New Morning Takes Customers on Video Tour of New Store [PHOTOS]

Even with all the excitement over New Morning Market's new store, the scene stealer was Millie the French Bulldog, the canine companion of John Pittari.

Pittari is the owner of and took guests on a video tour of the new store on Wednesday, April 25.

Millie was there too, alternating between watching the video, rolling around on the floor at Pittari's feet and leaping into the laps of those in attendance.

New Morning will open at its new location on Thursday, May 17. A ribbon cutting ceremony will take place at 11 a.m. Friday, May 25.

Community Contributions

The new building, located at 129 Main St. North, is certainly a community effort and was built using resources from Woodbury and nearby towns. Repurposed wood from barn doors adorn the walls.

Upon walking through the front doors, a wall to the right is decorated with tree cookies.

"That's what they're called," said Pittari. "They're the cross sections of trees."

True to New Morning's mission, even the tree cookies are local. A maple tree across the street from Robert Motorcars, 592 Main St. South, fell down recently.

The tree was converted into tree cookies and one of them has a spike in it that Pittari thinks is around 150 years old.

"I'm surmising that it was for maple syrup and got left in the tree," he said.

A community table in the café section was crafted from an oak tree in Woodbury. When a New Morning employee had to remove a couple trees from the yard in order to build a house, one of the trees was repurposed as the table. Another portion of the wood, the sister slab to the table, is now a part of the wall in the café.

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Scrap wood came from a barn on Governors Hill in Oxford and granite from a quarry in Roxbury also came from a pile of scrap, Pittari said. The concrete on the floors is from O&G Industries and has the extra bonus of not becoming slippery when people track in rain or snow.

Pittari said some of the walls are painted with American Clay, a paint that has a negative ion charge and repels dust.

Pittari is especially proud of the energy-saving aspects of the new building, like the dairy section with doors that close as opposed to open shelves.

"The amount of energy we're going to be using now will be one half of what we're using now," he said.

A full service butcher and fish counter will be available in the new building. A grab-and-go deli will feature ready-to-go items. Pittari said people can also sit and eat in the café.

He feels good about his goal of helping bring sustainable food into town. Another accomplished goal for Pittari was staying in Woodbury, home to .

"One of the main objectives was to find a spot in Woodbury," Pittari said. "We looked at every available property in town and had several offers to move to Southbury or elsewhere. One of New Morning's ways is further putting down roots in the Woodbury community."