Category: Business - Page 120

Sunday, October 18, 2026

Comings & Goings: Pinkberry Closes on PRE

Westport’s Pinkberry Frozen Yogurt, 113 Post Road, East closed Monday night after less than a year and a half. The store opened in January 2013. According to a worker on the site, the Pinkberry stores in Greenwich, Darien, Fairfield and New Haven, all franchised by Jamie Karson, a former senior executive of Steve Madden, will remain open. “We have better parking in the other locations,”he said. “This was not an easy decision to close. We tried to make it work.” Workers started dismantling the equipment early today and loaded it onto a rental van. Pinkberry launched in West Hollywood, Calif. in 2005 and now has more than 200 stores worldwide. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Dave Matlow for WestportNow.com

Monday, June 9th, 2014

Marketing of New Kemper-Gunn Space Under Way

The flyer marketing the renovated Kemper-Gunn House projects a March 2015 occupancy. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Contributed photo

Marketing of space in the relocated Kemper-Gunn House at its new address of 35 Elm St. is under way.

Charter Realty and Development and David Adam Realty, Inc. have created a flyer seeking prospective retail and office tenants for the house as part of its land lease agreement with the Town of Westport. Projected occupancy is March 2015.

The 1890-built house is being moved to the town-owned Baldwin Parking lot as part of the effort to save it from demolition as the new Bedford Square development takes place in the adjacent Westport Weston Family Y building. The move, planned for August, is being funded by the developers.

Under the agreement with the town, the developers must market the space at 85 percent of market value, and for the first 30 days focus initial marketing efforts on Fairfield County companies which have no more than five current locations at lease signing.

Saturday, June 7th, 2014

Ray Dalio: Hedge Fund Manager on Machine World

In a rare wide-ranging interview with The Wall Street Journal, Ray Dalio, founder of Westport-based Bridgewater Associates, says he built the world’s largest hedge fund by creating a culture of “radical truth and radical transparency.” WestportNow.com Image
Ray Dalio: wants everyone to “understand the machine.” Forbes.com photo

In the interview published online tonight and appearing in the newspaper’s Saturday weekend edition, Dalio said that “everything is a machine”—including organizations and even the individual people within them.

It has been more than three years since Dalio has talked extensively about the firm that is Westport’s largest employer, an estimated 1,600 workers scattered over four locations. (And one which has been working to move to Stamford.) The last time was in 2011 in a CNBC interview when he went public to dispel what he said was a misunderstanding about the culture of the company. (See WestportNow March 3, 2011)

The Journal said at Bridgewater, “the idea is to encourage everyone to accept unvarnished criticism as a treasured opportunity to learn and to solve problems. This is intended to allow constant refinement of business processes—also known as machines within the firm—from how Bridgewater buys office furniture to how it evaluates the world oil market.”

Wednesday, June 4th, 2014

Comings & Goings: Amadeus Piano to PRE

Amadeus Piano, specializing in piano tuning, repairs, restoration, refinishing, rentals, sales, storage and moving, has opened at 240 Post Road East, sharing space with Hansen’s Floral Arts near Colonial Green. Owner Yuri Feygin, a Stamford resident, said the family-owned business, which started with a factory in Long Island, is now in its third generation. In addition to Westport and the Long Island locations Amadeus Piano has a store at 130 Lenox Ave., Stamford. For more information, visit www.westportpiano.com. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Dave Matlow for WestportNow.com

Friday, May 30th, 2014

Comings & Goings: Tierra to Old Town Hall

A worker places finishing touches today on the patio stonework in preparation for the opening of Tierra, 90 Post Road East on the lower level of Wesport’s old Town Hall. According to Rob Haroun, the owner of the building, Tierrra owners Laura Luce and Chad Whited plan to open the eating and drinking establishment in about a week. He said Tierra will first open with dinner only but will soon extend hours to lunch, dinner and Sunday brunch. Chefs Sue Torres and Darren Carbone will feature “a seasonal Latin-inspired menu with hand-crafted cocktails by Rob Fuentevilla,” he said. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Dave Matlow for WestportNow.com

Monday, May 19th, 2014

Making the Washington Rounds

Westport’s Cheryl Scott-Daniels (r) is just back from Washington, D.C. where, as president of the Mid-Fairfield County Association of Realtors (MFCAR), she met with U.S. senators, including Sen. Chris Murphy (c) of Connecticut. With her is Carol Heins, executive officer of MFCAR. Connecticut’s other senator, Richard Blumenthal, was on their meeting list as they pressed issues of interest. They included preserving the mission and purpose of the FHA program, reforming the secondary mortgage market to provide certainty in the U.S. housing market, and other tax policies including the mortgage interest deduction, property tax deduction, mortgage debt forgiveness tax relief, and the like-kind exchange. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Contributed photo

Westport Outdoors: Joe’s Pizza

Joe’s Pizza, 190 Main St., is today’s featured spot in the WestportNow series, Westport Outdoors highlighting popular spots where Westporters gather to eat, play, or relax during the warm-weather months. Formerly located at 143 Post Road East, the pizza, pasta, salads restaurant relocated to its current space in Main Street Commons in June 2012. Owner Joe Canicatti said, “The six outdoor patio seating is pleasant in warm weather because we offer waiter service and customers especially like the BYOB policy, you can bring your own wine or beer. We provide the drinking glasses and are happy to uncork your bottle of wine.” (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Dave Matlow for WestportNow.com

Sunday, May 18th, 2014

Sunday at Tiffany & Co. in Westport

Tiffany & Co. in Westport today hosted a group of young people from the All Star Project chapter in Bridgeport. The group toured the store, learned about jewelry, and some of Tiffany’s history since its founding 1837. The afternoon featured a talk on career choices. The All Star Project provides youth in poor communities with the out-of-school experiences that they need to grow as learners and active creators of their lives. Pictured with the group are John Petterson (c), Tiffany’s senior vice president, and Bill McGuinness (top r), Westport store director. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Contributed photo

Saturday, May 17th, 2014

Westport April Unemployment Drops to 4.6 Percent

Westport’s unemployment rate in April was 4.6 percent, down 0.1 percent from March, according to the Connecticut Department of Labor.

The last time Westport’s unemployment rate was lower was in August 2008 when it was 4.5 percent, just before the recession began to be felt. The rate hit 7.0 percent in June 2009.

The department said the number of Westport unemployed in April was 577, down from 580 in March. The April labor force in Westport numbered 12,566, up from 12,361 in March. There were 11,989 employed in April, up from 11,781 employed in March.

A year ago in April, Westport’s unemployment rate was 5.5 percent.

Friday, May 9th, 2014

Ed Board Secretary’s Company First in its Class

Michael Gordon (3rd l), secretary of the Westport Board of Education, received high honors this week at the public relations industry’s SABRE awards in New York. His company, Group Gordon, was named the best boutique-sized company to work for and was lauded for its “excellent culture.” The winners were selected based on the votes of 4,000 employees from approximaely 60 PR firms from across the country. SABRE stands for Superior Achievement in Branding, Reputation & Engagement. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Contributed photo