Tag Archive: Business News

  1. From the Big Apple to Heirloom

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    Carey Savona took the reins as executive chef at Heirloom, the restaurant at The Study at Yale, in early January and, in less than two months time, has redesigned the restaurant’s menu. For Carey, who grew up in Stamford, Conn., and spent a year at Southern Connecticut State University, landing the job at Heirloom was a homecoming— and one worth leaving behind his position as executive chef and culinary director at the Myriad Restaurant Group, which runs New York City restaurants Nobu and Tribeca Grill. Carey said New Haven has been a welcome change of pace and that he hopes to make the Heirloom one of the Elm City’s landmark restaurants.

    Q. When did you know you wanted to pursue a career in food?

    A. I started as a pot washer who used to work for an Austrian baker who used to dirty up some pots and pans pretty rough at Springdale Bakery [in Stamford]. My family has been in the fish business for 85 years … I always wanted to be a director or a cinematographer, and working in restaurants was a way to support myself. School wasn’t working out; I needed to get out of this box and travel a bit, and restaurants afforded that opportunity. Being a chef, you’re kind of a director of a restaurant, an operation, a hospitality vision.

    Q. Do you think your interest in film has influenced the way you present food?

    A. Absolutely. Restaurants are the modern theater — the cathedrals where people go today … We’re in the memory business. If you have a graduation, a birthday, nine times out of 10, you’ll do it at a restaurant. In terms of building those experiences, it’s more than just putting out food — it’s really about creating an atmosphere of this great vision … If you can’t think of the greater picture, you’re going to get bored pretty quickly.

    Q. What was working as a chef at Nobu in New York City like?

    A. Everything starts, happens, begins, is capitalized in New York. It’s the benchmark by which everyone’s measured … I worked with the people who owned Nobu, which does about $17 million a year in business, which wasn’t for the faint of heart. It was a fun time.

    Q. As a chef, what do you have to do differently at Heirloom than at Nobu?

    A. The biggest difference is the amount of time people spend at tables. In New York it’s a much faster pace … You’re trying to turn tables to quicker; it’s a very competitive world. Being in an environment like Heirloom, people take their time. You’ll see here how spread apart tables are. In New York they’d be jammed together. [At Heirloom] we want to utilize what we have at hand.

    Q. What do you have to adapt for working in a hotel as opposed to a separate restaurant?

    A. It’s more on the staff approach. You’re with [customers] for 48 hours as opposed to two and a half hours. You’re really spending a lot of time with them, so you have to adapt to being a bit more neighborly, like family.

    Q. What cookbooks would you recommend to the aspiring college chef?

    A. A cookbook that really influenced me was Marcella Hazan’s “Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking.”It must be 30 or 40 years old, and I still reference that book today. Jeff Smith, who was the “Frugal Gourmet”, did a show that I grew up on. His series had a great series of traditional, regional, ethnic cookbooks that was just fantastic. The real key is to get your hands dirty. Cooking is more about the feeling that you get when you see people consuming something you prepare.

    Q. What food have you enjoyed in New Haven so far?

    A. I’ve been over to Ivy Noodle … I had the radish cakes … It’s cheap, and its good. You go in there and you don’t want to touch anything, but that’s a great experience … Modern Pizza was awesome.

    Q. How did you create the cocktail that was runner up in The New York Times’ 2006 summer cocktail contest?

    A. I named this drink the Gingino. I’m very fond of Italian bitters, amaros, like Campari or Pimms Cup. I saw they were having this thing, and I told my wife, “I’m going to just submit the drink that I drink all the time”… Apparently thousands of people submitted entries for this thing, and I got runner up. Of all the things I’ve done, I have more calls because of this. It was great; it’s a great drink that you can have fun with. It’s the perfect drink to have by the pool.

  2. Amtrak goes wireless

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    When Brendan Harrington ’13 rode the Acela Express — Amtrak’s high-speed rail service in the Northeast — this week, he discovered a new feature: wireless Internet service. While the connection was slower than he may have liked, he said he was happy about the new service.

    On March 1, Amtrak introduced complimentary wireless Internet service on its Acela Express trains and in six major stations along the Northeast Corridor. Eleven interviewed students were divided on whether the service was necessary or economically feasible.

