Business
Warby Parker store 122 Heights Road

Warby Parker, with Eye Glasses, Sunglasses and Contacts, Now Open at Darien Commons

By |
Download PDF

Warby Parker glasses store has opened at Darien Commons in downtown Noroton Heights, offering eye exams, sunglasses and regular glasses, as well as Warby Parker’s brand of daily contact lenses and contacts from other brands. The one-stop shop at 122 Heights Road also has custom store artwork by Connecticut native Monique Aimee. “We’re opening in the hometown of one of our Pupils Project partners, Chloë Sevigny, who we collaborated with last fall.,” a Warby Parker spokesman said. The store is open from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., seven days a week.  
Before You Shop
From the store web page:
What to bring

Face masks may be required for shopping where mandated and are required for eye exams
Your prescription.

Business
Health Broker training

You Can Apply for a State Training Program to Be a Health Insurance Broker — Deadline is Friday

By |
Download PDF

Access Health CT (AHCT) today announced the deadline to apply for the 2023 Broker Academy Program is March 31. To apply for the program, click here. — an announcement from Access Health CT

The Broker Academy creates a pathway to license health insurance brokers by recruiting from, and building the skillsets of, those who live and work in historically underserved communities throughout Connecticut. The Program was created as part of AHCT’s mission to increase the rate of the insured and reduce health disparities in the state. Program applicants must be 18 years or older, hold a high school diploma or GED, have one to three letters of recommendation and have community service experience.

Charity Events and Opportunities

Barrett Bookstore to Donate 10% of Children’s Book Sales to Darien Book Aid on Sunday, April 2

By |
Download PDF

On Sunday, April 2, Barrett Bookstore will be donating 10% of children’s book sales to Darien Book Aid to help us celebrate International Children’s Book Day. — an announcement from Darien Book Aid and Barrett Bookstore

Come by the store that day to browse books with your kids or pick out some Easter or spring books for the little ones in your life. You will know that, through Barrett Bookstore’s donation to Darien Book Aid, your purchase will also help send books to kids around the world who don’t have access to reading material at their level. Barrett Bookstore will be open that day from 12 noon to 4 p.m. The store is located at 6 Corbin Drive in Darien. We hope you can stop by!

Business
sweetgreen storefront

Sweetgreen, Emphasizing Fast, Healthy Food, Opens Restaurant at Darien Commons in Noroton Heights

By |
Download PDF

Sweetgreen , a restaurant aiming to sell food that’s both healthy and fast to get, opened its Darien Commons location on Tuesday, at 126 Heights Road in Darien Commons. The menu is divided into Salads, “plates” and “warm bowls,” along with drinks, a single dessert (a “crispy rice treat”) and side dishes like barbecued squash and roasted sweet potatoes. — an announcement from sweetgreen, with other information from its website
To celebrate opening day of its second Connecticut restaurant, there will be a pop-up with sweetgreen’s local supplier Mike Organics and giveaways from local partners including Darien Flower Shop and Flour Water Salt’s chocolate chip cookies for the kids. For every meal sold on opening day, the restaurant announced, it will donate a meal to Food Rescue US for people in Fairfield County experiencing food insecurity. Food Rescue US alleviates hunger nationwide by transferring excess fresh food from local businesses to social service agencies serving individuals and families in need.

Business

Building Construction ‘Now Complete’ at Darien Commons in Noroton Heights, Developer Says

By |
Download PDF

The first phase of apartment leasing has been completed at the Darien Commons project in downtown Noroton Heights, Federal Realty announced Thursday, adding that residents have begun moving into a second building at the complex. The company also named three new, future retail tenants. — an announcement from Federal Realty

“The property construction phase at Darien Commons is now complete and we are very pleased with reactions from residents, neighbors and our retail partners,” said Patrick McMahon, Federal Realty’s senior vice president for development. “The interest in the residential offering has been strong, and we expect to be fully leased by June,” McMahon said. “As retailers begin opening, we can feel a terrific community energy starting to build.”

 
More About the Retail Tenants
The company also announced that these tenants are expected to open this year:
• Sur La Table, a store for those passionate about cooking and entertaining, aims to open in 5,529 square feet. 
• Hammer & Nails, a luxury men’s grooming shop, will open its second Connecticut location in a 2,609 square-foot space.

Business
Health Department ratings

One Food-Serving Establishment Gets a Dunkin’ in Latest Health Inspection Reports

By |
Download PDF

One Darien eatery received a “C” rating, the worst grade in town Health Department’s A/B/C ratings system, in the inspection reports released Thursday by the Darien Health Department. This appears to be the final set of restaurant inspection reports released under the state’s longstanding inspection rules. A new system is beginning. Darien Health Department announced that a new town grading system for health inspection results will be coming out, but the department hasn’t said when. (See this article for more information.)

The department released a total of eight health inspection reports for seven food-serving establishments on Thursday for inspections that took place from March 6 to 15.

