NORFOLK — The Norfolk Pub, the town’s only restaurant and bar, will close at the end of the month after 17 years in business, as uncertainty continues to surround the future of the Royal Arcanum, the hulking downtown building that housed the longtime institution.
On Wednesday, Jan. 7, the restaurant posted a notice on its doorway advising patrons that only cash will be accepted as “we prepare to close at month’s end.” The news has renewed speculation about what’s next for the Royal Arcanum, a Norfolk landmark that sold Sept. 8, 2025, for $1.4 million to American Folk & Heritage LLC, an entity associated with the prominent New York fashion brand Bode.
The Royal Arcanum, a large Arts and Crafts-style brick building, was built in 1904 by architect Alfredo Taylor as a home for the Norfolk Fire Department and several other town groups. Today, it houses the bookstore Les Renards & Co.; audiovisual consulting firm Boyce Nemec Designs, which has occupied a ground-floor office since the 1970s; Ruthann Olsson Interior Arts and Design; and the Pub. One of the commercial tenants, who requested anonymity, said their lease runs through Dec. 31, 2026.
The building also has contained additional office space and several residential apartments. According to a source close to the building, none of the residences were occupied at the time of the sale in September.
Local nonprofit the Norfolk Hub, which executed the sale, originally acquired the building in 2021 for $950,000 with assistance from a gift from the William and Mary Greve Foundation. In an Oct. 4 release, the group announced that $300,000 of the September sale proceeds had been allocated to the Foundation for Norfolk Living, a local affordable housing nonprofit, to support future housing projects.
An additional $500,000 was directed toward supporting the proposed firehouse project, according to the release.
The building’s new ownership — comprised of clothing designer Emily Adams Bode Aujla, her husband Aaron Aujla, an interior designer, and his brother Dev Aujla, CEO of Bode — has yet to announce plans for the Royal Arcanum, leaving many in town to speculate about what will occupy the vast structure.
Residents have been particularly concerned about the loss of the village’s only restaurant and bar, which has operated in the same location for decades under various names and owners.
Larry Hannafin and Sally Carr, both lifelong Norfolk residents with generations of family history in town, organized a petition in late December protesting the closure. “The pub is far more than a business,” the petition reads. “It is a vital gathering place, an economic anchor, a significant employer and a cornerstone of our town’s character.”
During an interview in late December with The Lakeville Journal, Hannafin and Carr expressed dismay at what they described as the loss of critical community infrastructure. “To live in a town that you can’t take a friend to supper with!” Carr exclaimed with exasperation.
“When I grew up there were five restaurants and five grocery stores,” Carr added.
Hannafin said he sent the signed petitions — which he last counted at 295 — to American Folk & Heritage on Wednesday. As of Friday, he said he had not received a response.
Dev Aujla said in a late December email to The Lakeville Journal that the closure followed a “conversation” between the new ownership and Norfolk Pub owner Heidi Forler. He did not elaborate and has not responded to follow-up requests for clarification. Forler declined to comment.
Norfolk Public Information Officer Jon Barbagallo said in late December that the town fire marshal was not involved, responding to circulating rumors that suggested otherwise. “This is strictly between the owners of the new building and the proprietors of the restaurant.”
Despite the imminent closure, the bar is maintaining its lively programming, with its popular trivia night returning on Wednesday, Jan. 14, followed by live music the following night.
Still, residents have begun mourning the loss of the town’s only watering hole and evening eatery, while looking anxiously toward the future.
A regular patron sitting at the bar Thursday evening praised the restaurant’s communal atmosphere. “Everyone knows everyone – it’s so great.” She described the closure as “tragic.”
First Selectman Henry Tirrell said Friday that the establishment has been a fixture his entire life and that he even spent the evening of his wedding day there. “It’s a sad thing to see it going away,” he said. “I certainly hope something can be restored there.”
Meanwhile, Lindsey Prevuznak, who has worked as a bartender at the Pub for a decade, announced the closure in a Facebook post Wednesday. Speaking with The Lakeville Journal on Friday, she reflected on the deep ties the establishment has with the community, describing its loss as “a heart break for entire community whose lives we enriched and touched.”
“I’m deeply grateful and humbled to have shared moments with such remarkable people.”
