By John Kriz
“My major challenges are the challenges that my member businesses have.” So says Laura Budd, executive director (and sole employee) of the New Canaan Chamber of Commerce, the voice of retailers and other businesses in town. https://www.newcanaanchamber.com
Challenges & Tasks
“The big challenge is people are shopping on their phone,” she continues, “and as more younger people move in” the challenge is to “get that ‘shop local’ message across.”
“The retail environment has changed very much,” stresses Ms. Budd, “so trying to come up with constructive and interesting ways to try to help promote the businesses downtown” is a key task.
What to do? Because so many people are on their phones, the Chamber is “trying to showcase the experience of shopping and dining in town and using popular local influencers to achieve that end,” notes Ms. Budd. Some have already come.
Another big issue? The growth of restaurants. “We see our restaurants and the restaurant environment as very strong.” However, the expansion of the sidewalks, and outdoor dining, has generated blowback from some retailers as there is a trade-off with parking. Restaurants and personal service establishments (such as hair and nail salons) are also more ‘non-Amazonable’ than many other retail categories.
But the ‘sell’ is not just the dining and shopping: it’s the total New Canaan experience, “promoting the town as a unique experience because New Canaan is very unique with all the cultural assets we have on top of amazing restaurants and incredible and incredibly well curated retail stores.”
The renovated Playhouse in the heart of downtown is also becoming a “’third place’ [in addition to one’s home and office] for people to gather and enjoy time together” serving up not just movies, but also film lectures, the Pub, trivia nights and Mahjong games. “Anything that brings people into town is going to be helpful,” Ms. Budd stresses.
“I hope through the events that I have and other things that happen in town, like the [Addiction Awareness] Vigil … that people can really appreciate how lucky we are to have the retailers that we do have. These people are experts. They’re passionate about whatever it is they’re selling or the service that they’re providing.”
Board President Allison Donaldson echoes Ms. Budd’s comments, noting the ongoing challenge of internet competition, with some people window shopping downtown but buying online. “I think in terms of challenge and mission, [it’s] getting the word out there, supporting our members, being an amplifier for them.”
Ms. Donaldson adds that a recent member survey revealed that around two-thirds of “respondents said they would like social media support and social media boosting. So that’s really getting the word out there, perhaps to a larger audience than just New Canaan, and bring people into our town to shop and eat and have services right here.” And that boosting is underway.
What would Ms. Donaldson like changed? “I don’t think our members truly understand those member benefits and they’re not taking advantage of them as fully as they could.”
So how are things going downtown? Vehicular and foot traffic are certainly active. Retail street-level vacancies are few. Restaurants are busy. Downtown New Canaan is vibrant.
Town Relations
A key function of the Chamber is that it is “a liaison between the municipality, the nonprofits, the business community and the residents,” Ms. Budd notes. If something is happening in the downtown area, such as road work, Ms. Budd can quickly help spread the word.
TEDAC – the town’s Tourism & Economic Development Advisory Committee – is one venue to get New Canaan’s business community’s ideas across (Ms. Budd is a member) as well as to keep everyone informed. In addition, Ms. Budd has “gotten along very well” with the First Selectmen, and even rents office space from the town in the Town Hall Annex (the A-frame building to the west of Town Hall).
The Big Events
About those events… The Chamber runs several large community events that not only draw families downtown, but also encourage them to linger and explore new venues.
The ‘Big Three’ are the Sidewalk Sale, held over a Friday night and Saturday in July, the Halloween Parade, which especially draws families, and the Holiday Stroll in December, with all the lights sparkling.
Ms. Budd says each event “shows off the town, and then makes people slow down, and they’re walking down the street and maybe looking into the stores.”
The Chamber also has business-to-business responsibilities, and not just business-to-consumer. To that end, the Chamber organizes “networking events where businesses can interact with each other.” One example is a ‘Meet the Members’ breakfast in a restaurant in town. People get to talking and then it’s “Oh my gosh, I met this guy and now we’re going to try to do some business together.”
In early Spring New Canaan’s First Selectman speaks to the business community, answers members’ questions and hears their concerns. There’s also a holiday party. And beyond New Canaan the Chamber has organized events with Chambers from Wilton, Darien and Ridgefield to share ideas and look for ways to strengthen everyone’s success. Ms. Budd has also organized “some women’s networking series where we bring in women entrepreneurs to speak to other women.” These efforts all fall under “’connecting’ as kind of an overall goal.”
Parking
“The people always complain about the parking,” notes Ms. Budd, and one of her biggest challenges is “combating public perception that there’s not enough parking in town.” She says there are 1600 public spots in the downtown area, which include the Lumberyard, which has free parking after 10:30am on weekdays.
