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EAST LYME — As the doors prepare to open Saturday at the brand new Sift Bake Shop, some business owners see Niantic’s quaint Main-Street-with-a-view as mystique.
Sift owner Adam Young says his first drive to the seaside village, which is surrounded by shops and restaurants, brought back familiar memories.
“When we first came here, it was very reminiscent of Secret 2016,” he said.
Two years after he and his wife, Ebby, opened that flagship location in Mystic, Young saw the shop turn into a tourist destination by winning the Food Network’s “Best Baker in America” competition in 2018. Now, they’re bringing the same product line, same facilities and about 25 new employees to 184 Main Street.
The Norton, a three-story, 32,928-square-foot property across the bay from K Blake and Co.’s Eric Goodman, 36, and Cody Blake, 39. That’s the duo behind The Standard on Water Street in Mystic. Where Yang sells chocolates and sweets.
Young’s 90-hour work schedule never allowed him much time to get out, so it wasn’t until Goodman took him to the site before construction that he first saw the East Lyme’s glittering merger with Niantic Bay.
The views from the front of the store and the 43 parking spaces behind it helped his friend Goodman decide to say yes to Niantic when he was approached about becoming a tenant.
“Of our existing demographic that comes to Mystic, they hesitate to come in the summer because of the lack of parking,” Young said.
Young Cift cited supply chain issues related to electrical equipment to power the building as the reason for the delay, which was scheduled to open in July. Instead, management trained new employees at the Mystic location over the summer in preparation for the upcoming grand opening.
“We’re excited to get them into their new suite,” he said.
Young singled out Ricky’s Au Spice Club and Leo Roche’s Black Sheep Tavern, pointing to mystery-based entrepreneurs whose business plans included expansion into Niantic. Au’s other restaurants include Rose Basil and Samurai Noodle Bar and Grill, while Roche owns Harp and Hound.
The decorated baker says there’s another trend that bodes well for both areas: “In the last five or seven years, we’ve seen a very high concentration of top talent in my industry coming to Mystic, and I want to see the same thing.” “The Situation in Niantic.”
Sift will front the building next door to Anna Lathrop Gourmet Gallery, which currently operates a catering business and flagship store in North Stonington.
Lathrop said she hopes to open before Thanksgiving. In addition to prepared foods, charcuterie offerings and specialty retail food products, she plans to offer catering services.
“You can order lunch at the table, bring it to your seat and enjoy a glass of wine or local beer,” she said. Seating for 20 people includes two four bay window seats.
Lathrop also described Niantic as a slower, less intense mystical sensation.
“The locals are very supportive and haven’t been overrun by tourists yet,” she says.
The two other commercial tenants will come in after the holidays, according to Goodman. Apparel, accessories and gift retailer Pearls & Plaid will open in an expansion to its current Old Saybrook location, he said. Home decor and gift shop Azalea operates across Pennsylvania Avenue.
Elsewhere, construction of a restaurant and bathhouse is underway on Main Street, at the Morton House street level at the corner of Pennsylvania Avenue. Andy Sklavoris, a partner at Five Churches Brewery and Taproom in New Britain, said he hopes Five Churches By Bay will open by mid-November.
Traffic calming
Goodman said he is ready to close five of Norton’s 12 condominiums by the end of the month, including Ben House. It was on the market for $1.2 million.
The other units range from $425,000 to $1 million, depending on the developer. He bought the property in January for $850,000, local and state records show.
The building will fill the space where Norton Auto and Marine Services once stood. Goodman said it was Tim Norton’s son-in-law who asked about reviving the development project, which was floated about 10 years ago.
The site plan was revised by the Zoning Commission last October after being drafted by Norton in 2013. The commission unanimously approved the plan both times.
Goodman said he has heard some complaints from city officials about traffic on and around Grand Street, where traffic enters at the back of the building.
Department of Public Works Director Joe Bragau said the city will paint white shoulder lines on Grand Street and Smith Street to help clear parking lots and help calm traffic. The white curb lines on the road squeeze into the travel lane instead of allowing drivers to use the entire road, he said.
“We’re trying to reduce the traffic on the road a little bit.”
Once it becomes clear how much traffic the occupied building will generate, Bragau said they will use the data on traffic volumes and patterns to make recommendations for any necessary improvements. As the city’s traffic authority, only the Police Commission has the final approval on changes involving signs and road markings on local roads.
“The white edge lines were something we were trying to be proactive about,” he said. “So we’re trying to do some things already, but until we see what kind of traffic volume we’ve got, we’ll have to sit back and see what happens.”
From Goodman’s point of view, an increase in traffic is inevitable as the south side of the road becomes commercial and the north side residential. But he said that has its upside: He has seen properties in the immediate area sell for higher prices than before the project began.
“I think what we’ve done in Niantic is a great addition to the downtown streetscape,” he said. “It’s not going to please everyone, but that was an underutilized property that contributed a lot of taxes and had a very low impact and provided parking that people are always concerned about.”
e.regan@theday.com
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