Choes outline big plans for Millerton Square

Kim Choe (left) and Chris Choe were excited to share their plans for a new supermarket with The Millerton News.
Photo by Christine Bates
Kim Choe (left) and Chris Choe were excited to share their plans for a new supermarket with The Millerton News.
MILLERTON — Kim and Chris Choe, owners of the Sharon Farm Market, are excited about their latest venture, the Millerton Square Shopping Center, which they purchased from veteran grocer Joseph “Skip” Trotta on Nov. 15, 2024.
The sale of the property to the Choes marks the end of an extended and complicated process of negotiations between them and Joseph Trotta, which began in May 2023 with a purchase agreement being reached between both parties, and an additional 18 months tacked on to sort out state and county regulations. With the red tape now behind them, the Choes are now moving ahead on their agenda for the property.
The centerpiece of their ambitious plans is the development of a new supermarket to meet the needs of the area, which stretches from Copake to Dover in New York, a food desert since Grand Union closed over five years ago. The revamped, as yet unnamed, 29,000 square foot market will offer a wide selection of products at competitive prices including a full-service meat, deli, seafood, sushi, bakery, and produce departments supplied by C&S Wholesale Grocers, the nation’s largest coast-to-coast distributor to independent grocery stores.
The Choes will continue to supply fresh fish sourced directly from the Boston wharves and seasonal produce purchased daily from Hunt’s Wholesale market in New York City. Seasonally, fresh food will be sourced from over 20 local farms including vegetables, pork, lamb, and eggs from their own 129-acre all-natural farm in North Canaan, Connecticut. Mrs. Choe is planning to expand the kitchen products and housewares selection and to add more flowers and plants. They also intend to operate an in-store restaurant serving breakfast, lunch and dinner for both dine-in and take-out customers. Asian, Latino, diet and specialty food items will be available including fresh sushi.
Before opening the Choes are focused on significant updates to the shopping center itself, beginning with a redesigned entrance, energy-efficient lighting, a repaved parking lot and modernized interior space. A greenhouse will be added to the west side with outdoor dining space. They have already begun discussions with potential tenants to utilize the additional 20,000 square feet of retail space previously occupied by Riley’s Furniture, Robert Trotta’s law office, and the liquor store. Renovations are underway, and the Choes are encouraging residents to watch as the transformation unfolds in 2025. The Choes are hopeful that sidewalks and a town/village sewer system will expand development opportunities in Millerton’s business district and expressed gratitude to North East Town Supervisor Chris Kennan for his continued assistance. “The Choe’s have been working to this day for a long time,” Kennan said. “I appreciate their vision and their perseverance. We are all looking forward to having a food market back in Millerton.”
CORNWALL — Clyde Perham Weed, 74, passed away peacefully at his home in West Cornwall, Connecticut on Sunday, August 17.
Clyde was born in New Orleans, Louisiana to Jeanne and Herbert Weed. He was the grandson and namesake of Clyde E. Weed, Chairman of the board of Anaconda Copper.
Clyde was a gifted scholar. He did his undergraduate work at Vassar College, his Master’s and PhD at Columbia University. He was a wonderful Professor of Political Science and taught at Colgate University, Baruch College and spent the last 20 years of his career as a tenured Professor of Political Science at Southern Connecticut State University.
Clyde had remarkable energy and a vivacity that is hard to explain! Through his teaching, kindness and mentorship he touched so many lives.
He also wrote two important works on political realignment theory, “The Nemesis of Reform: The Republican Party during the New Deal,” published by Columbia University Press; and “The Transformation of the Republican Party 1912-1936 from Reform to Resistance”. At the time of his death, he was completing a manuscript on the political thought of Walter Lippmann during the New Deal.
Clyde loved nature and all animals. He spent many happy years walking and loving the natural beauty in West Cornwall.
Clyde leaves behind his wife of 24 years, Amy Weed, and brother Michael Weed of Los Altos, California, sister- in-law, Patricia Hurley, nieces, Emily and Maggie Weed, Brielle Cleary and nephews Jesse Weed, Daniel and Teagen Cleary. He also leaves behind his beloved Scottish Terrier “Hoover.”
