Fairfield Business Outlook Looking Up

Given all the gloom and doom from some of the comments here at Fairfield Patch, you would think we're all headed for the bread lines. It was therefore a relief to hear people at the annual Penfield Beach Bash say something a bit different.

The July 22 Beach Bash is a summer tradition hosted by the Fairfield Chamber of Commerce and for the first time included members of the Bridgeport Regional Business Council. About 100 people milled about the Jacky Durrell Pavilion, sampling foods from many of our local establishments, renewing acquaintances or forging new alliances.

A recurring comment heard throughout the night was that 2009 was the worst year in memory and that this year, business is up. Chamber CEO Patricia Ritchie confirmed the opinion as did Paul Timpanelli of the BRBC.

"Everyone is back to business," Ritchie confirmed the following morning. "As a Chamber member, you realize you have to work even harder, get more involved, to make things work in this environment. We're doing Ok, not where we were at our height. We have lots to offer."

The Chamber, currently headquartered above Quattro Pazzi on the Post Road, has a bird's eye view of downtown Fairfield and can feel the vibe. For every storefront Ritchie sees going vacant, she watches as a new business moves into a different empty spot, and downtown is filling up once more. Pizza Works, empty a short time, will soon become a Pinkberry, following on the heels of the recently arrived Colony Grill, Old Post Tavern and Gofer Ice Cream, adding to our gastronomic options.

"We have some landlords here who get it," Ritchie happily reports. "Ken Kleban gets it, and as a landlord, he's doing the right thing with some housing above the new structures with plenty of parking. He has helped extend the main street from Ruane Street to North Benson Road."

Ritchie, though, is sensitive to concerns voiced by shoppers and residents who miss the majority of businesses being "mom and pops" or privately owned, as opposed to omnipresent chain stores and restaurants that can make towns indistinguishable from one another.

"People look at some of the other towns and see the other major retailers like Gap and Old Navy, but we have a kind of even distribution of the big guys and the small mom and pops. What concerns the Chamber, more than other things, is seeing great retail space go to professional space," Ritchie says.

Ritchie has no particular issue with the financial, real estate and medical services that have sprouted up with regularity on the Post Road but comments, "Retail on the first floor, it's what brings people to downtown."

Elsewhere, she takes pride in how Black Rock Turnpike has grown and developed into a bustling shopping area. Now she sees Commerce Drive finding its own identity as a magnet for car dealers.

"I used to manage a mall," Ritchie says, "and we used to say, 'How could all these shoe stores make any money? They're all packed in here in one whole area.' That's what draws people. It's the same with the car dealers now building up Commerce Drive. Why have the dealers all in one place? They have beautiful buildings; you could eat off their floors."

Trying to serve the businesses and the residents, the Chamber has been operating quietly but continues to make plans for a larger presence in town.

In June, the town's Parks and Recreation Commission voted to allow the historic Sturges Cottage to be relocated to the northeastern corner of the Parks and Recreation Department's parking lot, next to St. Thomas Cemetery. As part of the deal, developer Harold Fischel would build a gravel parking lot with 60 to 80 spaces, in addition to drainage and lighting. In exchange, the town would let him use half of those spaces for up to three years for his recreational businesses housed behind the Eunice Postol Recreation Center.

All they have to do now is relocate the cottage from behind Carolton Chronic Convalescent Hospital to its new home.  As of now, the town plans to acquire the cottage for $1 from owner Carmen Tortora Jr. Tortora for the last six years has been patiently letting the details be worked out.

Jeanne Harrison, David Sturges and Melanie Marks have been working on the long-range fundraising needed to pay for the historic cottage to be carefully disassembled, moved across the street and rebuilt. They expect it to take two years to raise what's required, while First Selectman Ken Flatto has pledged to help them seek state and/or federal funding to make the move a reality.

Ritchie wants to move the Chamber's headquarters, which is currently not handicapped accessible, to the cottage, which would also allow the Chamber to open a visitor's center. "We're not a tourist destination like Cape May, New Jersey, but there should be a place where people can get information from dining options to a map of the town's historic sights," Ritchie says. "With two universities in town, you have a lot of people less familiar coming in to see their daughter or their son, so we try and accommodate their inquiries."

Richie adds, "You have to keep economic development on the forefront. People don't realize what the Chamber does, and we're here to help."

A robust and enlarged Chamber office and an honest-to-goodness visitor center certainly would signal that our economy continues to improve. It's also a strong signal of an optimistic future.

Robert Greenberger, a former RTM member, is vice chairman of the Democratic Town Committee.