Business

‘I Love This Place’: The Strength Collective Opens Friday on Vitti Street

By |

Fanni Loosz, a native of Hungary who launched her career as a personal trainer and group fitness instructor about 10 years ago in New York City, had long envisioned having her own dedicated space for a strength training studio. Loosz, a competitive powerlifter who holds a bachelor’s degree in political science and criminology from St. Joseph’s College and two master’s degrees from the CUNY Graduate Center—in international migration studies and public health nutrition—had been renting out and sharing space with other trainers in the city, and then starting two years ago, in Stamford. “I was bringing my clients into someone else’s space,” Loosz recalled on Wednesday morning. “And I wanted to have space, not necessarily only to train people, but to educate.

Business

‘An Asset to the Community’: Elite Dermatology Physicians Marks One-Year in Downtown New Canaan

By |

One of Dr. Elle de Moll’s goals in launching her medical dermatology practice in New Canaan one year ago was changing patients’ lives by detecting skin cancer early, as well as using medicines to treat debilitating conditions. And in the past year—as her staff at Elite Dermatology Physicians (here on Instagram, where has grown from three to 10 women—de Moll has diagnosed more than 140 basal cells and 60 squamous cells, both non-melanoma skin cancers, 13 invasive melanomas and 40 dysplastic nevi or skin lesions that require treatment. “So these are big, measurable milestones in terms of our ability to find patients and screen them here,” de Moll said on a recent afternoon from her office at the corner of Cherry Street and East Avenue. “Those are the patients we’ve seen here. We’ve also been doing skin cancer screenings at the Schoolhouse Apartments, and I work closely with the Norwalk Fire Department doing their skin cancer screenings biannually.

Around Town

Annual ‘Village Fair & Sidewalk Sale’ Set for July 18-19

By |

[The NewCanaanite.com Summer Internship Program is sponsored by Karp Associates.]

One of New Canaan’s most anticipated events of summer is set to take place this month. The New Canaan Chamber of Commerce’s annual Village Fair & Sidewalk Sale will run July 18 and 19 downtown. Spanning the commercial centers of Elm, Forest and Main Streets, the Sidewalk Sale will feature nearly 100 stands of local businesses and merchandise from all over New Canaan, according to Laura Budd, the Chamber’s executive director. 

“Our Sidewalk Sale is two days long,” Budd said. “Friday, July 18th features our local stores on the sidewalk. Merchants see products in their store that they just want to move along, so this gives them the opportunity to come outside in the summer and make room for all the great new products they want to get for the holidays and rest of the year.”

The stores that will have their stands up on the 18th will be up during their usual store hours, and will not interrupt the flow of traffic, Budd said.  

On Saturday, the full Sidewalk Sale opens and the one-way stretch of Elm and parts of Main and Forest will be made pedestrian-only, for residents to shop, walk around and enjoy food, she said. 

“On Saturday, July 19th, the Sidewalk Sale hours will be from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., but we start closing down the streets at around 7:30 a.m. because vendors have to come in and set up their booths.” Budd said. 

The New Canaan Sidewalk Sale is so popular because it always has a wide variety of stands, from clothing to The Society of Santas, for visitors to enjoy, Budd said.  

“What makes our Sidewalk Sale unique versus other communities is that it’s both a Village Fair and a Sidewalk Sale,” she said.

Business

‘A Great Journey’: Salon Anastassia Opens on Main Street

By |

It has been a lifelong dream of Anastassia Aida to own a salon. The Estonia native has spent her entire career working in the beauty industry—from obtaining her license in Europe to working at Greg and Tony Salon in Westport, Aida never stopped working toward her ultimate goal. Two months ago, those dreams became reality. Aida opened Salon Anastassia at 80 Main St. in April. 

Now, she said she’s learning how to be a business owner. 

“I love what I’m doing,” Aida told NewCanaanite.com Tuesday during an interview in the sleek, modern second-floor salon.

Business

‘It’s Going To Hurt Merchants’: Parking Commission Pushes Back on Elimination of 15-Minute Spots on Elm Street

By |

Members of the appointed body that oversees New Canaan’s parking department this month pushed back on part of a larger plan that will see the one-way stretch of Elm Street converted to paid spots. Specifically, members of the Parking Commission during their May 7 meeting objected to plans to eliminate—rather than increase—the number of free 15-minute parking spaces on Elm Street while the town converts those free spots to paid. “If we are not interested in revenue, what is the argument against short-term parking?” Commissioner Katie O’Neill said during the regular meeting, held at Town Hall and via videoconference. “Because as I see it, we are adding a surcharge on coffee shops, on sandwich shops. All the sudden now if you are picking up a $15 sandwich it’s going to be $15.50 or whatever.