A notice posted on the door of the Norfolk Pub informs patrons that the establishment will accept cash only as it prepares to close at the end of the month. By Alec Linden
Farmland in the Northwest Corner, where family farms rely on Public Act 490 to keep land in agricultural use
The 2025 revised land-use values were compiled by the state Office of Policy and Management, in coordination with the Connecticut Department of Agriculture, using landowner survey data collected as part of the five-year update process — a methodology farmers and assessors later said produced distorted results because of low participation and uneven data.
Lamont’s action followed a Jan. 15 press conference at the State Capitol organized by Connecticut Senate Republicans, where lawmakers stood alongside farmers to call attention to sharp valuation increases proposed under the state’s farmland tax program.
Senate Minority Leader Stephen Harding, R-30, whose district includes much of the Northwest Corner, played a leading role in bringing the issue to the forefront, warning that the reassessment threatened the economic viability of family farms across rural Connecticut.
Following pressure from Harding, local farmers, and a petition with more than 20,000 signatures, the governor agreed to pause the new, higher valuations and revert to 2020 levels.
At the press conference, Harding said farmers in his district and across the state were facing projected assessment increases of hundreds — and in some cases thousands — of percent under new land-use values developed by the state.
“This isn’t about tax avoidance,” Harding said at the time. “This is about whether family farms can survive when the rules change overnight.”
Farmers attending the event echoed those concerns, saying sudden jumps in assessed values could translate into tax bills they could not absorb while continuing to operate.
State Sen. Stephen Harding, R-30, visited South Farms in Morris to speak with fourth-generation farmer Ben Paletsky, who is concerned about Connecticut farmland tax hikes and the state’s methodology for assessing farmland.Photo by Debra A. Aleksinas
The most controversial proposal would have increased the value of swamp land from $40 an acre to $970 an acre. That increase was later eliminated following public outcry, although other land categories in the new revaluation remained subject to significant tax hikes.
“Unforeseen lack of data” to blame
Lamont said in a statement, “Due to an unforeseen lack of data in establishing assessment values for these lands as required, significant increases in valuations occurred for the tax years beginning with the 2025 grand list.”
Only about 4% of the state’s farmers contributed survey data for the revaluation, according to state officials.
To address the problem, the governor directed OPM, in consultation with the Connecticut Department of Agriculture, to revoke the 2025 Recommended Land Use Values and Best Practices for farmland, forestland, open space and maritime heritage land, and reinstate the 2020 recommended land use values for these categories.
The governor also ordered immediate notification to all municipal tax assessors of the revocation and reinstatement, and mandated that a working group be convened in collaboration with the state department of agriculture, including representation from agricultural organizations, farmers, municipal leaders and assessors.
What triggered the concern?
The dispute centers on Public Act 490, the state law that allows farmland, forestland, and open space to be assessed for property tax purposes based on its current use rather than its fair-market value.
The law is intended to reduce pressure on landowners to sell to developers and to keep working landscapes intact.
Every five years, the state develops recommended land-use values that municipalities may use when setting assessments. In late 2025, updated values released by the Department of Agriculture and OPM would have significantly increased assessments in several farmland categories, prompting alarm from farmers and assessors alike.
Although the state revised the figures earlier this month after hearing concerns, many landowners said the updated numbers still represented dramatic increases.
In the Northwest Corner — where farms are often land-rich but cash-poor — farmers warned that higher assessments could limit reinvestment, complicate succession planning or push land toward subdivision or other non-agricultural uses.
Benjamin Freund of East Canaan said the proposed changes would have had a direct and immediate impact on his family’s farming operation, which comprises 455 acres enrolled under Connecticut’s farmland tax program.
“It would have impacted us, as we have all of our acres — minus the houses — under PA 490,” Freund said. “We have every land classification, from tillable acres to swamp and woodlands. PA 490 is a critical tax relief program that allows us to farm large tracts and be taxed according to the use. We could not afford to plant corn and have the same property tax as a house lot.”
Freund said his family has operated for decades under PA 490 and described the program as essential to keeping farmland in production in Connecticut.
“We could not farm in Connecticut without it.”
He said landowners are periodically surveyed to provide the raw data used to determine updated land values, but said low participation contributed to distorted results in the most recent valuation cycle.
“The Connecticut Farm Bureau recognized the issue and worked with the Department of Agriculture to address the concern.”
The third-generation Freund Farm, operated by Ben and Matt Freund, rents land and barns to Canaan View Dairy, operated by Ethan Arsenault, who owns the cows and grows the crops.
Jennifer Dubray, assessor for North Canaan, Kent and Sharon, said the governor’s action will not require changes to the current grand lists in those towns.