Business

Darien Health Department Suspends Health Grades System for Eateries After State Adopts New Inspection Code

By |
Download PDF

Darien Health Department has suspended its A-B-C grading system for restaurant inspections now that the state Public Health Department has replaced its numerical ratings for the inspections, the town department announced on Thursday. The old system didn’t rely entirely on the state numerical ratings, but the ratings played a huge role in the town’s A-B-C grades. Until the local Health Department figures out a new way to give out grades after health inspections, there won’t be any town grades. Instead of the grades posted on the walls of restaurants and other eating establishments in town, restaurants will post, in the same spot, a “notice informing customers that inspection reports are available for viewing upon request,” the department said in a news release.  “This notice includes a QR Code link to the [town] Health Department website where inspection reports may be viewed.” The ratings are expected to be reinstated “at some point in the near future,” according to the department.

Attorney General 2023
Attorney General office seal

State Sues Company Running Rest Stops on Connecticut Highways, Alleges Wage Laws Violated

By |
Download PDF

Attorney General William Tong today sued Connecticut service plaza operator Project Service, LLC on behalf of the Connecticut Department of Labor seeking to recover $2.7 million in allegedly unpaid wages owed to food service employees at the Connecticut’s 23 service plazas, including the rest stops in Darien. — an announcement from the state Attorney General’s Office

The lawsuit also seeks to collect an additional $2.7 million in damages as well as $722,000 in civil penalties previously assessed but never paid, according to the attorney general. Since 2009, Project Service has held a contract with the state Department of Transportation to provide food service to the 23 state-owned service plazas along I-95, Route 15, and I-395. Project Service in turn contracts with a number of different food service operators. Project Service’s agreement with the state requires them to comply with standard wage laws.

Business
Health Department ratings

Latest Health Reports for Darien Restaurants and Other Food-Serving Establishments

By |
Download PDF

Here’s how Darien restaurants and other food-serving places fared in the latest inspection reports, released Thursday by the Darien Health Department. The department on Thursday released five reports of inspection visits from Aug. 28 to Sept. 2. Of those, three inspections resulted in a “B” rating and two more received an “A.”

Business
Seal of the Department of Justice 6-17-16

Man, 42, Defrauds Investors of $7 Million, Including $4.5 Million From a Darien Investment Firm

By |
Download PDF

A 42-year-old man was sentenced to 11 years in prison for defrauding an unnamed Darien investment firm of $4.5 million, which he claimed would be used to buy an Airbus A320-231 airframe and two aircraft engines. Another 12 people were also victimized in the scam, which netted Wine more than $7 million. Last November, after Wine had pleaded guilty in connection with the scheme, he was arrested based on an allegation that he tried to defraud a bank in order to buy a Cadillac. He had previously pleaded guilty to fraud in a 2010 federal case and was sentenced with probation. Here’s the announcement about the sentencing, released Wednesday by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in New Haven:

Kyle J. Wine, 42, of Lee’s Summit, Missouri [a Kansas City suburb], was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Omar A. Williams in Hartford to 132 months [11 years] of imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release, for fraud and money laundering offenses stemming from a $7 million scheme related to his commercial aircraft supply businesses.

Access Health CT 2023
Health Broker training

Access Health CT Offers Online Information Sessions for Those Considering Becoming ‘Health Brokers’

By |
Download PDF

Access Health CT (AHCT) today announced the launch of the 2023 Broker Academy Program, a pathway to license health insurance brokers by recruiting from, and building the skillsets of, those who live and work in historically underserved communities throughout Connecticut. — an announcement from Access Health CT

The Broker Academy, now in its second year, will have Weekly training sessions for program readiness will be held in May and in-person classes begin June 5. The program is open to all Connecticut residents, and applications will open Feb. 27. “As a result of recent legislation, some people who were eligible for Medicaid as part of the COVID-19 public health emergency may lose their eligibility in the coming months,” said Access Health CT Chief Executive Officer James Michel.

Business
Health Department Inspection Reports Restaurants

Latest Health Reports for Darien Restaurants and Other Food-Serving Establishments

By |
Download PDF

Here’s how Darien restaurants and other food-serving places fared in the latest inspection reports released by Darien Health Department. The department on Thursday released six reports of inspection visits from Jan. 30 to Feb. 1. Of those, one inspections resulted in a “B” rating and the other five each received an “A.”

Consumer and Finances

Study: Connecticut Has the Second-Highest Home Electricity Bills in the Country

By |
Download PDF

Connecticut residents pay the second-highest estimated monthly electric bill in the country, averaging $189.94, according to a study by Payless Power, an electricity provider in Texas. Only Hawaiian residential electricity bills are higher, the study said. Connecticut also had the third highest commercial electricity bills and was also one of the states with the biggest percentage increases in electricity bills. The study used price information as of last August from the U.S. Energy Information Administration . Some findings:

Connecticut has the third-highest estimated monthly commercial electric bill, averaging $1,251.17 

Connecticut has the fifth-highest cost per kilowatt-hour (20 cents)

Connecticut experienced a 28% increase in monthly costs from August 2021 to August 2022

The country’s lowest monthly electricity bills were in Utah and New Mexico, with an average of $88.58 and $97.48, respectively.