    In a press release, Amtrak said its wireless Internet service, called AmtrakConnect, will allow passengers to make their trips more productive.

    “AmtrakConnect delivers the fast, reliable and consistent connectivity that our customers have been asking for,” said sales distribution and customer service chief Matt Hardison.

    Five students interviewed said Amtrak’s decision to add wireless Internet was long overdue, although they were not convinced that the service would increase the number of Amtrak customers.

    “I think it was only a matter of time before they put wireless Internet service on trains,” Julia Pucci ’13 said. “I hated that you went into a technological black hole every time you boarded.”

    Ashutosh Venkatraman ’13 said the service will allow passengers to check their e-mail as often as they would at work or at home. And Alberto Navarro ’13, who travels often, said he was grateful for the service since it offers a great distraction during never-ending train rides.

    “Having some Internet connection is just more convenient and makes me more likely to ride Amtrak,” Harrington said.

    Although the AmtrakConnect service will remain free of charge during an introductory period, two students said they were concerned it would not remain this way for long, and three said they thought the ticket prices will rise eventually.

    “Unless Amtrak can prove that this decision will increase the number of people who board the train and thereby make enough money to relieve the burden on the taxpayers, it is an awful idea,” James Benkowski ’13 said.

    Yet even if Amtrak provides wireless service, some students said they prefer to take a break from technology.

    “I just hope people remember to look out the window and enjoy whatever it is that disappears too quickly,” Amy Larsen ’10 said.

    Wireless Internet service is available at Washington, D.C.’s Union Station, Baltimore’s Pennsylvania Station, Philadelphia’s 30th Street Station, New York’s Pennsylvania Station, Providence Station and Boston’s Route 128 Station. Many buses and airplanes have recently begun offering wireless Internet service, but not always for free.

  3. Vintage clothing store offers sneak peek

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    Though it hasn’t officially opened, Fashionista Vintage and Variety — which recently moved to the corner of Trumbull Street and Whitney Avenue — has a large sign on its door announcing: “What the heck, come on in.”

    Before the vintage clothing store’s upcoming grand reopening at its new location, Todd Lyon and Nancy Shea, co-owners of Fashionista, have been allowing customers to stop by the vintage store to shop. Racks of vintage clothing, mannequins dressed in cut-out bathing suits, lacy night gowns and lush fur wraps scale the walls, and one rack of coats overflows into the hallway. But Shea and Lyon still have more merchandise to cram into the new space and hope to remodel one of the rooms to add their costume collection, which has been popular among Yalies but currently resides in storage boxes. Lyon and Shea said they have not yet chosen a specific date for the reopening.

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    The owners were notified early this fall by their leasing company, Track 180 LLC, that the rent for their old property at 33 Church St. would more than double. After telling the company that they could not afford to lease it for another month, Lyon and Shea were told to vacate the space by Jan. 31. Throughout last fall, they frantically searched for a new location near the School of Medicine and all around New Haven. At the last minute, Lyon and Shea found the Trumbull Street property.

    But with a smaller size, the new location posed a challenge. Lyon and Shea held several large-scale sales during the fall and donated many of the store’s costume items, resulting in a reduced selection that focuses on vintage clothes, Lyon said.

    Still, the new location may be a blessing in disguise for the owners, they said, because of the increased foot traffic and proximity to Yale. Yalies and local residents interviewed who frequent the store said they are pleased with the move because the store now has a storefront and can rely on more than just word-of-mouth to attract new customers.

    At the front of the new Fashionista is a wooden gate opening into a display window with a selection of vintage prom dresses. The store has an green awning with the name “Fashionista” and several stars all painted white. Inside, there are three rooms with vaulted ceilings. One enters the store through a pair of French doors into what Shea and Lyon called the “Gold Room,” where the jewelry and tchochkes section is sandwiched between a large menswear collection, where racks filled with fringed cowboy vests and boater hats are watched over by a grinning plastic skull donning a jaunty beret and Harry Potter glasses, and a tiki bar, which serves as a checkout counter, wine bar and DJ booth.

    “We had to put menswear front and center because men have tunnel vision when they are shopping,” Lyon said. “If the first thing they see is a dress, they assume we only have women’s clothes.”

