynihan said, noting that in the past the Chamber appeared to drive the event with the assistance of a small volunteer committee, not vice versa. 

Moynihan also noted that the New Canaan’s local traffic authority, the Police Commission, must circle back to the Pop Up Park’s volunteers to give final approval for a road closure.

Business

‘Funky Monkey’ Children’s Store on South Avenue To Close

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Funky Monkey, a children’s games, toys and clothing shop located on South Avenue is closing its doors after a little more than two years in town. The store at 4 South Ave. opened in late May 2016. It isn’t clear just when it’s closing, whether it’s reopening elsewhere, whether patrons can purchase items online after it’s closed or just why it’s closing. The business’s owner, Amanda Cui, said only that it’s closing due to future renovations planned for the building, declining to comment further. The shop offers items curated by Cui, a local mother herself, designed to appeal to children of all ages.

Business

New Canaan Woman Opens ‘Funky Monkey’ Children’s Games, Toys and Clothing Shop on South Avenue

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A New Canaan woman who recently moved to town has opened a children’s games, toys, clothing and accessories shop on South Avenue, in the space known to generations of locals as the Sweet Shoppe. Amanda Cui said she visited New Canaan in November on a friend’s recommendation and moved to town earlier this month with her family, including her 2- and 7-year-old daughters. “I saw the stores and the neighborhoods and I liked it,” Cui said on a recent afternoon, standing between two kids’ stations—one for creating model ice cream sundaes, another for lip gloss—at the front of her colorful, eclectic shop. Funky Monkey opened Friday. “I saw that they don’t have this stuff.