Annie Hedrick

‘We Can’t Wait’: New Canaan Toy Store To Reopen This Month After Renovation

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The New Canaan Toy Store is set to reopen soon following a major renovation that will see the popular Park Street shop brighter and easier to navigate, its owners say. Closed since the end of July, the Toy Store will reopen within the next week, according to Annie Hedrick, who co-owns the business with her brother, Nathan Shapiro. “We can’t wait to see everybody, we can’t wait to welcome everybody back,” Hedrick told NewCanaanite.com. “All the familiar faces will be there, Suzie and Maria, and it will be better than ever. You’ll be able to see the toys and move around better, and we made more space by getting rid of an office area to make more room for books and toys.

Around Town

Q&A: 10th Annual ‘Taste of New Canaan Stroll’ Set for Wednesday

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The New Canaan Chamber of Commerce is offering three different walking tours of the downtown for an annual fundraiser that offers participants a chance to sample some of the best local cuisine. The ‘Taste of New Canaan Stroll,’ benefiting the local food pantry, kicks off at 5 p.m. Wednesday. Limited tickets for the “Taste Tour” (10 stops), “Family Fiesta” (six stops) and “Wine Trail” (10 stops) are available through the Chamber website. We put some questions to Laura Budd, the Chamber’s executive director, ahead of this year’s Stroll. Our exchange follows.

Business

Podcast: Chamber Director Laura Budd on This Weekend’s Sidewalk Sale

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This week on 0684-Radi0, our free podcast (subscribe here in the iTunes Store), we talk to Laura Budd, executive director of the New Canaan Chamber of Commerce, about the Sidewalk Sale, which will be held this Saturday, July 17th, on Elm and Forest Streets, after local merchants kick it off outside their storefronts on Friday. We hear from Laura about what to expect this year in terms of vendors, as well as activities, food, and Sidewalk Sale do’s and don’ts. All parking is free on Saturday. The Sidewalk Sale is sponsored by William Raveis. Here are recent episodes of 0684-Radi0:

Business

Manuela Ramirez Lash & Brow Design Opens Downtown

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Manuela Ramirez had been working in the beauty industry for four years when she opened her first brow and lash business. 

That was in 2017, three years before the onset of COVID-19, and the Mount Kisco, N.Y.-based location thrived. Despite the pandemic, when a hair stylist in New Canaan recently advised Ramirez that she should consider launching a location here in town because residents likely wouldn’t want to travel to Westchester County, the esthetician was open to the idea. “Nothing is going to last forever,” Ramirez told NewCanaanite.com on Sunday afternoon, hours before opening Manuela Ramirez Lash & Brow Design at 17 South Ave. 

“I feel like people need to understand that even though we are going through this crazy time, we can’t forget about doing things that make you feel good. You are still alive. The fact that you cannot see people and not be around family doesn’t mean you shouldn’t keep doing things that make you feel good, things you used to do.”

Opened by Ramirez and her mother, Lina, the business is taking bookings online for a wide range of lash and brow services, such as lash tints, treatments and extension removals, and brow lamination, microblading and men’s grooming, as well as waxing, training and bundled packages.

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Police Commission Votes 3-0 To Extend Outdoor Dining Set-Ups Through Dec. 31

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Members of the Police Commission voted unanimously this month to allow restaurants to keep their altered outdoor dining set-ups—where tables are pushed out onto sidewalks and new pedestrian access ways are created in the street—through year’s end. Created in May and extended periodically since then, the temporary sidewalk and parking configurations on Main, Elm and Forest Streets are designed to give additional outdoor dining space to restaurants that have been under changing capacity restrictions since the onset of COVID-19 virus. (Currently, under the governor’s order, they’re allowed no more than 50% capacity total between indoor and outdoor dining.)

Police Commission Chair Paul Foley, Secretary Jim McLaughlin and member Shekaiba Bennett voted 3-0 in favor of the extension during the Nov. 18 meeting, held via videoconference. Chef Luke Venner of elm restaurant, a guest at the meeting, said “anything helps at this point for us.”

“I think we had looked into the idea of having some sort of enclosure but at this point in the game I don’t know if that makes sense,” he said.