    Behind the men’s wear collection is the “Rose Room,” dominated by a mannequin wearing a Marilyn Monroe-themed vintage dress, which is seductively blown around by a fan discretely beneath it. The women’s section is stocked with suits to sundresses, along with three large racks filled with vintage ball gowns.

    Housing the lingerie collection, the “linger-way” room is filled with everything from demure lace robes to a racy red vintage thong. Mannequins with vintage bathing suits line the warm, gold walls, and the two dressing rooms in the back left corner of the store have Hawaiian print curtains.

    Behind the tiki bar, a narrow hallway leads to the outerwear selection, which is located in a room painted a frigid blue, and what Shea and Lyon hope to turn into their costume shop.

    “Yale must be one of the most dress-up-crazed places in the world,” Lyon said. “It seems like students come here every week looking for something different.”

    Lyon and Shea have outfitted several Yale theater productions, including “Hell Meets Henry Halfway,” directed by Gabriel Bloomfield ’11 in February. Bloomfield said he has been a “religious shopper” at Fashionista since his freshman year. He said he likes the vintage clothes and the snacks the owners give him as he shops. Although he said the new location is not significantly more convenient, Bloomfield said the walk to the new location is nicer and that “you can combine your clothes shopping trip with a really good meal” at the nearby cheese and wine shop, Caseus.

    Lori Angeletti, a Fashionista customer and New Haven resident, said that although the new location is now farther from her house, she will still shop there more frequently for her everyday wardrobe.

    “The old location on Church Street may have scared away some timid undergraduates,” added Carys Johnson ’12, who shopped at the old Fashionista for four costume parties this year. “The new location feels much safer.”

    Lyon added that she and Shea are fond of a “secret” passageway that runs from Fashionista into Caseus; Fashionista, which stocks wine in the restroom and serves it daily to customers, is “the house that wine built,” they quipped.

    Lyon and Shea said they will unveil a “Fashionista music video” when the store opens, but they declined to comment further on the video except to say that it will feature the two of them.

  4. Yalies create economy of giving

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    Money may become obsolete Friday at 7 p.m. in the Library of Dwight Hall.

    At that time, four Yale students are launching TheGiftEconomy.org, an online economy with just one rule: no money allowed.

    On the Web site each user will have a profile that will list what they want to give away and what they need. Since money is banned, users can barter, share or give away goods on the site. Additionally, each user’s profile will contain a record of the user’s transactions and comments that other users post.

    David “Hans” Schoenburg ’10 said he got the idea for TheGiftEconomy.org after using couchsurfing.com, which connects people interested in traveling around the world with users willing to host them for free. Schoenburg said in the past year he has hosted over 12 people staying in New Haven through couchsurfing.com. TheGiftEconomy.org is a similar form of social networking and Schoenburg said it will give strangers, who may pass each other on the street without a glance, a chance to connect over the exchange of goods and services.

    Schoenburg said the hardest part about launching the site is getting people to think outside “the money box.” Items on TheGiftEconomy.org may have a different value for each user and “currency is in the eye of the beholder,” Schoenburg said.

    As a result, a good on the site will “go to the user who values it the most,” Schoenburg said.

    But though the site’s other founders — Leon Noel ’10, Brandon Jackson ’12 and Cris Shirley ’10 — say they do not know exactly what kind of goods and services will be exchanged over the site, Schoenburg said it could become anything from clothing to employment opportunities.

    Either way, Schoenburg said an alternate economy is more sustainable for the planet because it promotes recycling. Noel said 40 students have already contacted him about becoming users.

    Noel said he has already launched two other start-up Web sites: listfullofhope.com and socialsci.com. Listfullofhope.com was similar to TheGiftEconomy.org. On the site users could list what they needed online and contact other users for exchanges. He said he learned a lot working on those Web sites which had similar missions and can now avoid a number pitfalls he encountered before. For example, Schoenburg said though over 25,000 users joined the listfullofhope.com, it had to be shut down because the amount of spam it generated overpowered its message boards.

    To prevent a similar problem, TheGiftEconomy.org is designed to prevent large amounts of spam because the students can deactivate users who spam the site.

