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Comings & Goings: Serena & Lily Opens Next Month

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Serena & Lily, a California-based lifestyle and home décor brand, will open its flagship store, Serena & Lily Design Shop, at 35 Elm St. on April 29, according to spokesperson Betsy Baron. She said the store will occupy all four levels of the 3,000-square foot Kemper-Gunn House, built in 1889, that was slated for demolition to make room for the Bedford Square development but was eventually relocated from Church Lane in November 2014 to its present location. Baron said the privately owned business, headquartered in Sausalito, Calif., opened its first store in the Hamptons in 2013, in San Francisco in 2014, and then in Los Angeles in 2015. Westport is its fourth location. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Dave Matlow for WestportNow.com

Oops, State Error Costs Taxpayers $12 Million

By Mark Pazniokas

www.ctmirror.org

Kevin Sullivan, the state commissioner of revenue services, issued a public apology today for an agency error that caused about 120,000 taxpayers to overstate the value of a property tax credit, resulting in about $12 million in underpayments to the state.

The goof means lots of taxpayers can expect a letter telling them they’ll need to refund a portion of their refund.

“When we make a mistake, we own it and fix it immediately,” Sullivan said.

A statement about the apology went out at about 4:30 p.m., three hours after Rep. Vincent J. Candelora, R-North Branford, issued a press release publicizing the error.

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Comings & Goings: Westport Florist Reopens

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Westport Florist has reopened at 1 Treadwell Ave, adding a bit more color to Saugatuck. The business was located at 240 Post Road East for the last five years, but its lease ran out. Westport Florist took over from Taylor Florist, which had been established in 1935, making the business one of the oldest in Westport at 81 years. It has three other locations in Fairfield County. Taking part in a ribbon-cutting were (l-r) Bruce Minhoff, owner; First Selectman Jim Marpe; Tina Ahlberg, store manager; Matthew Mandell, executive director, Westport Weston Chamber of Commerce, and Sandra Harris, general manager. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Contributed photo

Comings & Goings: The Brownstone Moving

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The Brownstone boutique, 42 Main St., will relocate to 142 Main St. second floor, where it will open April 1, according to owner Victoria Schallert. The space was most recently occupied by Addison Wells, a luxury handbag, shoes and accessories store. The Brownstone is one of three ground floor businesses – the others are Shoe-Inn and Bobby Q’s Restaurant – which are relocating following sale of the 36-42 Main St. building in November 2014 for $9.2 million by Drew Friedman, who died last month. Shoe-Inn moved across the street last month to 21 Main St., and Bobby Q’s is closing March 31 and is moving to 11 Merwin St., Norwalk. The 36-42 Main St. building will be demolished and a new structure built in its place, according to a real estate source. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Dave Matlow for WestportNow.com

Comings & Goings: Scout & Molly’s to Playhouse Square

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Scout & Molly’s Boutique, a women’s apparel, accessories and shoe store, has opened at 283 Post Road East in Playhouse Square between Organic Market and She La La. According to Stamford resident and owner Genevieve Bouchard, (r) a grand opening celebration will take place on April 2. Founded by Lisa Kornstein, the first Scout & Molly’s opened in Raleigh, N.C. in 2002. Its stores now include one in New Canaan which opened one year ago. Bouchard describes the 1,200-square foot Westport store as “having a fun atmosphere, friendly and upbeat, with something for everybody.” Pictured with her is store manager Jessica Kimsey. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Dave Matlow for WestportNow.com

Comings & Goings: Blue Lemon Closing

After 13 years, the Blue Lemon restaurant at Sconset Square will close Saturday, April 9, chef-owner Bryan Malcarney announced tonight.

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Bryan Malcarney: “Time to move to another stage of my life.” Contributed photo

The announcement followed other Westport restaurant closings or announced closings. Post 154 across the street on Post Road East closed in January. Bobby Q’s on Main Street, is shutting down at the end of the month.

“Running the Blue Lemon has been an extremely rewarding experience, both personally and professionally,” Malcarney said.

“After 13 years and careful consideration, I have decided it is time for me to move into another stage of my life, and close the restaurant.”

Grand Opening for Sola Salons

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Sola Salons, located on the ground floor at 495 Post Road East adjacent to the Steinway store, today celebrated its grand opening with an open house reception and tour for beauty professionals seeking a turnkey salon setup for their business. Owned by Westporters Rich and Holly Bobrow, the 6,000-square foot facility offers 26 studio units available for entrepreneurial beauty professionals. (See WestportNow Feb. 9, 2016) (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Dave Matlow for WestportNow.com

Comings & Goings: Organachs Opens

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Organachs, a natural and organic products and holistic facial services business, has opened at 15 Post Road West in the space between Art’s Deli and Age of Reason. Owner Siobhan McKinley, a Ridgefield resident, said the store specializes in “farm to skin” natural products and offers facials and make-up applications. She said appointments for facials will begin next month. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Dave Matlow for WestportNow.com

CT Jobless Rate Rises; 2015 Growth Halved

By Keith M. Phaneuf

www.ctmirror.org

Despite gaining 900 jobs, Connecticut’s unemployment rate rose slightly in January from 5.4 to 5.5 percent, the state Department of Labor reported today.

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The 2015 jobs revision reduced the year’s total by almost 15,000 positions. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Ctmirror.org graphic

The Labor Department also significantly reduced its original job growth projections for 2015 by 14,700 positions. Original job growth of 26,900 was reduced to 12,200. That means Connecticut only has recovered 73 percent, or 86,700 of the jobs lost in the last recession and also hasn’t recovered all private-sector jobs lost.

Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s administration hailed it as a strong sign of economic growth late last year when the department declared that all private-sector jobs lost in the last recession had been recovered. But after applying adjustments, the department now says the private sector has regained 96,100 or 86 percent of the jobs it lost in the last recession.

The new jobless rate still is down from the 6.1 percent ratio recorded in January 2015.

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