Young Writers Board Member Opening Natural Foods Supermarket

Fiddleheads Brings Natural & Organic Foods
To Northwest Connecticut This Fall

Litchfield Grocery / Prepared Food Store To Offer Education Programs:
Cooking & Kids Classes, Poets & Writers Part Of The Community Fare

Fiddleheads
Litchfield Community's Natural SuperMarket
Village Green, Building E
Rte. 202, Litchfield, Connecticut
860-567-1900
www.fiddleheadsmarket.com


FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT: Atty. Stephanie Weaver, 860-567-1200.

Fiddleheads -- a 5,700 square foot natural foods supermarket -- is scheduled to open in Fall 2006 at the Litchfield Village Green, near Dunkin Donuts and Blockbuster. The "green store" will use environmentally safe building products and recycled materials wherever possible as it renovates half the building now occupied by Clearwater Pools.

Principals in the venture are Attorney Stephanie Weaver, co-owner of the Litchfield Athletic Club; and Anne Freeman, a veteran in the food and beverage industry whose clients have included the Torrington Branch of the University of Connecticut and the Torrington Country Club bar, banquet facility and restaurant.

Fiddleheads will feature products including natural / organic fruits, vegetables, meats, poultry and fresh fish. There will be a wide selection of local farm products, a salad bar, coffee, homemade breads and baked goods and prepared foods and meals to go. Specials will include sushi, tappas, variety quiches and wholesome soups and stews.

"Fiddleheads is committed," Weaver said, "to become the flagship grocery and prepared foods store of Litchfield County -- in a way that promotes health through a wide range of products harvested and manufactured with integrity, fairness and responsibility, while respecting the environmental balance of the surrounding community."

The natural foods supermarket will encourage awareness of the community's dietary, organic and other natural product choices, she said.

"Through its existence as a community center, Fiddleheads will support a healthy lifestyle through its retail products, its prepared food selections, its catering, and its health, cooking and kids' classes," Weaver said. "It will also provide meaningful economic support to the local population through employment opportunities as well as serving as a retail outlet for local farm products, manufacturers and industries committed to providing healthful products. The store seeks to be known for its innovative and health conscious products, its variety and its excellent service."

The natural foods supermarket will provide a community room suitable for cooking classes, small venue concerts, wine / beer/ chili tastings and lectures. Cookbooks, nutrition books and a limited selection of fiction, non-fiction and poetry will also be offered. Dr. Georgia Day, owner of the Rainy Faye Bookstore & Gallery in Bridgeport and an assistant academic vice president at Fairfield University, will oversee the book operation.

Fiddleheads' hours and days of operation are as follows: Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.; Saturday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Sunday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m


BACKGROUND ON THE PRINCIPALS IN THIS VENTURE:

Anne Freeman, owner of Anne's Place, LLC brings over 20 years of extensive experience within the food and beverage industry. She currently holds the food service contract with the University of Connecticut Torrington Branch, providing a variety of prepared foods for students and staff on a daily basis as well as a full service catering menu. Additionally, Anne has been a personal chef for the past ten years and currently runs Anne's Place, a business which caters to specific client needs focusing on special dietary requirements and specific food preferences.

Anne has several years of event planning and catering experience through which she has acquired an extensive inventory of food and vendor contacts. Through her management of the restaurant, bar and banquet facility, Anne was successful in reinvigorating the Torrington Country Club, bringing about an unprecedented increase in wedding and event bookings. While in that management position, she developed the staff training manuals, and implemented the "Point of Sale" system that the Country Club still uses today. She also developed a food service program for all staff & faculty at The Education Connection. She prepared all menus for the Head Start program at that facility as well. She is a board member of the Litchfield County Women's Network (LCWN) and is responsible for its venue and menu planning. Through her tenure the LCWN has enjoyed its highest membership in its 25 year history. Anne will be managing all aspects of the prepared foods division.

Stephanie Weaver is the principal in the Law Offices of Stephanie M. Weaver, LLC, located in Litchfield, Ct. In her 19th year of practice, she concentrates on divorce and family law, as well as business law, preparing commercial loans for banks, and general real estate. She is General Counsel to the Litchfield County Board of Realtors, which stands at 650 members, and provides the organization with legal advice and assistance. A board member of the IMPAC-Connecticut State University Young Writers Trust, Stephanie helped the organization expand in 2000 from Litchfield County to cover the entire state.

In 1997, she formed a business venture with Alan Landau, and opened a New York-style athletic club in Litchfield. Now in its eighth year of operation, the club has become a treasured and valuable community member. Currently, she is renovating a farmhouse on 22 riverfront acres in central West Virginia for a bed and breakfast locale. She has served on many charitable organizations, including being a past president of the Northwest Connecticut YMCA. She will oversee the business of the venture, including its financial workings, and will provide legal support as needed.