    Still Schoenburg said he is unsure whether the site will be completely ready for use at the launch on Friday but said he is interested in recruiting Yale students to use the site, give feedback and help work out any problems that arise.

    Noel said he and the other founders plan to remain relatively “hands off” after the launch and intend to see if it can catch on by itself, adding that they are looking for non-profits to become members.

  5. Elis jump in on microfinance

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    After two young entrepreneurs visited Yale to discuss a new Web site they created that may help fight world poverty, Yale students are now getting involved.

    The Yale Microfinance Task Force is preparing to launch a Yale initiative in which students form teams on Dvelo.org — a Web site created last December by Dallas natives James Beshara and Drew McWay to connect investors with organizations that will distribute funding to poor debtors in developing countries — and compete to invest the most money, task force member David Kastelman ’13 said. Beshara and McWay, who recently gave a talk about their Web site and microfinance in general at a Davenport College tea, said the Web site provides a way by which Yale students can alleviate global poverty.

    But some Yale economists, including professor Dean Karlan, said some research suggests that microfinance may not help increase the incomes of the poor.

    Because the Web site uses a new method of microfinance, called person-to-community microfinance, it has attracted national attention: Vikram Akula GRD ’96, CEO of India-based SKS Microfinance and one of Time Magazine’s 100 most influential people, said he believes Dvelo.org might “change the world of microfinance.” But with their matching corduroy blazers and slightly rumpled hair, Beshara, 23, and McWay, 24, could easily be mistaken for wide-eyed young idealists.

    McWay, an accounting major at Washington and Lee University, spent a year working at the microfinance company Sinergia in Peru, while Beshara worked as a loan collector at the Kuyasa Fund in South Africa. To Beshara, his time in South Africa was “the most fortunate unfortunate experience of his life.” He once saw a 6-year-old boy advising his younger brother to “eat dirt to deal with hunger pangs.”

    Beshara, a 2007 graduate of Wake Forest University who majored in developmental economics, said he believes that applying business solutions to poverty reduction is one of the most powerful aspects of microfinance. After creating an account, investors using Dvelo.org contribute small amounts of money, $98 on average, to a campaign with a target goal, usually $1,000, that is set up by one of three microfinance partners in Nicaragua, Senegal or Vietnam.

    After a year investors receive their loans back with interest, which ranges from 3 to 7 percent of the loan. Charging interest on loans is not done at some other microfinance Web sites, such as San Francisco-based Kiva.com. But Beshara says that interest-free or subsidized loans are the “worst thing[s] for microfinance” because they distort markets (by enticing debtors to borrow more than they can give back) and pushes out competition (by providing the cheapest loans to debtors, who would not consider any other lending organization).

    Although Dvelo.org is only two months old, $15,000 in loans already have been distributed through the Web site, 300 people are active members and the founders have been asked to give a presentation about technology, social networking and social entrepreneurship at the World Bank in Washington this summer. And Beshara and McWay plan to add on other forms of microfinance, such as microinsurance, which provides an insurance plan to low-income residents who may not have access to a large-scale insurance provider.

    Still, the founders are taking it slow and have added some restrictions to the Web site’s growth. Web site users cannot invest more than $2,500. Beshara says that the rapid growth is “actually a little scary” and that the founders want to ensure that their Web site remain safe for investors and the poor.

    Despite the Web site’s success, Karlan, a developmental economist who studies microfinance, said microfinance organizations such as Dvelo.org may not be doing much to solve world poverty.

    “Benefits can be accrued from microfinance, but this is not transforming people out of poverty,” he said. “There may be some benefits, but as a knee-jerk reaction, microfinance is a bit shortsighted.”

    Karlan points to two recent studies that evaluated the impact of microfinance and found that it either had a weak or no effect on poverty. He said he believed that programs that work with the poor should encourage them to save money rather than solely provide loans to them, citing the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, which currently focuses on providing savings accounts for the poor. He added that organizations should be more pragmatic and focus on proven solution, such as supplying bed nets to prevent malaria, to provide a positive impact.

    Beshara said they do not believe microfinance will be able to “end” proverty. McWay added that while “it is easy to criticize anecdotal evidence,” his experience seeing the benefits of microfinance gives him confidence that microfinance provides unquantifiable benefits to the poor.

