Coffee Roasting, Smoothie Mixing

Cassidy Considine and Kelly Wolfe at Nutrition on Railroad.
Photo by Riley Klein
A short distance away from Northwest Auto, across Railroad Street, we come across the newest business in town, ILSE Coffee. ILSE is a company that has been based in Stamford, Conn. Originally, they were primarily wholesale coffee roasters that shipped beans to cafes around the world. I sat down to interview co-owners Rebecca Grossman and Lucas Smith, who couldn’t be more excited to have brought their business to North Canaan. When asked why they chose North Canaan, Grossman said, “We were coming up on our lease and thinking about where we wanted to be next in the world and North Canaan was always an option. It’s always been a special place for both of us. We had been driving by this building when we would come up and always thought that it would make for such an amazing roastery. So we reached out to the owner and he was interested in renting it to us and we decided to make the move.”
In August of 2022, Isle made its move from Stamford to North Canaan and has been bustling ever since. It was a great fit right away. While in Stamford, ILSE was located in a warehouse, which worked great, but the team was looking for that small-town feel and personality. The new location has plenty of room for the entire wholesale department while having the added bonus of a small room for a store. Leaning into the retail side of things is the direction that they intend on going as well. Opening the retail side has taken more time than they originally thought, but are ready to open this spring. Having that piece of the business be a new opportunity for growth is rather exciting for co-owners Smith and Grossman. Being able to bring to light all the deliciousness that comes with coffee and coffee-related drinks to the folks of North Canaan is something they cannot wait to do. They will also be selling their beans in the store for people who brew their coffee at home and are looking for top-notch beans. Anyone looking for a great cup of Joe and anything else related to coffee, look no further than ILSE Coffee.
Across the street, we have Nutrition On Railroad and KayCee & Co. Gift Boutique, which is a joint operation owned by Cassidy Pelletier and Kelly Wolfe. On the Nutrition side there is a medley of smoothies, acai bowls, and energy-boosting drinks, on the Gift Boutique side there are all sorts of trinkets and other assorted goods. This combo shop, if you will, is something that is completely unique to North Canaan. The birth of Nutrition started with the idea of “What is Canaan missing?” A smoothie and drink bar was the answer. Pelletier doesn’t want that to be the only way people know nutrition though, as she is always focused on “what Canaan needs and will continue to need” in the hope of always being able to adapt to the times. Adaptation is something they both see as growth and progress, that’s why about a year ago they added the Gift Boutique. Breaking down a wall between the two storefronts and becoming one, the stores flourished. Unfortunately, the traffic just hasn’t been there for the Gift Boutique so they, naturally, will have to adapt.
Nutrition is generally pretty busy, with a rush in the morning and around lunchtime with a steady stream of folks in and out in between, they stay bustling. The Gift Boutique, however, is a totally different animal. “The gift shop just doesn’t stand alone right now, whereas Nutrition has always been successful.” Due to unforeseen circumstances, the gift shop struggles to draw a crowd. Cassidy has a couple of theories of her own as to why that is. “ I don’t know if Canaan is just not ready for it, or people just don’t think about Canaan in that way. Honestly, I don’t think there are enough gift shops. No one comes to Canaan for one gift shop. I wish we had three or four gift shops and I think we’d be a lot more successful.” The gift shop is a fantastic addition to the town, and it’s great for people just passing through town that can get a memento to remember Canaan by. It’s just unfortunate that there really isn’t the foot traffic through town to support it completely. This realization has prompted Nutrition to rethink what it wants to do and how to make changes to be more successful. Seeing as one side of the business has a steady stream of customers at this point, it would only make sense for them to lean into that side.
