By James Lomuscio

By marketing convention, the business plan would seem flawed: far from Westport’s bustling Main Street, minimal parking and an emphasis on tactile projects and games when most are hand held rather than hands-on.

Store clerk Jill Clark was at the counter Wednesday at Westport’s Age of Reason on Post Road West. She has worked there 20 years. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) James Lomuscio for WestportNow.com

But the Age of Reason located at 19 Post Road West, has not only defied the odds since Westporter Dina Berger opened it in 1983. It has thrived, so much so that in 2000 it opened a much smaller shop at the Stepping Stones Museum in Norwalk, and this past spring opened a shop at Earthplace: The Nature Discovery Center in town.

“We have a lot of traditional things, but we also have cutting edge, and it’s still hands on,” says Berger.

Ergo, one finds a classic crystal radio set and microscope alongside ReCon, a programmable robot that states, “Program me to get a snack and come back.” There are solar cookers and water testing kits, as well as chemistry sets, microscopes and three-dimensional puzzles.

There is a new look to the Westport Stop & Shop, 1790 Post Road East. The store today had a grand reopening after four months of renovation work. Store Manager Mark Gerson, a Shelton resident and 24-year Stop & Shop employee, said, “Our store was obsolete for this area. Westport is upscale. We wanted to reflect that in the store’s appearance.” He said the company is now giving the customers what they asked for—our new departments include a sit-down, WiFi café that serves Starbucks coffee, an enlarged and upscaled cheese area, a service salad case, a service meat case and expanded aisles of organic foods.”  (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Dave Matlow for WestportNow.com

A Starbucks café with free WiFi is now part of the newly renovated Westport Stop & Shop. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Dave Matlow for WestportNow.com

Owner Michelle Weber (c) serves up breakfast today to some friends at her new CM Gourmet Market in the newly opened Saugatuck Center Phase II. The newest entry to the Saugatuck scene has not yet set an official opening date. Weber also owns Cocoa Michelle at nearby 54 Railroad Place. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Helen Klisser During for WestportNow.com

By Connecticut Mirror Staff

www.ctmirror.org

Scientist resumed their study of Long Island Sound, an agriculture official emailed farmers that his16-member staff was back in business, and it became a little easier to get Social Security benefits in Hartford as 7,000 federal employees returned to work today in Connecticut.

But economists and others hedged on the extent of the damage done to the state’s fragile recovery just as shoppers and retailers make plans for the holiday shopping season, and investors are placing bets likely to influence the price of gasoline and heating oil this winter.

Consumer confidence was hardly robust before the federal shutdown, and Congress and President Obama hardly offered solid assurances that the nation won’t kick off the New Year with another round of fiscal brinksmanship.

“I think the concern is the window before they reopen this whole problem is so narrow,” said Edward Deak, an economist who manages forecasts of the state’s economy for the New England Economic Partnership. “And you have the holidays in the middle there.”

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