  6. New law restricts credit card companies

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    People under 21 may now be less likely to take on excessive amounts of debt, at least if new federal restrictions on credit card companies work as intended.

    A new federal law, the Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility and Disclosure Act, sponsored by Sen. Chris Dodd (D–Conn.), went into effect Monday and contains numerous new regulations that restrict credit card companies’ access to college campuses and protect young adults from acquiring excessive amounts of debt, said Jared Bernstein, senior economic advisor to the vice president, on a conference call Tuesday. Although the option exists, it makes no sense to dispute ChexSystems over the phone. You have to have all the proof of the action.

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    “The idea is to help make sure that responsible practices dominate [the credit card industry],” Bernstein said.

    Under the new rules, in order to open a credit card account, someone under 21 must show he or she has the ability to make payments or else have a parent or guardian co-sign the contract to guarantee the debt their dependent takes on.

    Currently, the average undergraduate has $3,173 of credit card debt upon graduation, the highest amount since researchers started collecting data in 1998, according to a study conducted in 2009 by researchers at Sallie Mae, a private company that manages $180 billion in education loans.

    When younger credit card users get into debt they can easily do long-term damage to their credit scores, Bernstein said, which can make it harder to get their “careers started on a good foot.”

    The legislation includes special provisions for people under 21, Bernstein said, because there is statistical evidence that young people use credit irresponsibly.

    “There’s a spike in the early years that begin to drift down in the early 20s,” he said.

    The bill also bans credit card companies from giving free gifts in exchange for signing up near a college campus.

    In the past, universities routinely signed contracts with credit card companies that gave them access to on-campus facilities and allowed them to promote their cards during on-campus student orientations, often obtaining a fee for each student who signed up, Bernstein said. While the new law does not prohibit banks from sponsoring on-campus events, universities must now make information about any contracts they have with the companies publicly available.

    The bill also makes it harder for credit card companies to offer people under 21 pre-approved credit cards because it prohibits credit reporting agencies from providing credit information about people under 21 to companies without personal authorization. Without such information, credit card companies are much less likely to issue pre-approved cards, Bernstein said.

    All five students interviewed said they support the law.

    “When it comes to finances,” Chelsea Allen ’12 said, “I’m all for Big Brother.”

    Consumers will save more than $10 billion a year because of the new rules, which also limit credit card companies’ ability to raise interest rates on existing balances and penalty interest rates, according to a recent study by the Pew Charitable Trusts think tank.

    “Credit card customers will see an end to many abusive practices that have driven Americans into debt,” Dodd said in a statement. “Customers need to act responsibly. In turn, they deserve to be treated fairly.”

    Dodd first introduced a version of the credit card legislation in 2004.

  7. Late-night sushi restaurant to open

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    Mory’s may no longer be serving cups, but a new sushi lounge will soon be serving up bowls of alcohol — and these ones are on fire.

    The $20 Scorpion Bowl will be available at Koji, a new sushi restaurant and lounge scheduled to open on Temple Street in about four weeks. At 64 ounces, the Scorpion Bowl is a mixture of white rum, dark rum, amaretto, orange juice, pineapple juice, grenadine and Bacardi 151; it’s the most popular drink at Koji’s Hartford location, said Koji’s founder Tuan Pran. Pran said the New Haven Koji will be a New York-style restaurant, lounge and bar: a trendy restaurant during the day but something entirely different at night.

    However, the space at 182 Temple St., which is about half a block down the street from the Omni New Haven Hotel, is still being renovated — the walls were recently painted orange and blue.

    The New Haven Koji, which at 3,000 square feet will be nearly twice the size of the Hartford restaurant, will be divided into a dining and a bar area. There will be no cover to get in, Pran said, and the bar will offer a variety of upscale drinks. Hartford Koji manager Alex Levinson said martinis will be priced at about $9 and beers between $4 and $5, adding that a Koji lunch will be as affordable as fast-food.

    Some of the most popular dishes at the Hartford restaurant include the California rolls and Koji rolls, which have spicy tuna and crab on the inside and tuna, salmon, avocado and fish roe on the outside, said Darren Piquol, general manager of the Koji restaurant in Hartford. On Fridays and Saturdays the bar will be open until 1:30 a.m., he said.

