Danskin, a women’s active wear and dance wear apparel outlet store at 275 Post Road East in Westport’s Playhouse Square shopping center, has closed after seven years at the location. The closure put five employees out of work.The only other Danskin store in Connecticut—in Westbrook—closed two weeks ago. An employee said of the original 20 Danskin outlet stores, only four remain – one each in New York, Pennsylvania, Utah and Nevada. Owned by New York-based Triumph Apparel Corp., Danskin sells to department stores, sporting goods stores, and other specialty shops, as well as through mass marketers, such as Target and Wal-Mart. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Dave Matlow for WestportNow.com

The new Café Manolo (see WestportNow May 26, 2009) in the 8 Church St., Westport, location formerly occupied by Zest Café and Restaurant opens its doors for business on Thursday. Dinners will be served Tuesdays through Saturdays, according to owner Pedro Garzon. Frankie Glossman (on ladder) of Fairfield’s I-Level Sign Company and his father Brian put the final touches on the new signage today. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Dave Matlow for WestportNow.com

All About Image, a clothing, jeans and accessories shop has opened at 147 Post Road East in Westport in the location previously occupied by Knoyzz (See WestportNow March 31, 2009). The new store owner, Nicholas DiBattista, a Westchester resident, is a former employee of Knoyzz as are many of the store’s current staff. According to DiBattista, All About Image is his first venture as an owner of a retail shop and he plans to open three or four more stores in other locations. Asked to compare the new store’s inventory with Knoyzz’s merchandise, he said, “We have slightly higher-end merchandise than Knoyzz carried.” (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Dave Matlow for WestportNow.com

The Westport Public Library’s Community Conversations series tonight focused on the economy with a program titled “Living in Disruptive Times….Societal Implications of the Financial Crisis.” Panelists included (l-r) Westporter Dan Gross, senior editor at Newsweek; Naomi Starobin, WSHU Public Radio news director; Al Puchala, a Westporter, co-founder and managing director of Signal Equity Partners; and Irving Wladawsky-Berger of Westport, moderator, chairman emeritus, IBM Academy of Technology. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Phyllis Groner for WestportNow.com

Westporter Win Allen, author of “Don’t Get Mad, Get Rich,” told a Westport Barnes & Noble audience tonight that because of advanced age, many older Americans can never recover from recent financial losses. He said young people trying to enter the job market will find fewer openings because older people are not leaving their jobs. A Fulbright scholar and former Xerox Corp. executive, Allen, who earned his Ph.D from Fordham University, is also an accomplished real estate investor, financial adviser and business entrepreneur. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Dave Matlow for WestportNow.com

Pequot Capital Management Inc., the well known hedge fund firm long based in Westport which recently moved to Wilton, is being closed down by founder Arthur Samberg amid an ongoing investigation into possible insider trading, The Wall Street Journal said today.

“Public disclosures about the continuing investigation have cast a cloud over the firm and have become a source of personal distraction,” Samberg wrote in a letter that was sent to investors today, the newspaper said on its Web site..

“With the situation increasingly untenable for the firm and for me, I have concluded that Pequot can no longer stay in business.”

Samberg, a pioneer in the hedge-fund business, has a track record that is among the best in the business, even while dealing with an on-again, off-again investigation by both the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Justice Department, the Journal said.

By Dave Matlow

A new restaurant will open next month on Westport’s Church Lane in space formerly occupied by Zest Café and Restaurant.
Pedro Garzon holds a photo of his great, grand uncle who was a retired surgeon who earned a brigadier general rank in the Spanish Army. The new Cafe Manolo owner said their travels together through Europe exposed him to cuisines that influenced his career, profession and life. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Dave Matlow for WestportNow.com

Pedro Garzon, a former chef at the Barcelona Restaurant on Temple Street in New Haven, will open his own business as the Cafe Manolo at 8 Church Lane where Zest closed in April. (See WestportNow April 20, 2009)

Garzon said the food will have a “Mediterranean influence with classic European recipes made with local ingredients.” 

Garzon said his knowledge for these foods was influenced by his great grand uncle, a retired surgeon who earned a brigadier general rank in the Spanish Army, whom he visited in Barcelona as a child. 

The Napoli Restaurant at 5 Riverside Ave. was readying today for a busy Memorial Day. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Dave Matlow for WestportNow.com

Richard Gordon, chairman of the of the Westport Weston Chamber of Commerce, chats with Lisa Thygerson, the Chamber’s newly named executive director. Formerly assistant manager of TD Banknorth at 185 Main St., she replaces Fred Feuerhake who served as interim director. Gordon, a board member of both the Chamber and the Downtown Merchants Asssociation (DMA), said Thygerson will lead the Chamber’s 350 members in its joint relationship with the DMA in the two organizations’ efforts “to help all members build a healthy business community.” (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Dave Matlow for WestportNow.com