Demolition began on the Unquowa Road block in Fairfield Center in September. The café, barber, gift shop, interiors studio and lounge that used to be there have all moved to new addresses inside Fairfield, and all but the lounge have reopened. In the same months, four restaurants and cafés with track records elsewhere opened in town or set an opening date. The downtown block is being rebuilt, and none of its businesses left town.
Every Unquowa Road tenant has a new Fairfield address
At the start of 2026, several small businesses on Unquowa Road got notice from their landlord that the property would become an apartment complex. News 12 Connecticut reported in June that all of them had relocated, and some were still working to reopen. By September 28, according to Westfair Communications, the remaining moves were done.
| Business on Unquowa Road | Where it is now | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Catch A Healthy Habit Café, 39 Unquowa Road | Clean Slate, 116 Sherman St. | Opened late July 2026 |
| Fairfield Barber Shop | Fairfield Hair House, 1040 Post Road | Ribbon cutting April 2026 |
| Tenth of June and Wendy Loves This | Wendy & June, 40 Reef Road | Opened around June 10, 2026 |
| Nancy Galasso Interiors | 51 Sherman St. West | Relocated by June 2026 |
| Las Vetas Lounge | 1640 Post Road | Moved by Sept. 28, 2026; reopening date not announced |
A few of these moves changed the business itself. Tenth of June and Wendy Loves This now share 40 Reef Road under the name Wendy & June. Amanda Desmond and Wendy Mount told News 12 that they remain "two separate businesses," and the shop opened on June 10, the day its name refers to. Marco DiVincenzo of Fairfield Barber Shop joined Fairfield Hair House at 1040 Post Road, next to Hansen's Flower Shop. The salon is owned by June Chen, who used to work with him at the old shop, and she told News 12 the parking lot has been a big improvement over the previous space.
How the longest-running tenant stayed in town
Catch A Healthy Habit had been in downtown Fairfield for 20 years, according to Patch, and it was one of the last businesses to leave the block. According to News 12, owners Lisa Storch and Glen Colello went to court to extend their stay, and the café's last day on Unquowa Road was May 19. It reopened as Clean Slate at 116 Sherman St. around the end of July. The CT Post reported the reopening in August.
The town helped pay for the move. Patch reported that the café received $5,000 through Fairfield's Micro-Enterprise Assistance Program to cover new equipment and fit-up costs. The program is run by the Department of Community & Economic Development, is funded by a federal HUD grant, and has assisted more than 60 small businesses since it started. Storch told Patch:
"It's stressful having to move after so many years, and we are grateful for the support that we received from the Town."
Clean Slate still serves organic juices, dairy-free smoothies, matcha and coffee. News 12 reported that the new menu stays mostly plant-based but adds some non-vegan options and a full coffee bar.
What replaces the block, and how long it will be a work site
The project is Center Commons, a five-story building with 50 apartments, including eight affordable units, and two ground-floor retail spaces. It was filed by 15 Unquowa Road LLC. An earlier, larger version of the plan was denied by the town and then went through court appeals. The Town Plan and Zoning Commission approved a settlement 5–1 at its July 1, 2025 special meeting, and the revised plan went forward under it.
Here is the timeline, using Westfair's late-September reporting:
- September 2026: 39 Unquowa Road, the former café building, was torn down.
- Still standing as of late September: the buildings that held Las Vetas, Fairfield Barber Shop, Tenth of June and Nancy Galasso Interiors, all marked for demolition.
- Late 2026 to early 2027: the developer's window for starting construction.
- 12 to 18 months after the foundation is poured: the developer's estimate for building the structure and finishing the interiors.
By those estimates, the stretch will be a construction site until at least 2028 if the foundation goes in during early 2027. That is when the two new storefronts would come back to the block.
The same crews' season reached the other end of town too. Westfair reported that the former Rio Bravo Tacos & Tequila at 770 Commerce Drive was demolished for a 90-unit mixed-use building from Skala Partners. The site is 0.1 miles from the Fairfield Metro station, and construction is scheduled to begin in late 2026.
The new arrivals already have a following elsewhere
While Fairfield's longtime businesses were moving within town, the restaurants and cafés opening here this fall share one trait. Each comes from an operator that already proved itself somewhere else.
Kneads Bakery Café Mill, 1916 Post Road. Brittany and Daniel Moreno opened the Fairfield location of their Westport bakery on October 10. At the Westport shop, the flour mill sat in a tight space out of sight. In Fairfield, it is front and center behind big open windows. "Our mill is at the heart of Kneads," Brittany Moreno told CT Insider. The mill is a modernized Vermont granite mill that grinds grain from farms in Maine and the Finger Lakes. Hard red spring wheat goes into the sourdough, and soft white wheat goes into the scones, muffins and biscotti. The fall menu includes a Waldorf salad made with local lettuces and a hazelnut raisin sourdough with a little maple syrup. Hours are 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. on weekdays and 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. on weekends. The couple is also leasing two spaces at the rebuilt Greenwich train station plaza and plans to open there in 2027.
Via Posa, 2126 Post Road. This Italian café opened August 3, run by the team behind Posa Ristorante and Vineria in Ridgefield. According to CT Insider, it serves house-made cornettos and bomboloni in the morning, plus gnocchi alla sorrentina, cacio e pepe arancini and panini on focaccia, ciabatta or pizza bread.
Flat Out Burger, 58 Post Road. The smash-burger chain started in Brooklyn and had added a Lower East Side shop before opening its first permanent Connecticut location here on August 15. It sold out of burgers on both days of its opening weekend, co-owner Paul Gasparrini told CT Insider. Partner Anthony Santorelli lives in Redding. The beef comes from Pat LaFrieda and the pickles from The Pickle Guys in New York. It's open daily from 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Kouzina Greek Taverna & Bar, 52 Sanford St. This Stamford taverna is aiming to open in downtown Fairfield the first week of November, which is next week. General manager Chelsea Pazmino has described that as a target, not a firm date. The restaurant will fill the roughly 5,000-square-foot former Tablao space, which earlier housed Crave Bar & Grill and Metro Kitchen & Bar. 203local reports that chef Peter Alatsas will serve the Stamford menu. Pazmino named the lamb shank, moussaka and pork gyros as customer favorites, and the Stamford kitchen has appeared on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives. The owners are Peter Valis, Frank Vavoulidis, Mike Tsiahouridis and Sofia Papaioannou, who also run Tomato Tomato and The Americano in Stamford. Fairfield will be their group's first restaurant in town. Before going, check Kouzina's website for the confirmed date.
Kouzina makes the most direct connection to the Unquowa Road story. A large dining room a short distance from the demolition site is getting an operator with a full menu and a Food Network appearance behind it. The block itself will have no storefronts until Center Commons is finished.
Two storefronts on Post Road and Black Rock Turnpike that went dark
Not every business stayed. Bonkers Cupcakes closed its storefront at 1618 Post Road on August 2 when its lease ended. According to CT Insider, the bakery planned to keep baking from a commercial kitchen next door, but as of late August it had not announced a reopening date. Poster Hardware at 2155 Black Rock Turnpike closed in August when owner Bert Lello retired after nearly 40 years, as Patch reported.
No successor has been announced for either space. Next week, the tally for the Unquowa Road block will be five businesses at five new Fairfield addresses, a block marked for demolition, and a Greek taverna aiming to open on Sanford Street.
If you own a home near Fairfield Center and want to know how Center Commons and this season's new Post Road tenants might affect what buyers will pay for your street, The Leslie Clarke Team can prepare a home valuation built on what's actually changing downtown. Request a Home Valuation, and we'll walk you through it.