    Pran opened the first Koji restaurant in Hartford five years ago and has been planning to open a Koji in New Haven for about six months, he said. Though most of the Hartford Koji’s patrons are between 25 and 40 years old, the New Haven restaurant will marketed to college students over 21, said Kate Solomson, a manager at the Hartford Koji.

    Piquol said the new location is ideal for a number of reasons. Not only is New Haven a diverse and vibrant city, he said, but the store on Temple Street is located in a busy area.

    “I can’t wait to get open and see what kind of a crowd we’ll attract,” he said.

    In Hartford Koji, attracts a high-energy and trendy crowd with its late night DJ’s, sake selection and cocktail menu, Piquol said.

    Rebekah Stewart ’13 said she is excited that Koji is opening in the area.

    “It would be nice to have a late-night hangout rather than just a late-night party,” she said.

    The restaurant got its name from an important sushi ingredient: koji, a steamed rice cultivated with mold spores.

    Miso Japanese Restaurant declined to comment on Koji’s opening.

  8. Transport board looks at rising costs

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    Amid a period of rapid expansion and rising costs, the Connecticut Transportation Strategy Board — chaired by Yale’s vice president for New Haven and state affairs, Bruce Alexander — gathered Wednesday at the Greenberg Conference Center on Prospect Street to plot the future of Connecticut transit.

    At the two-hour meeting, the bipartisan committee — composed of representatives from state government, regional transport districts and the private sector — reviewed long-term trends in state transportation usage, ongoing and potential transportation projects and the fiscal stability of the Special Transportation Fund, which pays for the operation and improvement of the state’s buses, rail lines and highways.

    Two major projects under discussion were the construction of the new Pearl Harbor Memorial Bridge, which carries I-95 over the Quinnipiac River, and the New Haven Rail Yard, which is being currently being expanded. But while both those projects are underway and funded, the state has billions of dollars in unfunded maintenance projects that have to be undertaken in the coming years, said State Transportation Commissioner Joseph Marie.

    The state needs to prioritize maintenance over expansion, he said. “Otherwise, it’s like building an expansion on your house while the roof is caving in.”

    Keeping Connecticut’s transportation system in a state of good repair is also of utmost importance to the board because it makes the state more competitive when it applies for federal funding for new projects, Marie said. But the advisory board still has to figure out what exactly “good repair” means and how to pay for the required maintenance.

    Philip Smith, undersecretary in the Office of Policy and Management’s Office of Transportation Policy, said declining state spending caps due to the economic crisis will limit the amount the state can spend on transportation.

    All the while, costs are expected to rise as payments need to be made on major capital improvements already underway, he said.

    One answer to the funding problem might be pursuing regional funding solutions to skirt the state spending cap, said Lyle Wray, executive director of the Capitol Region Council of Governments, a regional organization dealing with transit and economic development issues in the Hartford area. He suggested that the state allow regions to raise revenue from small sales taxes to fund projects in their own districts.

    “It’s much easier for taxpayers to get behind a project if they directly see the results,” he said.

    The board is required to prepare a report for the General Assembly on the way forward for Connecticut transit. Alexander said there is much to be studied and that he hoped to have it completed by the end of the summer — before the fall election cycle swings into gear.

  9. Bank construction begins

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    The First Community Bank planned for the corner of Whalley and Sherman avenues moved one step closer to opening after the New Haven City Plan Commission unanimously approved the bank’s site plan at a meeting last night.

    First Community Bank, a for-profit bank designed to promote economic development and serve residents in low- to moderate-income areas, was founded in 2004 and holds a temporary charter from the State of Connecticut Department of Banking.

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    Regina Winters, a principal with Zared Architecture in New Haven, said the construction of the bank’s future home at 299 Whalley Ave. will leave its historic facade nearly intact. At the meeting Wednesday night, the board confirmed Winters’s proposal to replace 1,000 square feet of driveway with grass beds, flower beds, shrubbery and trees.

    When it approved the bank’s plan, the board’s only request was that the bank add a few more trees to the site for aesthetic purposes.

