Business

One Tenant Lined Up for Former Mrs. Green’s Building; Commercial Space To Be Divided into Three Businesses

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The owners of the former Mrs. Green’s building at the corner of Park and Pine Streets say a new tenant is poised to set up business in the structure, following a plan to divide its large interior into three commercial spaces. A letter of intent has been signed for a tenant that’s new to New Canaan and the market here, according to Anthony Giordano, an owner of 2 Pine St., longtime home of the New Canaan Post Office prior to Mrs. Green’s. “I think it’s going to be very well received and we are very excited,” Giordano said. He declined to name the specific business, as the lease agreement hasn’t been finalized, saying a late-summer interior build-out and move-in is realistic. With that lease, he said, the owners decided to divide the large commercial space into three tenants with roughly 3,000 square feet apiece, a strategy that opens it up to a wider pool of prospective businesses.

Business

Property Owner in Legal Filing: Mrs. Green’s Failed To Pay Rent, Violated Terms of 20-Year Lease

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Mrs. Green’s starting in November failed to pay rent for the commercial building in downtown New Canaan that it continued to occupy at least into the following month, according to a legal filing brought on behalf of the property’s owners. The grocery chain breached its 20-year lease for the former Post Office building at Park and Pine Streets, according to an active suit filed with the Housing Session at state Superior Court in Norwalk. In failing to pay its rent, common area charges and late charges, the actions of Mrs. Green’s amount to “unfair and deceptive methods of competition and unfair and deceptive trade practices within the meaning of the Connecticut Unfair Trade Practices Act,” according to the suit, filed Dec. 15 by attorney Stephen Walko of Greenwich-based Ivey, Barnum & O’Mara LLC on behalf of property owner ESP Pine Street LLC. “Defendants’ actions were willful and intentional and were performed as part of and in connection with the goods and services it provides in the conduct of a trade, business or commerce,” the complaint said.

Business

CEO: ‘Challenges’ Force Mrs. Green’s To Close New Canaan Store ‘Temporarily’

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Mrs. Green’s grocery store in downtown New Canaan is closing “temporarily,” company officials say. Open since April 2014 and less than one year after pursuing a $100,000 renovation, the company “believes our stores are a place to call home, where families can find locally-grown, organic and natural products that will help them live happier, healthier lives,” CEO Pat Brown told NewCanaanite.com in an email. “While challenges are forcing us to temporarily close this store, we want to thank all of our customers and our entire team who treated us like family. Mrs. Green’s will work hard to reopen as soon as possible and continue to provide our customers with both healthy-living opportunities and the highest quality all natural and organic products.”

Located at Park and Cherry Streets, the store for several days has seen shelves go unstocked, and its meat and fish counters were empty on Thursday. Mrs. Green’s also had posted signs in the store saying it was experiencing “significant delivery challenges” that it hoped to resolve. The grocer encountered some speed bumps in the weeks and months that followed its New Canaan launch, as planning officials flagged conspicuous shopping carts and hiring signs in its windows.

Biz on Biz

Biz on Biz: Halo Studios Loves Mrs. Green’s Juices and Smoothies

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On a recent afternoon I popped my head into Halo Studios, over on Grove Street, to see what they find to be the best New Canaan product or service around, the basis of our “Biz on Biz” feature on NewCanaanite.com. I spoke to Halo office manager, personal trainer, and massage therapist Charlotte Zabrodsky about what local business she thinks deserves to be recognized for their greatness. Zabrodsky said that Mrs. Green’s juices and smoothies are worth a look, specifically employee and juice/smoothie connoisseur, Lisa Tamburri, have performed spectacularly in creating unique and delicious juices and smoothies. “My favorite place, which I’ve been finding myself going to almost every day is Mrs. Green’s because Lisa makes the best smoothies,”Zabrodsky said. “They’re really good because you can customize them and the other day I asked for a completely random ingredient that she didn’t have directly in front of her and she went out of her way to go and find it in one of the aisles which I thought was a very thoughtful gesture.”

Business

$100,000 Interior Renovation Planned for Mrs. Green’s

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The town has issued a permit to Mrs. Green’s to put an estimated $100,000 in interior renovations into its store at the corner of Pine and Park Streets. The organic foods provider plans to reconfigure its beverage bar and remove some shelving from the main floor of the store, according to a site plan filed with the New Canaan Building Department. According to a building permit application filed in June, the architect on the project is The Monroe Partnership/David Ball of Norwalk, and the contractor is Wyckoff, N.J.-based Partner Construction Services Corp. Pat Brown, CEO of Natural Markets Food Group, said in a statement released to New Canaanite: “This investment into our New Canaan store will help us reach our core mission: providing families with access to sustainable seafood, humanely-raised meat, farm-fresh, local produce, natural vitamins, supplements and cutting-edge healthy food choices.”
The town issued the permit Nov. 17.