Against The Grain

‘A Partner to the Community’: Bankwell Works with Local Businesses in Designing, Outfitting New Elm Street Headquarters

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Laura Waitz, executive vice president and COO at Bankwell, had a vision when the company decided to move its headquarters to New Canaan two years ago. 

The largest private employer in New Canaan at 100-plus workers is “a relationship bank,” Waitz, a New Canaan resident, said on a recent morning from the second-floor conference room of Bankwell, located at the corner of Elm and Grove Streets. “It’s all about building relationships in business and for our employees and for the community we work in,” she said. “So when we expanded and brought so many more people to New Canaan it was about being a partner to the community, as well. And that was critically important and I wanted a workplace that was peaceful and serene and didn’t look ‘corporate banking’ but that would provide a welcoming, collaborative environment.”

In designing it, Bankwell—which already donates to more than 200 organizations per year, with focus on children, education, food insecurity, homelessness and financial literacy—hired, contracted and otherwise worked with dozens of New Canaan businesses. The bank’s placid and functional workspace includes conference room pieces handcrafted by New Canaan’s gifted furniture designer maker, Tom Throop of Black Creek Designs, a custom-made 300-gallon aquarium from Randy Jahier of Life Aquatic on Park Street, walls lined with the work of local artist Elena McCoy and photography from CAS Gallery on Elm Street, gardens planted by Gregg’s Garden Center and Landscaping on Grove Street, with year-round outdoor furniture from Against the Grain on Main Street.

Around Town

PHOTOS: Bargain-Hunters Hit Sidewalk Sale on Saturday

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Hundreds of bargain-hunters visited the downtown Saturday for the New Canaan Chamber of Commerce’s annual sidewalk sale. Held on pedestrian-only stretches of Elm and Forest Streets, shoppers hit the downtown early as temperatures were expected to soar into the mid-90s amid a sustained heat wave in the region. “The street is full of all sorts of great merchants and organizations,” Chamber Executive Director Laura Budd said amid the crowds near Elm and Park Streets where two food trucks kept visitors fed. “It feels like a classic New Canaan summer day and we’re really excited to see all the people down here despite the heat. There’s a nice breeze coming down Elm Street so we feel pretty lucky.”

Nonprofit organizations, including Wildlife In Crisis, Staying Put in New Canaan and local party committees, set up booths alongside retailers and service businesses in curbside tents, many of them passing out water to downtown visitors.

Business

Q&A: Luscious & Co. Salon Plans Grand Opening on Main Street 

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Twin sisters Jessica and Liz Arindell are planning a ribbon-cutting at their new full-service salon in downtown New Canaan, Luscious & Co., on April 7, with a grand opening open to the public that will include special prizes, discounts, demonstrations and food. Planned about one year, the salon at 107 Main St. soft-opened in November and its owners “wanted to save the grand opening for when it was safe to do so, and right when we really started to get going was when COVID kind of exploded,” Jessica Arindell told NewCanaanite.com during an interview Wednesday morning in the newly renovated space. “So we’ve been putting our grand opening on hold to make sure that we can do it safely for the community, and now seems like the perfect time,” she said. The salon has already joined the New Canaan Chamber of Commerce.

Business

Op-Ed: What Is the New Canaan Holiday Stroll All About?

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For the past 16 years the weekend after Thanksgiving has been dedicated to putting the spotlight on New Canaan’s downtown stores and restaurants. 

The Holiday Stroll was started by a group of local merchants 17 years ago and has evolved to be one of New Canaan’s most beloved traditions. The Stroll allows residents and visitors to kick off the holiday shopping season by heading into downtown New Canaan to walk under the lights, look in to store windows, watch a show performed by young local talent, eat delicious food, and share your wish list with Santa. We usually write a “Thank You” letter and publish it in the local press after the event. But we thought since we have so many new residents we should share our appreciation ahead of time, so everyone can understand how important this event is to our business district and how many people are involved in pulling it off. We hope you will head to town this Friday evening with your friends and family.

Around Town

‘Good To See It Back’: New Canaan Holiday Stroll Returns Dec. 3 To Elm Street

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Town officials last week voted in favor of closing parts of Elm Street to motor vehicle traffic on Friday, Dec. 3 for the return of a popular kickoff event for the holidays and local shopping. The New Canaan Holiday Stroll returns this year after taking 2020 off due to the COVID-19 pandemic. “Good to see it back,” Police Commission Chair Paul Foley said during  the appointed body’s Nov. 17 meeting, held at New Canaan Police Department headquarters and via videoconference.