09/28/10 Eco Java Cafe Grand Opening

Quite the crowd showed up last Saturday to enjoy the festivities at Eco Java Cafe, the new chic little coffee shop on Mill Street in Byram and its new neighboring store, Perspectives Clothing. The owners of both establishments, Dana Zimmerman of Eco Java (ecojavacafe.com) and Stacy Young of Perspectives Clothing (perspectivesclothing.com), joined forces for an open house to introduce their shops to the neighborhood.

Business owners get 'taste of Byram'
Lisa Chamoff, Staff Writer
Published: 09:17 p.m., Tuesday, September 28, 2010

Despite living in Greenwich for more than 20 years, Eva Gardoa never spent much time in downtown Byram.

However, after taking a sip of coffee and munching on a scone from the eight week-old Eco Java Cafe on Mill Street, and sampling food from a number of other Byram restaurants at a Greenwich Chamber of Commerce event Tuesday night, Gardoa decided that was going to change.

"I was very surprised," said Gardoa, who formerly worked for a Greenwich financial company, and now owns a year-old franchise of Synergy Home Care, a home health agency. "I think you really have to expand your horizons."

Gardoa's reaction was precisely what Mary Ann Morrison, president and CEO of the Greenwich chamber, was hoping for.

The gathering was one of the regular monthly networking events for chamber members, which are held throughout the town. This month, it was renamed "A Taste of Byram," and held in the recently renovated home of Interstate Lumber, which has been in the neighborhood since 1922.

"It's a great way for us to bring members of the business community into Byram, which is not always the first place that people think about going," Morrison said.

The neighborhood has become somewhat of a culinary destination, with eatery Burgers, Shakes & Fries getting a mention in New York magazine, and word of mouth bringing people to the four-year-old Greenwich Lobster House.

As Greenwich Lobster House assistant manager Chris D'Onofrio dished out Swedish meatballs in a cream-based demi-glaze, he spoke of how customers come to the restaurant from as far away as the Bronx, N.Y. and New Haven.

http://www.greenwichtime.com/default/article/Business-owners-get-taste-of-Byram-678551.php