The Fairfield County Business Journal recently staked its claim to the great American summer tradition: the August road trip.
The plan was to drive the length of U.S. Route 1 ”” the Boston Post Road ”” from the New York border to the Housatonic River and plumb the business mood on one of America”™s most famous roads.
The coast-hugging byway dates to Colonial America and likely further back to Native American trails that it co-opted. It runs a total 2,369 miles from Maine to Key West, Fla., but the nation”™s No. 1-designated highway nonetheless goes by a dizzying array of names.
Within Fairfield County, Route 1 is Putnam Avenue, King”™s Highway, Tresser Boulevard, Cherry Hill Road, Boston Avenue, Van Buren Avenue, Connecticut Avenue, Belden Avenue, North Avenue, West Avenue and Barnum Avenue. Those street signs notwithstanding, most people along its length are familiar with its two regional shorthand names: The Post Road and simply Route 1.
Occasional residential neighborhoods ”” as along the manicured stretch in Bridgeport ”” soon enough give way to commercial activity. That high-visibility commercialism attracts mom-and-pops, major corporations and national chains: a traffic jam of tony car dealerships in Greenwich, the World Wrestling Federation headquarters in Stamford, B.J.”™ Wholesale Club in Stratford, Edge Fitness Clubs in Fairfield. It is a magnet for the likes of Home Depot in Fairfield, for Mitchell”™s in Westport and for the A&P in Riverside.
A few spots might be called “gritty,” but nothing worse; there is no outright blight. Commercial activity, meantime, is everywhere.
Our 40-mile trip ”” leaving the Post Road only once, for a forced detour in Stratford ”” began at 6 a.m. at the Port Chester, N.Y., border and ended at 2 p.m. on the west shore of the Housatonic River.
Greetings from the Post Road
Michael DelValle has worked at Glory Days Diner, 69 E. Putnam Ave. in Greenwich, for 15 years and serves as occasional manager. He opens daily at 6 a.m. “Over the last year business has been really good,†he said. “This for me is the best time of year because I have more time to spend with my customers. People are on vacations and it’s a little more relaxed.â€
Mark Manzi climbs aboard a track loader equipped with a 2.5-cubic-yard bucket to work on a parking and drainage project in front of Cytec Industries Inc., 1937 W. Main St., Stamford. Manzi works for Norwalk-based Grasso Construction – 25 years old and employing 70 workers – which began the project June 15 and expects to finish before August’s end. “We’ve been busy,†Manzi said. “And we have another job waiting when we get done here.â€
Raya Ward is marketing coordinator for Nielsen’s Fine Flowers in Darien. The florist dates to 1944; Ward, from England, has worked there three years. “We always do these slightly different versions of traditional flowers – slightly more unique and harder to find,†Ward said, noting the 1405 Post Road store and greenhouses constitute the largest flower conservatory in lower Fairfield County. “Business has been great. Usually it slows down a bit, but this year it hasn’t.â€
The new Norwalk Fire Department headquarters broke ground April 10, 2012, and is on pace for completion later this year. The project was designed by upstate New York architects Pacheco Ross Architects P.C. It features 32,000 square feet of interior space. The city reports construction is on time and on budget ($13 million).
The Waypointe mixed-use development on West Avenue in Norwalk is bustling. The builder is Norwalk-based Pointe Builders. The $250 million Waypointe project envisions a total 774 apartments and 90,000 square feet of commercial space. Phase one features 444 apartments and 60,000 square feet of street-level retail and restaurant space. Work on the first phase should wind down in 2015.
The One Sasco Hill L.L.C. development in Fairfield broke ground in December at the corner of Sasco Hill Road and The Post Road. The builder is Norwalk-based A. Pappajohn Co. Site manager Rob Pocius expects work on the 20,000-square-foot, 80-parking-space retail and office project to finish construction this fall. “It’s going well,†Pocius said. “The weather has been a challenge this summer. It was rainy and then it got hot, which set us back a little. Right now, it’s looking good.â€
Sal Garro endures the mid-afternoon, 86-degree heat remaking the sidewalk in front of the Franklin School at 1895 Barnum Ave (The Post Road) in Stratford. Garro works for GPic Construction of Bridgeport. He dismissed the heat, saying, “It’s a good day. Every day is a good day.â€
8. Lindsey Casso is assistant manager at Riverview Bistro, where the river in question is the Housatonic. The restaurant is the first (or last) business in the county on The Post Road, though its address is 946 Ferry Blvd. “Business is good,†she said. “It’s been a really good summer.†A box-store mall is across the street and, gesturing toward it, Casso said, “We anticipate a pickup from the overflow of back-to-school shoppers.†And toward that end: “We have a really good early-bird special.†The year-old restaurant features casual dining, sea food, steaks and sandwiches. Inset: The five-arch Devon Bridge, also known as the Washington Bridge, next door to Riverview Bistro.
