Who Knew: Taking the Eight Sandwich Challenge

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‘Who Knew?’ is sponsored by Walter Stewart’s Market. Once upon a time, men dressed like Cary Grant, and sandwiches were what people ate for lunch. From kindergarten classrooms to corporate boardrooms, one could observe people at midday consuming an ingeniously portable combination of ‘bread’ and ‘things.’ There was an order to life, and while I’m not suggesting that correlation is causation, it’s worth noting that, back when we all ate sandwiches, nobody wore Celtics jerseys on airplanes or flossed their teeth on the subway. 



Perhaps it’s a profusion of choice–granted, much of it positive and health-minded—that’s gotten us away from such norms. Kindergarteners, if Instagram is to be believed, now dine on elaborate bento boxes of hand-shelled edamame, hummus, and gluten-free, organic pretzels. Office folks can now Uber Eats an uninspired hexagonal tub from Sweetgreen, undertip the guy in the lobby, and sprint back to volley emails into oblivion. 

It’s also the sandwich’s fault, or at least the modern fast-casual incarnation of the sandwich’s fault, that our ardor for a handheld square of lunchtime bliss has cooled. Have you ever been to a Panera?

Business

‘Club Sandwich’ Closed for Two Weeks After Employee Tests Positive for COVID-19

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A locally owned and hugely popular sandwich shop in downtown New Canaan is closing for two weeks after an employee there tested positive for COVID-19 virus, its owners say. Club Sandwich will reopen after the Thanksgiving holiday, according to town resident Jennifer Gaspar, who owns the Cherry Street mainstay with her husband, Leo. “We are really sad to say it but we just found out west that someone who works for us tested positive and so we decided we had to follow the CDC guidelines and close down for two weeks,” Jennifer Gaspar told NewCanaanite.com. 

Asked what is her message to customers, she said, “We are really sad to disappoint them and not be available for them but we want to keep our community healthy and safe, and our customers—they are our friends, too—and our employees and ourselves, so we are doing the right thing to keep everyone healthy and safe.”

The temporary closure comes amid a surge in COVID-19 cases. First Selectman Kevin Moynihan said during a Board of Selectmen meeting Tuesday morning that “we are seeing an uptick if not a spike now in terms of the number of cases for New Canaan residents.”

Businesses such as Club Sandwich have worked under a series of public health-related restrictions since the onset of coronavirus disease here in March. Even taking precautions and following Connecticut Department of Public Health guidelines, “it can still happen,” Jennifer Gaspar said, referring to having an employee test positive.

Business

Local Restaurants and COVID-19: Club Sandwich

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Downtown New Canaan mainstay Club Sandwich is open for pickup 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekdays and 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturdays. For today’s Q&A, we hear from owner Leo Gaspar about how the Cherry Street deli is managing through the COVID-19 emergency and related changes. Here’s our exchange. 

New Canaanite: What has this past week been like for you? Leo Gaspar: It was a really busy week trying to navigate all the information we were receiving from the government. Our Health Department has been great as always.

Around Town

Did You Hear … ?

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New Canaan Public Schools as of Monday night had 273 kindergarten sign-ups for the fall, compared to 231 at the same time last year, district officials said during this week’s Board of Education meeting. ***

The company hired by the town last summer to address the rat problem behind The Playhouse on Elm Street, Stamford-based Aavon Pest Control Inc., charged New Canaan $145 per month for three months to tend its “rodent safety bait stations” and inspect for “rodent burrowing activity,” according to the agreement. ***

The Rotary Club of New Canaan is now taking applications for its 2019 Grant program. Applications will be taken from registered nonprofit organizations in New Canaan and neighboring areas in two categories only: “Health and Wellness” and “Education and Literacy.” The deadline for applications is April 5, and full details can be found by clicking on “Rotary Grant Application” under the “Club Documents” tab on the left side of the Rotary Club of New Canaan website. ***

Congratulations to New Canaan’s Jaime Sneddon and The Sneddon Team on earning recognition from William Pitt Sotheby’s International Realty as the company’s top producing agent and top producing team, based on total closed volume for the year 2018.

Biz on Biz

Biz on Biz: Club Sandwich Spotlights Walter Stewart’s, Toy Chest

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Club Sandwich has occupied its Cherry Street space for more than 30 years, and is a trusted mainstay for its tasty sandwiches, drinks and snack offerings. In 2008, Leo Gaspar took over management of the establishment with his wife Jennifer playing an active role in the business as well. Asked about her favorite products and services offered by other local businesses, Jennifer Gaspar spotlighted Walter Stewart’s Market. “We grocery shop there,” Gaspar said. “They’ve remodeled and it looks really nice.”

As a mother, Gaspar noted the high quality of Walter Stewart’s selection.