Sunday, Dec 29th

bookstorerestaurantAttention book-lovers. It appears the market for the printed word is not dead after all. Just when you were getting used to reading on your digital device, Barnes and Noble has announced plans to open a new prototype bookstore at the site of the former Borders Store in the Lord and Taylor Shopping Center. According to Publisher's Weekly, the store will be "upscale" and include a "five star restaurant."

The concept for the new bookstore makes sense in an area filled with avid readers who often belong to multiple book clubs. Residents are still mourning the loss of Reading, Writing and Wrapping in Scarsdale Village and the closing of Borders Bookstores in Scarsdale and White Plains.

Planned for a 2016 opening, no doubt the store will be well received by locals.

Tap1NewLast month, The Acceleration Project (TAP), a Scarsdale based not for profit organization, partnered with the Mount Vernon Chamber of Commerce to offer a speed-consulting workshop for small businesses in need of strategic and tactical advice.

The idea was the brainchild of TAP CEO Jane Veron, TAP Client/Partner Development Director Nikki Hahn, and Dwayne Brown, President of the Mount Vernon Chamber of Commerce. "We were proud to work together with business leaders from Mount Vernon," said Hahn.

Following a roundtable format, nine TAP consultants met with a dozen small business owners at Fleetwood Diner in Mount Vernon to discuss issues local businesses face. Attendees received advice on how to refine their elevator pitch and improve their core messaging. TAP consultants coached attendees to focus on their unique value proposition to differentiate themselves from competitors. Businesses left with concrete strategies for implementation. Said TAP Consultant Giselle Weissman, "I believe the two businesses we consulted came away with some tangible, actionable steps to improve their messaging."

TAP prides itself on offering innovative ways to provide well-structured, accessible, results-oriented programs to help boost local economic development. The model appears to be working well, with programs ranging from the successful "Shop the Dale" campaign to TAP's cornerstone Strategic Advisory Program. "We are thrilled by our momentum, with a record number of clients and consultants applying to participate. We are also attracting an incredible internal team to support the organization as it expands in reach and scope, " Veron said.

TAP is committed to helping small businesses grow and flourish bytap3 linking the talents of highly skilled professionals with the advisory needs of local small businesses. TAP empowers professionals to make a meaningful impact in their community while advancing their skills. If you are interested in working with TAP as a client or as a consultant, applications are available on TAP's website. TAP is supported by donations from individuals, foundations and businesses. Contact CEO Jane Veron at [email protected] or COO Tracy Jaffe at [email protected] for more information.

Wyatt1Scardsale10583 received word of the following retail developments this week:

Wyatt Lily, the new children's fashion store in Scarsdale Village has opened in the space formerly occupied by Gingerbread Kidz. The store outfits girls and boys ages newborn to 14, and is run by Samantha Benson, the owner and designer of the acclaimed Sammy and Nat baby clothing line, and fellow New Yorker Rachel Uchitel. The store has a large collection of baby and child-cozy clothes, carries lots of well-known brands, and is located at One Chase Road.

Stop by the store for their Sip and See and Shop event on Thursday, March 10, from 5-7 pm and enjoy wine and snacks. Regular store hours are 10am - 6 pm Monday through Saturday, and 10 am - 5 pm on Sundays.

We also noticed that PURE raw juice will open on pureHarwood Court. This is their second location in Westchester, with another on Fisher Avenue in Tuckahoe. The site will offer juice blends with vegetables, raw nut mils, coffees and natural foods and snacks such as burritos and chia pudding.

Protestors Outside Nieman Marcus
The warm weather brought out a large rat and protesting workers in front of Nieman Marcus on Wednesday March 9. We learned that the store is undergoing a major ratrenovation and local unions are angry that the store has brought in lower cost labor from New Jersey to do the job. Local workman were staging a protest outside the Westchester to promote their cause.

goldenoriginalA piece of our area's history was knocked down this week when the building housing SuperSol and the Cheers Wine and Spirits store was demolished to make way for a new tenant to be announced soon. The original building was constructed by Benjamin Miller, a New Rochelle attorney in 1956. According to the property manager, before there was a horseshoebuilding2shopping center, the site was home to a privately owned racetrack in the early 1900's, and that's the origin of the name, The Golden Horseshoe. In 1950 Miller planned to build the stores in a horseshoe configuration, and the name was thought to be a sign of good luck.

Check out these photos from the 1950's of the constructionhorseshoebuild4 of the first building at the Golden Horseshoe, which looks to be mid-century modern. It underwent a makeover in 1998 when it was given a Tudor façade.

The shopping center will break ground for a new building in April of this year and tenants hope to open in the late fall. Across the parking lot, next  to the Bank of America teller station, a 4,000 square foot building is going up. It will house Chopped restaurant and another tenant as well. According to the property manager, both new buildings will have a Tudor facade to match the existing site.
horseshoeoldhorseshoemarchhorseshoebeforehorseshoedemo1

suspectGreenburgh Police are searching for a man who entered Maria Regina High School and exposed himself on Thursday February 25. According to police at about 5:00 PM on Thursday, this white, or possibly Hispanic man entered the school at 500 West Hartsdale Avenue in Hartsdale.

He went into the men's bathroom next to the main lobby and got undressed. He then held the bathroom door open and intentionally allowed himself to be observed standing naked just inside the doorway. Then he put his clothes back on and left the school, fleeing the lot in a bright sky blue, late model, subcompact vehicle, possibly a Chevrolet.

The man was described as approximately 5'5" tall wearing a hooded sweatshirt and blue jeans. Anyone with information that might assist with this investigation is asked to contact the Greenburgh Police Department Special Victims unit at 914-989-1735.