    Winters said the new bank will include community meeting spaces in addition to the usual teller station and offices. She added that the construction for the bank should be completed by late spring or early summer.

    Currently the bank is awaiting the accreditation from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and the Federal Reserve Bank that it needs to legally open, said its chief executive officer, William Placke. He said although he does not expect to hear whether the bank has received its accreditation for weeks, the bank’s leaders are hiring employees with the intention of opening in May.

    “A year ago, I might know how long it would take but the regulators are exercising great caution because they are closing other banking companies at such a rapid pace,” he said.

    Packe said he does not anticipate the bank having any difficulties earning accreditation because New Haven does not have any similar community-based banks. He said there is evidence that the bank will fill a need in the community, explaining that New Haven’s many construction projects, such as the work on Route 34, will draw potential clients to the area because of the large numbers of workers they employ.

    “The picture for banks is not always great from a global economic standpoint,” he said. “But some of the elements in the New Haven area are very supportive.”

    The First City Funding Corporation, a not-for-profit organization devoted to aiding New Haven’s low-income, residents, proposed the community bank project in 2004 because after the New Haven Savings Bank went public and sold its shares to NewAlliance Bank, the city no longer had a bank that specifically catered to the needs of the community, Placke said.

    Unlike most commercial banks the community bank will not charge patrons fees to cash checks and will stay open later on paydays, Placke said. Another proposed community bank in the Fair Haven neighborhood is part of the same project and will offer low-cost money transfer services for customers sending money overseas.

    Placke said the construction at both the downtown New Haven and Fair Haven bank sites has already begun.

    Correction: Feb. 21, 2010

    An earlier version of this article incorrectly stated the history of NewAlliance Bank. The New Haven Savings Bank opened for public trading, sold its shares to the public and was renamed NewAlliance; the New Haven Savings Bank did not merge with NewAlliance. Also, the article misreported the status of Sachem Bank’s charter. Sachem Bank received a temporary charter from the state in 2009 and is currently seeking approval on a permanent one.

  10. Restaurants prep for V-Day

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    The kitchens at New Haven’s restaurants are bustling as preparations for the Valentine’s Day rush get underway.

    But at six of the city’s swankiest eateries, chefs are divided on what type of menu is best for lovebirds. Four said prix fixe menus put the focus on the food, not the price, while two said restaurants should not restrict diners’ options for the special night.

    Lauren Kendzierski, owner of Bespoke, said the College Street restaurant is offering a prix fixe menu this weekend in part to ensure that “tables won’t go wasted.”

    “Because it’s such an important day,” Kendzierski said, “You want people who are coming in and not just [ordering] an appetizer [because then we] lose a table who would order the whole nine yards.”

    Among the items on the prix fixe menu, oysters and scallops are particularly popular, Kendzierski said, as is the fondue desert, which Bespoke only offers on special occasions such as Valentine’s Day.

    “People want to have surf and turf,” she added. “Something more sensual than chicken.”

    With so great an influx of Valentine’s Day diners — who, for the most part, sit at tables for two — a limited menu also speeds up service and eases the burden on cooking staff, three local chefs said.

    “It’s a little faster service for the kitchen especially,” said Jean Pierre Buillermet, owner of Union League Cafe on Chapel Street. When the menu has fewer dishes, he said, the kitchen staff’s preparation work also takes less time.

    Buillermet added that Union League has kept the price of its prix fixe menu the same for three years and that most Valentine’s Days the restaurant is near its 250 person capacity.

    Down the street, at Heirloom, executive chef Carey Savona said he takes “mood” into account when planning his Valentine’s Day menu.

    “People don’t want to be eating something too heavy because maybe they have other plans in mind after the meal,” he said.

    Heirloom is offering a prix fixe menu instead of its regular menu, Savona said. He said the prix fixe menu paces diners’ experience. As for the actual food, he said aphrodisiacs are always popular (the menu will include rosewater) and that he tries to avoid overly “esoteric” dishes in order to keep the atmosphere friendly and intimate. Among the dishes on Heirloom’s special prix fixe menu are seared Northeast sea scallops and red wine braised beef short-ribs.

