Emilie Kushner
Reporter
The warm-hued leaves of fall dot the trees that stately line the long narrow streets of New Canaan. The downtown, with stores like Garelick and Herbs, Togs, and Zumbachs, add to the New England ambiance of serenity, and local originality is apparent in the brisk autumn wind.
A newly opened store stands barren and stark among the old-style feel of New Canaan buildings. The sign reads “Sleepy’s,” a new branch of one of the largest chain mattress stores in America.
This is a new sight for New Canaan, the small, close-knit town of only 19,738 inhabitants, and has become a bit controversial. Some want Sleepy’s for good, while others resent the new addition. “Having more commercial businesses keeps us in the loop,” sophomore, Astrid Toft-Nielsen said. While New Canaan has long held the reputation of being isolated within its town lines, students expressed their resentment for this exclusiveness. “We don’t want to be in our own little bubble,” she said.
While some hope to end the seclusion, freshman Chris Tohir likes the feel of New Canaan. “It makes your town unique to not have big name stores,” he said. Students believe there is no need to commercialize New Canaan when we have easy access to chain stores in surrounding areas. “This is a town, and we should support private businesses,” Chris said. “If we want Baskin Robbins or Sleepy’s we could go to Norwalk or Stamford.”
Many students think the commercialization is a direct effect of our struggling economy. “Letting big companies take our money instead of fund small business hurts our economy.” Senior Paolo Casagrande said.
Other students agree that the economy plays a large part in the changes of our town. “Big companies have monopolized certain areas of retail which makes it impossible for small businesses to compete.” Junior David Lovas said. Filled with the quaintness of family owned establishments, “New Canaan has a charm of small businesses, its sad to see them go,” David said.
Families who have lived in New Canaan for years mention that the face of our town has changed drastically over the last 10 years. “The more commercial stores we get, the more we are at risk of losing our small town qualities,” Astrid said.
great article!