“I think the current administration is really tackling it head on by flipping around our parking situation. I think the retailers are very nervous about this and I really believe this will reduce some congestion in downtown along with what they’re doing in the Playhouse lot and the accessible ramp, which will also help delivery people.” (The town is building a new, accessible walkway and ramp between the Playhouse and Le Pain Quotidien, and a designated loading zone at the top, to try to reduce trucks from double-parking during deliveries on Elm Street.)
Members Speak
“I am very happy” with the Chamber, says Carl Franco, of Francos Wine Merchants on Elm Street. “In the past few years I think they’ve been carrying the torch on town events, and have introduced a few new ones over the past few years, and I think they’re doing a great job with it. They’re involved in the community.”
Would he tell a new merchant to join the Chamber? “I would tell them to join.” And why? “It’s an important part of being part of the town.”
One of the key things the Chamber does, in Mr. Franco’s view, is not only liaising between town government and merchants, and giving merchants a heads-up about new initiatives or disruptions (and you cannot provide too much lead time, he stresses), but also promoting New Canaan as a destination.
Phil Williams of New Canaan Music and a former Board member of the Chamber, says “we feel like our voice is heard when we have concerns.” As well, he thinks the Chamber does a good job with its events, with the Holiday Stroll being particularly beneficial.
“We love the event” he notes. “It’s a good one. I mean, everybody’s really kind of downtown. A lot of new residents feel the kind of hominess and the community sense. I think that really builds a sense of community for a lot of people.”
Jennifer Tauber DPM, whose medical office is on Cherry Street and who is a Board member of the Chamber, said the Chamber was “awesome” in helping her get her practice off the ground.
Organization
The Chamber has nearly 350 members – retailers, other businesses as well as some not-for-profits. Businesses not based in New Canaan can also join. Membership cost depends on the employee base of the business, with annual fees – the Chamber’s main revenue source – starting at a little more than $300. The Chamber is governed by an 18-member board, which oversees the Chamber’s projects, and helps to guide and direct it.
What do you get as a member? Ms. Budd believes, “the number one benefit is that you can put your events — whether if you were a nonprofit and you had a big fundraising event or if you were a retailer that was having a big sale or a trunk show or something — you can put that on our community calendar, which is right on our website. And then you can be in our email newsletter that is sent to 6,400 residents and businesses.” As well, “that newsletter is one of our greatest tools to help amplify our members’ voices.”
In addition to those benefits, and the member networking events and big events like the Sidewalk Sale, there’s the liaison work the Chamber does with the Town of New Canaan.
Chamber History
A major turning point for the Chamber was 2009 – the midst of the Great Recession — when Tucker Murphy, former Town Council member and current ‘right hand’ to First Selectman Dionna Carlson, took over leadership. The Chamber was “in a state,” she says.
At that time there was also the New Canaan Village Association — a parallel group that, says Ms. Murphy, felt that the Chamber was too focused on business-to-business activities, and not “focusing on our actual downtown.” She helped to merge the two groups and “just really make everyone understand that our downtown was so special and the heart of the town.”
She went door-to-door to introduce herself, and to listen to members’ ideas and concerns. To generate energy she devised events such as a battle of the bands and a photography contest. A new logo was created, and a new mission statement, with the Chamber’s emphasis being ‘Connecting the Community with Commerce.’ The Chamber’s Community Calendar was also launched, designed to be a central source for town events.
In contrast to neighboring towns, with multiple retail areas and strip developments which are not that walkable, New Canaan “is different because of the way our town is set up,” stresses Ms. Murphy, “which is a total bonus and benefit to New Canaan that everything happens right here, that the train drops you right at the end of the line, right in the center of town. And that then allows the Chamber to really focus on the downtown, just one downtown.”
“I wanted the Chamber just to be front and center with everything that was happening in town,” she stressed.
Laura Budd was hired in 2012, working with Ms. Murphy, and she took over in 2020 – the start of COVID.
What’s Next?
“I think our downtown is so unique and it has so many positives and so many really interesting stores and services, so I can’t imagine wanting to change the mix,” says Ms. Budd. “If I could snap my fingers, I would want people to slow down and really spend more time downtown and appreciate how lucky we are to have the stores that we have.”
Board President Donaldson puts it this way: “I think it’s important for our members to know that our door is always open. We do want your feedback. And in terms of the community, we hope that — I mean, New Canaan is so special. A special ambiance. A great size. We have some great retail restaurants, services in town. I just hope that people continue to support local businesses and enable us to continue to thrive.”