    But not all local restaurant owners said they think prix fix is the way to go, or even that it is necessary to alter their menus for the big day.

    Miya’s Sushi on Howe Street does not alter its menu for Valentine’s Day, owner Bun Lai said.

    “We don’t want to lock people in because people have different amounts they can afford,” Lai said.

    But, he said, some dishes and drinks are more popular on Valentine’s Day. The Kama Sutra drink, which is sweet, spicy and alcoholic, is a top seller on Valentine’s Day, he said. It is made from fresh pureed vitamin-filled berries, sake and cerveza and has “all sorts of endorphins” in it, Lai said. On the menu, the beverage is described as being “created to bring waves of raw desire to one’s loins.”

    Sushi rolls with more suggestive names are also more popular on Valentine’s Day, he said.

    “Everything that has something to do with love or sex tends to sell more,” Lai said.

    Miya’s, which is normally closed on Sundays, will be open Feb. 14.

  11. Web site wants to play matchmaker

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    Move over, 50 Most. GoodCrush Yale has a new list of campus hotties.

    GoodCrush, a New York-based social networking Web site that allows students to contact on-campus crushes anonymously via e-mail, struck a deal with the Yale College Council last semester and agreed to sponsor the council’s charity speed dating event Wednesday. In exchange, the council has sent out two campus-wide e-mails encouraging students to use GoodCrush Yale, the section of the Web site designed for Yalies.

    The current Web site has more than 1,000 Yalies registered, and as of Tuesday night, 11,135 Yale “crushes” had been sent out through the site. GoodCrush’s founder, Josh Weinstein, said the company is currently marketing with select universities to reach a wider population, while not spending too much money on marketing products such as posters and T-shirts.

    He said GoodCrush is still in the early stages of development and that he is not worried about generating revenue at this time. Not a fan of Web advertising, Weinstein added that he is looking into other ways to make money from the Web site, such as offering virtual gifts and creating premium services for the Web site.

    YCC President Jon Wu ’11, who on Wednesday night was listed on GoodCrush Yale as the most “crushed” student, said he would not disclose how much the company paid the YCC to sponsor the speed dating event, but he said all of the funding will be used for the event. Wu added that GoodCrush approached the YCC with the idea to market the Web site in conjunction with Valentine’s Day.

    Weinstein said GoodCrush typically does not fund student events at other universities. But he added that his company wanted to get involved with the “legendary” Sex Week at Yale, which he said he heard about while attending Princeton University.

    Weinstein started a predecessor for GoodCrush, CrushFinder, in 2007, while serving as the vice president of Princeton University’s Undergraduate Student Government. He said he started the Web venture as a student government initiative. CrushFinder officially became GoodCrush in December 2008, and Weinstein launched the site publicly in February 2009. Last December, Weinstein added a new feature, called “Missed Connections,” for students who want to meet others they have encountered but with whom they have lost contact. He said he has partnered with about 20 other colleges and universities.

    “As of now, we don’t generate revenue,” he said. “If we can determine there is opportunities for a really valuable service, then we can consider opportunities for impending ways to make money.”

    The Web site currently is funded by money raised by FirstMark Capital, a New York-based venture capital firm whose investor he met last summer. Weinstein said he does not know whether GoodCrush will last in the long run, but he added that there has been strong student interest in the site since its launch.

    Two Yalies interviewed said they found the Web site to be more funny than useful for finding dates.

    In an e-mail Wednesday, GoodCrush user Michael Knowles ’12, who had received at least four crushes Wednesday night, compared the Web site to FML, where users post misfortunate life situations, and the once-popular college Web site JuicyCampus, in which users posted anonymous gossip about their peers.

    Before it went out of business in February 2009, JuicyCampus was criticized by state attorneys general, such as state attorney general Richard Blumenthal LAW ’73, for the site’s defamatory comments. Weinstein said he has learned from the failure of JuicyCampus.

    “From JuicyCampus, we learned that moderation is important,” he said, “that we need to protect the individual’s reputation.”

    Posts created both by registered GoodCrush users and those who are not logged onto the Web site are first checked by a moderator before they are posted, he said.

    This week, YCC launched YaleStation Dating, a service similar to GoodCrush that matches couples based on a compatibility test.