Amost eight months after it opened, Grilled Cheese Eatery at 772 Post Road East has closed. According to Wendy Nylen, owner of Picture This, the neighboring frame and women’s accessory shop, the Grilled Cheese Eatery’s equipment and other restaurant contents were loaded onto a truck on Saturday. The owners, Belgian-born Henri and Bulgarian-born Ivanina Donneaux, also closed the Grilled Cheese Eatery at 57 Unquowa Road, Fairfield which opened in October 2013, having converted their Cafe Lola space into the new food concept. (See WestportNow, April 24, 2014) (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Dave Matlow for WestportNow.com

What used to be International House of Pancakes (IHOP), then Westport Pancake House at 520 Post Road East will now house the Thaeroa Nails and Spa salon. It will open by month’s end in the space that has been vacant for three years, according to owner David Kang. Kang said he has been in the nail salon business for 30 years with locations under different names in Queens and Ryebrook, N.Y. and had been searching for a Westport location for the past year. IHOP occupied the 3,000-square feet space until December 2005 when the name changed to Westport Pancake House and Restaurant, which closed in October 2011. (See WestportNow Oct. 26, 2011) (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Dave Matlow for WestportNow.com

The Shade Store, a third generation family operated business since 1946 specializing in custom window treatments, with main office in Port Chester, N.Y., has opened at 115 Main St. in the walkway behind Vince. women’s apparel store. The store is also accessible from Parker Harding Plaza. According to an employee, the business offers more than 800 exclusive window treatment materials in 11 product categories and reaches its market three ways: its 21 showrooms in the country, its website and by phone. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Dave Matlow for WestportNow.com

The long vacant ground floor space in National Hall, 2A Post Road West, is about to be filled with the debut of Vespa, a 120-seat Italian casual dining restaurant. Executive Chef Brian Reilly (l) and Pasta Chef Laura Bonechi were busy today preparing for the restaurant’s soft opening. No official opening date has been announced. Vespa is the latest venture by New York-based restaurant group Experience Hospitality, headed by owner Bobby Wehane of Westport. The group recently partnered in NEAT Coffee and Craft Cocktails at nearby 6 Wilton Road, where Reilly also worked. Vespa, named after the Italian scooter, will be a return to the past. After the building converted to a 15-room luxury hotel in 1993, there were several restaurants on the ground floor, but they gave way to office space in 2005. Plans for the restaurant were originally announced in July 2013. (See WestportNow July 15, 2013)  (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Helen Klisser During for WestportNow.com

Chipotle Mexican Grill will open at 376 Post Road East in the Compo Acres Shopping Center in the space previously occupied by Oaxaca Asian cuisine, according to a spokesperson at New York-based Equity One, the owner and property manager the shopping center. Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. has outlets in Fairfield, Darien, and Greenwich, among other Connecticut locations. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Dave Matlow for WestportNow.com

Savoy Rug Gallery, 887 Post Road East, in the Sherwood Connector shopping center, will relocate to a newly renovated facility nearby at 940 Post Road East, across from Starbuck’s, according to owner Nader Daghoghi. The store has been at its present location since 1997. It is moving into space occupied by Bocccanfuso Brothers auto service, which still maintain a presence there. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Dave Matlow for WestportNow.com