“The PA 490 values in those towns were all established using the latest values provided by the Office of Policy and Management at the time of their respective revaluations,” Dubray said. “In North Canaan, the revaluation took place in 2022 and utilized the 2020 values. For Kent and Sharon, the revaluations occurred in 2023, so the 2020 values were also used.”
“Consequently,” she said, “it will not be necessary to make any changes to the 2025 Grand List for these towns.”
Farmers’ input sought
In addition to directing OPM to immediately notify municipal assessors that the 2020 land-use values are back in effect, Lamont also ordered the creation of a working group that will include farmers, municipal officials, assessors, and state agencies to review the valuation process and recommend improvements before the next five-year reassessment cycle.
Harding said the governor’s action was an important first step but emphasized that longer-term reforms may be needed to ensure transparency and predictability.
“This pause gives farmers breathing room,” Harding said. “Now we need to make sure the system going forward reflects real-world farming conditions.
The Salisbury town crew out plowing and salting Monday morning.
Schools, municipal offices, churches and numerous community events were canceled or postponed through Monday as plowing operations continued and temperatures dropped into the single digits overnight.
Despite the severity of the storm, local officials said preparation efforts helped keep roads passable and emergency services operating — though many towns acknowledged the financial toll of repeated storms this winter.
“In December, we had seen as much snow as all of winter last year,” North Canaan First Selectman Jesse Bunce said Friday, before the storm arrived, citing conversations with his highway crew. “Our salt budget is getting thin, and costs like this are tough. But we have to do it no matter what happens. Public safety comes first.”
Bunce said the town had likely exceeded its snow-removal budget even before the weekend storm. Crews logged nearly 30 hours during the Jan. 17–18 weekend alone, he said, after back-to-back storms required repeated plowing and salting.
“A typical snowstorm might mean a four-hour route for our crews — three or four inches that stops overnight, allowing them to head out early in the morning,” Bunce said. “But when storms drag out, it really lengthens the work.”
North Canaan employs four full-time highway workers, with an additional employee on call for larger storms. Bunce said the town has some reserve funds and expects to shift money within the budget to cover overruns.
Falls Village First Selectman Dave Barger said his town is facing similar pressures.
“We will be over budget,” Barger said Friday. “We have used more salt this season than we used all last year — and we’re only halfway through the winter.”
Several officials pointed to a recent rain-to-freeze cycle as particularly costly, turning snow into inches of ice that required heavier treatment. Some towns adjusted their salt usage by mixing materials to conserve supplies. North Canaan, for example, has used a blend of roughly two-thirds salt and one-third sand, Bunce said. Salt currently costs about $120 per ton, compared to roughly $20 per ton for sand.
Kent First Selectman Eric Epstein said his town entered the storm well stocked and operationally ready. “The highway department has been busy and has gone through a lot of material this year,” Epstein said Friday. “We’ve had deliveries, we’re well stocked, and the trucks are in good shape. There has been an increase in costs, but so far, it’s within the budget. We’ll see if this pattern continues.”
Richard Tietjen, a sexton at the Salisbury Congregational Church, shoveled some 16 inches of snow from the church's front steps Monday morning, Jan. 26.By Patrick L Sullivan
Salisbury First Selectman Curtis Rand said Thursday that highway crews were prepared, while Sharon First Selectman Casey Flanagan also reported that his town had taken steps to be ready for prolonged snowfall and extreme cold.
Beyond road conditions, the storm triggered broader cold-weather planning at the state level.
On Wednesday, Jan. 21, Lamont’s office announced that Connecticut’s Cold Weather Protocol would go into effect ahead of the storm’s arrival, activating coordination between state agencies and municipalities.
The protocol is designed to protect vulnerable populations during periods of life-threatening cold, including arranging transportation to warming centers and shelters when needed. Residents seeking shelter were urged to visit 211ct.org or call 2-1-1 for assistance.
Municipalities also reached out directly to residents. The Town of Cornwall circulated an advisory email urging people to check on neighbors and vulnerable residents and reminding them of the town’s Storm Safety Check-In program, which provides advance notice of major weather events and wellness checks when necessary.
As crews continued plowing into Monday, local leaders said the storm underscored both the importance — and the growing cost — of winter preparedness.
"A year like this, with so much activity, it’s inevitable,” Bunce said. “We anticipate going over budget. But we’ll take it as it comes and keep the roads safe.”
With additional reporting by Patrick L Sullivan
