NewCanaanite.com (https://newcanaanite.com/tag/the-toy-chest)
This installment of our local holiday shopping series takes us to The Toy Chest on Main Street. We stopped by on Sunday to talk to co-owner Carlos Sedeno. Here’s a transcription of our conversation.
New Canaanite: For people who maybe don’t know The Toy Chest, could you give us some background on the shop?
Carlos Sedeno: We’ve been here over 25 years. We’ve been in this town. Yes.
Shoppers on Wednesday took to downtown New Canaan in greater numbers than they had in weeks, as several “non-essential” retail stores reopened, with public health precautions, for the first time in more than two months. Asked how she felt about the milestone in New Canaan’s phased reopening, a gradual process guided by both state and local officials, regular downtown shopper Caroline Stuart said, “Woo-hoo.”
“It’s like Christmas has come early,” the Weston resident said while shopping inside J. McLaughlin on Elm Street. “I’m thrilled. We get to go back. We get to interact with people.
Editor,
The kids are back in school at last, and we in the Children’s Room of New Canaan Library would like to take a moment to thank the community for its tremendous support and participation in our summer programs.
People always say New Canaan empties out in the summer but that was definitely not our experience this year. On average, we had over 500 visitors a day in the Children’s Room. Our summer reading program, which we revamped this year, saw a 250 percent increase in participation, and an incredibly rewarding level of engagement and excitement among our youngest members, who read more than 13,000 books this summer—more than 10,000 more books than were recorded last year. A big thank you goes to the elementary schools for supporting our summer program; inviting our librarians to speak to the students in June really generated excitement about participating. We also thank The Toy Chest and Sky Zone Norwalk for providing exciting summer reading incentives, and United Methodist Preschool for supporting our Family Mini Golf finale celebration.
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.
A New Canaan woman who recently moved to town has opened a children’s games, toys, clothing and accessories shop on South Avenue, in the space known to generations of locals as the Sweet Shoppe. Amanda Cui said she visited New Canaan in November on a friend’s recommendation and moved to town earlier this month with her family, including her 2- and 7-year-old daughters. “I saw the stores and the neighborhoods and I liked it,” Cui said on a recent afternoon, standing between two kids’ stations—one for creating model ice cream sundaes, another for lip gloss—at the front of her colorful, eclectic shop. Funky Monkey opened Friday. “I saw that they don’t have this stuff.