Expanding Nutrition on Railroad will be no easy task, and as such has been planned out thoroughly, the main idea behind it is to really lean into the breakfast side of things. In order to do so they will have to undergo reconstruction, planned for sometime this summer. The area behind the bar is not very large, which is by design. There’s only so much space that one or at max two people behind the bar need, they’re only whipping up smoothies and other drinks. The storage for everything doesn’t take up very much space, they use fresh fruit for every smoothie and fruit bowl so they can’t have too much fruit in stock or else it will sit too long and spoil. So in order to accommodate breakfast they must make some critical changes, which means increasing that space, just not at the cost of the smoothie bar. The smoothie bar offers a unique way for people to come together and mingle as if it were a real bar, but there’s no alcohol and that is something that Pelletier does not want to change about the business. “I feel like it’s a fun place to come sit and what we kinda want to do is have more seating options because it is small.” Along with the expansion will come new merchandise and owner Pelletier teased that there could possibly be a name change. “I feel like Nutrition On Railroad kind of limits me a little bit… just the name Nutrition On Railroad, yes the food is nutrition, but that’s not how I want people to take it, thinking that it’s only healthy options. Right now that’s what we’re geared for and we’re always going to have that, but I wanted to offer things like pastries and sandwiches.” Time changes quickly and waits for no one, so the folks at Nutrition are adapting fast and shaking things up.
LAKEVILLE — Nearly a month after closing the public hearing on the proposed Wake Robin Inn redevelopment, the Planning and Zoning Commission began its deliberations last week over the course of two special meetings devoted solely to the controversial project.
Over four hours of discussion helped the Commission to establish its position at this stage in the process, about a month before its statutory window to render a decision expires on Nov. 13.
By the end of the Oct. 9 meeting, the commission’s five voting members were split in their inclination towards approval or denial, with Secretary Martin Whalen and Regular Member Bob Riva indicating a favorable view, Vice Chair Cathy Shyer and Chair Michael Klemens leaning towards denial, and Regular Member Allen Cockerline expressing reluctance to suggest a vote before further conversation.
“We have more questions that have not been answered,” Klemens said.
“I think we’d all agree to that,” replied Cockerline.
The fundamental nature of those questions is: is the project still too big? And how does the Commission quantify “too big?”
This marked the second time the Commission has sat down to weigh the merits of an expansion proposal for the Inn. The applicant, Aradev LLC, had withdrawn a previous application in December 2024 after four of the five voting members indicated they would likely deny it. Since Aradev resubmitted a revised application this spring in response to feedback from P&Z and Salisbury residents, many neighbors have remained vocal in their continued opposition to the project, both during the public hearing and through community organizing.
Last week several commissioners expressed their gratification with Aradev’s responsiveness to the feedback and the thoroughness of the revised application, though the overall size of the development remained controversial. Cockerline praised the new proposal’s stormwater management plan in particular, which he described as “beyond anything I could’ve imagined.”
He also said it would note a marked improvement to the Inn’s current condition which he characterized as “functionally obsolete.” It should have been renovated 20 years ago,” he said on several occasions over the two meetings.
Klemens said that the application is “much better designed this go around, but still large.”
Shyer took a harder stance, one that echoed the sentiments conveyed in many a neighbor’s testimony during the public hearing. “The bottom line is, this is a big development,” she said. “It’s as big as the last one.” While the new plans have downsized the room count and building footprint from 2024’s application among other alterations, many residents have claimed that the currently proposed expansion is, in terms of impact, nearly identical.
Klemens closed in on a sentence in the town’s zoning regulation 803.3 that addresses impact on neighboring properties in the case of a special permit application as fundamental to the Commission’s deliberation. The clause states that the development may not “cause undue concentration of population or structures,” which Klemens said that, while a tricky thing to define, is the crux of the matter: “I think that’s been the heart of the whole thing. It’s the size; it’s the increase.”
Shyer suggested traffic as a potentially quantifiable metric by which the Commission could determine if the redevelopment is proportionally inappropriate for the location. Before the next meeting, which is scheduled for Oct. 16 at 7 p.m., the Land Use Office will seek data on how ingress/egress by Inn guests and restaurant goers will affect, by percentage, the number of cars at busy Lakeville intersections.
P&Z’s attorney Charles Andres was asked to seek out case law where “undue concentration” has been used as a basis for special permit denial. He said that the language, having appeared in the first national zoning enabling laws in the 1920s, is antiquated and has been phased out of many regulation books. He agreed that examples of its use in the special permit context will be helpful in pinning down such a vague concept.
The roof of the Grove was damaged by the tree, the event tent was punctured, a chef was injured and the Jubilee Luncheon was canceled Sunday, Oct. 12.
LAKEVILLE — The Lakeville Journal and The Millerton News Jubilee Luncheon fundraiser at the Grove Sunday, Oct. 12 was canceled after a very large section of a tree fell on the caterer’s tent at about 10 a.m.
