No. 299 Home Goods Store To Open Second Location In New Canaan

NEW CANAAN, CT — When Jackie Fucigna decided to open her store over a decade ago, she set up shop in a unique location: her two-car garage.

From her Fairfield home, Fucigna would sell furniture she had collected and refurbished, as well as items purchased from flea markets and auctions that she found interesting, four times a year from a what was essentially a homemade store.

"I just would clean out the garage," Fucigna said, "lay down a carpet, hang a chandelier, play music and set it up."

Appropriately, she named her business after her previous home address: No. 299. After her shop proved successful, she decided to open a brick and mortar store in Fairfield, which she has operated for over seven years.

Looking to expand, Fucigna plans to open a second location this month at 110 Main Street in downtown New Canaan.

"I think I've always just kind of had [the idea]," Fucigna said. "Its always been kind of on simmer, and this was the year to check it out."

No. 299 now offers customers a wide variety of vintage furniture, accessories and other home goods, promising goods that will "inspire, excite, create and comfort."

According to Fucigna, the idea for a second location mostly came from the flood of messages she often receives from customers around the state, and in areas like New York, New Jersey and even Pennsylvania, begging her to open another location.

With a store about 20 minutes south of her original Fairfield location, customers in Norwalk, Stamford and Greenwich, as well as New York and New Jersey, can purchase items in person with ease and without having to drive the extra miles.

"While I don't necessarily want to open a shop where I can't drive to it within 20 minutes, because I still want to very much be a part of it," Fucigna said, "New Canaan kind of fits that bill and it gives me a chance to try it. It feels like the distance is far enough from Fairfield that I won't sabotage any sales in Fairfield, but fresh enough that it will still be new and have a whole new host of customers."

New Canaan Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Laura Budd said she was thrilled Fucigna picked New Canaan for her second store.

"No 299 will make an excellent addition to New Canaan's retail scene," Budd said in an email, "and we look forward to working with them when they open in September."

Having lived in New Canaan before moving to Fairfield in 2008, Fucigna already had a good sense of the area, and while she also considered other communities for her new store, Fucigna ultimately decided an intimate community like New Canaan was the best fit for her business.

"I really work hard on building customer relations, and in Fairfield I know so many of my customers' names and have, as a result, many repeat customers," Fucigna said. "I love that. That's what inspires me and gets me up in the morning, and you have that sense of community and a place that you belong. It just feels really good."

Fucigna knows not to mess around too much with a good thing, which is why the New Canaan store will be almost identical to the Fairfield store in terms of inventory. She also will look to match the vintage and intimate atmosphere of her original store in New Canaan.

"Physically they're different," Fucigna said, "but I want the overall vibe when you walk in the door to feel the same."

The key to both stores, according to Fucigna, is working hard to create an inspiring space through which the items she has curated can shine.

"At the end of the day, let's face it," Fucigna said, "this space is my vision, so it's not going to work for everybody of course, but I feel like I try to source and pull in goods that you don't see everywhere. I try to make it so that it's a little bit more unique in terms of the offerings."

As she prepares to open her doors in New Canaan sometime in mid-September, Fucigna is reminded of the early days prepping her garage to welcome customers to her new business.

"Of course my garage seems like an eternity ago," Fucigna said, "but it's kind of how it all grew and started from the get-go."