Calling hours will be at The Kenny Funeral Home, 41 Main Street, Sharon, CT 06069 on Wednesday, Aug. 27 from 5 p.m. to 7.p.m.
In lieu of flowers please consider sending contributions to The Little Guild of St. Francis, an animal shelter, 285 Sharon Goshen Tpke, West Cornwall, CT 06796.
Clyde was much loved and will be truly missed by all who knew and loved him.
The Kenny Funeral Home has care of arrangements.
AMENIA — Sidewalk construction that will extend the town sidewalk to Beekman Park got underway this week along Route 44.
On Wednesday, August 20, the crew was checking excavation lines.
Work is expected to continue for the next three to four weeks. Residents should anticipate minor traffic delays.
Sidewalk construction that will extend the town sidewalk to Beekman Park got underway this week along Route 44. On Wednesday, August 20, excavation began. Project Manager Don D. was at the controls of the excavation equipment.Photo by Leila Hawken
In light of rising local interest in the centuries-old game of Backgammon, Wednesday afternoon backgammon instruction and play sessions are being offered at The Hotchkiss Library of Sharon. The first such session was held on Wednesday, Aug. 13, attracting two enthusiastic participants, both of whom resolved to return for the weekly sessions.
Expert player and instructor Roger Lourie of Sharon, along with his equally expert wife, Claude, led the session, jumping right into the action of playing the game. Claude chose to pair with Janet Kaufman of Salisbury, a moderately experienced player looking to improve her skills, while Lourie teamed himself with Pam Jarvis of Sharon, who was new to the game.
In 2023, Lourie formed Backgammon of Northwestern Connecticut with two objectives: to promote the game in the northwest corner of the state and to teach it to children and adults interested in learning. In addition to the Wednesday sessions at The Hotchkiss Library, an informal, casual group meets at Le Gamin in Sharon every Saturday morning from 9 a.m. to noon.
Acting as co-chairman is Ed Corey who leads the Le Gamin sessions, offering advice and instruction. Both Corey and Lourie play competitively and have distinguished themselves by winning tournaments. There are no fees for participation at either Hotchkiss or Le Gamin. Children, ages 8 and up, are welcome to come and learn the game, along with adults of any experience level.
Lourie says that he can teach a person to play competitively in three lessons.
Sessions at The Hotchkiss Library will continue until the end of the year and perhaps beyond, depending on interest. Lourie will be the instructor until mid-November, when expert player Ed Corey will assume responsibility for the sessions at the Hotchkiss Library.
“We’re hoping for more people and also to see youngsters participating and learning the game,” Lourie said.
“The beginner can be the expert with the right dice,” said Lourie, explaining that it is a game combining chance and strategy. An understanding of mathematics and probability can be helpful.
Lourie summarized the randomness of dice and the strategy of poker. “I want to know the proper etiquette,” Kaufman offered, intent on knowing more about the proper moves, although her play indicated a credible level of skill.
Stopping in to observe the Hotchkiss session, executive director of the library, Gretchen Hachmeister said, “We know that people come to library game sessions. People love games, getting together to learn something new.”
Lourie learned the game under extremely unusual circumstances — as a detainee in a Soviet prison during the1960s missile crisis, while working in Naval Engineering to decipher code for the U.S. Office of Technological Security.
Imprisonment was not terrible, he said. There was predictable questioning by day when he repeated daily the details of his cover story. But at night, the guards — many the same age as the detainees — had finished their shifts and of interrogation.They unplugged the cameras to brew tea and the backgammon games would begin. That was how Lourie learned the game and became an expert.
Board games date back 5,000 years to ancient Mesopotamia. Modern backgammon goes back to 17th-century England, having evolved from a 16th-century game called “Irish.”It grew in popularity in the 1960s, leading to formation of a World Backgammon Club in Manhattan. And then in 2023, Backgammon of Northwestern Connecticut came to be.
To learn more about the Backgammon sessions at The Hotchkiss Library, visit: www.hotchkisslibraryofsharon.org or contact Lourie directly at Rlourie@gmail.com.