Hidden Gems of Hartford and Tolland Counties

SOMERS, CT — Today's installment of the Hidden Gems series is being published on Friday the 13th, but it is hardly an unlucky time for a small woman-owned business which is celebrating three distinct round-numbered milestones this year.

Country Casuals is a fine women's apparel shop in the heart of Somers at 581 Main St., on Route 190. It is located inside an unassuming brick building constructed 200 years ago, in 1820, and features "fine fabrics and enduring classics for the discriminating shopper."

Owned by Cindy Pio, whose family has been in the mercantile trade in Somers for three generations, Country Casuals is marking its 50th year in business in 2020, having opened in 1970. It moved into its current site 40 years ago, in 1980, and continues to offer top-quality apparel manufactured in the United States, France, Italy, Germany, Austria and South America.

Country Casuals is open Tuesday through Saturday from 10:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m, and other times by appointment. The store number is 860-749-0014.

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The Hidden Gems series features out-of-the-way mom and pop restaurants, small specialty stores you may have never heard of, little-known historical markers or beautiful nature spots that may be a bit off the beaten path, all located within Hartford and Tolland counties. Do you have a favorite "hidden gem" in the area that you wish to see featured in this column? Email your ideas to tim.jensen@patch.com.

Other columns in this series:

• Dakota Restaurant
• Country Cobbler
• Beau's Burger Shack
• Daniel Glazier Tavern
• Mount Southington Ski School
• Awards & More
• Marquis de Lafayette Monument
• The Little Red Store
• River Bend Bookshop
• Gerry's Donuts
• Traveler Restaurant
• First Decorated Christmas Tree
• The Stanley-Whitman House
• Vernon's Santa House
• Vintage Radio and Communications Museum of Connecticut
• Old Country Banquet Hall
• Brazilian Gula Grill
• Thomas' Smokey Pit Stop
• Congregational Church of Burlington labyrinth
• Noah Webster House
• The Bushnell's Green Room Wall
• Belding Wildlife Management Area
• The Aborn Castle
• Heublein Tower
• Birthplace of Jonathan Edwards
• Grave of Revolutionary War Soldier Heman Baker
• Jessica's Garden, Lobster and Ice Cream Shack
• Shade Swamp Sanctuary
• Ken's Corner Breakfast & Lunch
• Tolland Red and White
• The Packing House
• Cold Harbor Seafood
• Nye Holman State Forest/Heron Cove Park
• Hosmer Mountain Soda Shack
• Connecticut Trolley Museum
• Matterhorn Mini Golf
• Wood Memorial Library & Museum
• Hastings Farm
• Liquid Nirvana
• Iwo Jima Survivors Memorial Park
• Academy Hall
• Southington Drive-In
• Little Theatre of Manchester at Cheney Hall
• Somersvillage Gifts & Gourmet Baskets
• New England Civil War Museum
• The Pinchot Sycamore
• Stafford Palace Theater
• Mansfield Hollow State Park
• Old Tolland County Jail and Museum
• Hill-Stead Museum
• Mark's Restaurant