nothin Chain Chain Chain ... | New Haven Independent

Chain Chain Chain …

As demonstrators filled the streets of cities nationwide to protest the outcome of a civil-rights case in Ferguson, Missouri, Connecticut’s two U.S. senators joined a march through downtown New Haven — to celebrate the opening of seven trendy new chain-store outlets.

The senators, Richard Blumenthal (at center in above photo) and Chris Murphy (at right), huddled with Yale Vice-President Bruce Alexander (at left) before the march set out.

They gathered on the New Haven Green Tuesday to the Dixieland strains of tuba player Art Hovey (at left in photo) and the Galvanized Jazz Band. The seven ribbon-cuttings — timed to urge people to shop local” at small businesses” during the annual holiday consumer orgy beginning Friday — took place at properties owned by Yale’s real-estate arm. All seven stores are owned by chains based out of town, in some cases out of the state or the country.

Still, there are chains” and there are chains,” as the first stops along Chapel Street demonstrated. Some are smaller, or have more local roots, than others. Stephen J. Clemente (pictured with scissors), owner of Extra Virgin Oil Store on Chapel, for instance, grew up in New Haven. Nowadays you can find him around Mystic; five years ago he started what’s now a five-store chain in that area. We make the oil, vinegar, pasta and sauce from scratch,” Clemente said of his wares, which fill a space formerly occupied by a Fairfield County-based Bali-themed clothing store.

Vincente Siguenza doesn’t have New Haven roots (he was born in Ecuador), but farm-to-fork” Harvest restaurant chain, too, is based in the state (New Canaan). Surrounded by the traveling band of muckety-mucks, Siguenza cut the ribbon on his fifth chain outlet, inhabiting the longtime former Scoozi space next to Yale Rep.

After Harvest, the marchers, dozens strong, paraded up York Street to the Yale University Properties-owned Broadway district, where a quick succession of ribbon-cuttings transpired, beginning with Emporium, a luxury European apparel and accessories outlet replacing the old Au Bon Pain chain outlet in the prime corner storefront.

The march moved swiftly next door where Dennis Venco helped cut the ribbon for Kiko Milano, an Italy-based fashion chain with more than 500 European outlets.

Creative Director Manuel Simpson next received the scissors to ceremoniously cut the ribbon to the 22nd outlet of the Middleburg, Virginia-based LouLou jewelry boutique.

Halves of the next ribbon then fell the ground in front of U.K.-based Barbour men’s and women’s clothing store, which manager Christine Sumowski (pictured) said is the company’s 12th retail store in the U.S.

The final stop was the new Tarry Lodge, a Port Chester, N.Y.-based chain affiliated with former Iron Chef Mario Batali. Click here for a story on the new Italian restaurant and pizzeria, which occupies the former longtime home of Park Street Sub Shop.

As the parade headed to a tent erected in the Broadway parking island for a series of passionate pro-retail speeches from Yale and New Haven officials, Steve Fontana, a deputy city economic development chief, said New Haven has room for chains and local small businesses alike. (Click on the video to watch him address the subject.) We certainly prefer small locally owned businesses,” Fontana said. I think you want to make it a balance. You want to have something to offer everyone. Some people want to offer chains. We have some unusual companies, some unusual chains. … As long as we give small businesses here in New Haven a chance, that’s a good thing.”

Even these large corporations have local hiring managers,” noted Mary Reynolds, who runs the New Haven Works job-readiness and placement agency. (She’s at right in the photo listening to the march’s finale speeches.) She said New Haven Works has already arranged interviews for job candidates at LouLou. She has spoken as well with managers of the other now-opening outlets about referring pre-screened qualified applicants.

Mayor Toni Harp (pictured listening to other speakers in the tent) reminded the crowd that a nationally designated small-business shopping day is coming this weekend (Small Business Saturday”). With all this new world-class shopping” in town, Harp declared, hopefully the streets of New Haven will be overrun with shoppers.”

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