Most of the catering staff heard the tree breaking up and got out of the tent in time, but the chef was hit by the falling limbs and sustained non-critical injuries.
A portion of the Grove’s roof sustained damage and branches came through the tent.
The Lakeville Hose Company responded to the scene. The chef was transported to Sharon Hospital by the Salisbury Volunteer Ambulance Service.
“While we’re deeply disappointed to cancel our annual fundraising event, our first concern is for our caterer’s chef, who was injured in the incident and is now recovering at home,” said James Clark, Publisher. “We’re grateful there were no more serious injuries, and we deeply appreciate the understanding and support of our honoree, underwriters, and guests.”
The incident occurred during preparation for the event, which would have centered around the presentation of the Estabrook Community Leadership Award to Bunny Williams.
Food that The Marketplace had prepared for the event was donated to People’s Pantry in Great Barrington.
Emergency responders block Amenia Union Road in Sharon Saturday, Oct. 11, while responding to the vehicle crash.
Updated Oct. 13, 9:25 a.m.:
SHARON — Shea Cassidy-Teti, 17, of Salisbury, died Saturday, Oct. 11, in a tragic car crash on Amenia Union Road in Sharon.
Connecticut State Police reported Charles Teti, 62, was driving his Jeep Grand Cherokee northbound on Amenia Union Road when, for an unknown reason, the vehicle crossed the southbound lane and exited the roadway where it struck a tree and home. Airbags deployed.
Teti and front seat passenger Aidan Cassidy, 63, sustained serious injuries. Teti was airlifted to Hartford Hospital and Cassidy was transported by ambulance to Sharon Hospital for treatment.
Shea Cassidy-Teti was in the back seat and sustained fatal injuries. He was pronounced dead on scene.
Cassidy-Teti was a senior at Kent School. He played on the football and tennis teams.
The residence that was struck is located at 35 Amenia Union Road.
The case remains under open investigation. Witnesses are asked to contact Trooper Lukas Gryniuk at Troop B 860-626-1821.
The residence at 35 Amenia Union Road sustained damage to the front of the structure, which can be seen from the street through the trees. Oct. 13.Photo by Ruth Epstein
LAKEVILLE — Rhys V. Bowen, 65, of Foxboro, Massachusetts, died unexpectedly in his sleep on Sept. 15, 2025. Rhys was born in Sharon, Connecticut, on April 9, 1960 to Anne H. Bowen and the late John G. Bowen. His brother, David, died in 1979.
Rhys grew up at The Hotchkiss School in Lakeville, where his father taught English. Attending Hotchkiss, Rhys excelled in academics and played soccer, basketball, and baseball. During these years, he also learned the challenges and joys of running, and continued to run at least 50 miles a week, until the day he died.
In 1982 after graduating summa cum laude from Harvard College, Rhys returned to Hotchkiss to teach biology, where he met his wife of 35 years, Rebecca (Becky) Snow. After two years of teaching, he worked at a research field site in Borneo, then went on to the University of California, Davis where he earned a PhD in Animal Behavior in 1995.
Rather than follow an academic tenure track, Rhys preferred the solitary focus of field ornithology, and he spent several decades researching the ecology of bird species in California and on Cape Cod and the Islands. Rhys believed passionately in supporting biodiversity through habitat preservation. His proudest achievements, therefore, came through his work for the Lakes Region Conservation Trust, in New Hampshire, where he served on committees and the Board of Trustees for twenty years, including three years as Chair.
Deeply intellectual and curious, Rhys learned Homeric Greek so he could read The Odyssey and The Iliad in their original language. An amateur Melville scholar, he would wax poetic about reading Moby-Dick for the umpteenth time.Rhys’s spirit was filled by the performing arts. Concerts by the Handel and Haydn Society and Boston Early Music Festival often brought tears to his eyes, while Boston Bluegrass Union shows delivered toe-tapping fidgetiness.
Rhys will be missed by his wife, Becky Snow, his mother, Anne Bowen, extended family, friends, and anyone who had the pleasure of knowing him.
A service will be held at The Hotchkiss School chapel on Saturday, Nov. 15, 2025 at 1 p.m..
In honor of Rhys’s memory, donations can be made to the Lakes Region Conservation Trust.