Shelton’s Common Bond Market reborn

Farm owners plan to reopen business

SHELTON — Reports of the Common Bond Market’s closure were the inspiration — and the opportunity — that a local farm family was seeking.

Fred and Stacia Monahan, owners of Stone Gardens Farm off Saw Mill City Road, had sought for some two years to expand their retail sales operation. But those plans had been in limbo after the family’s proposed zone change that would have allowed a retail store on Wabuda Place were denied last year.

So, when Fred Monahan read in mid-March that Common Bond Market — a longtime staple of Huntington Center and the goto place for organic and other health-oriented foods and products — was closing, he saw a perfect opportunity.

“(Common Bond owner Josh Elliott) was looking to leave, and we were looking to expand. It was just meant to be,” said Monahan, standing inside the space that will soon house Stone Gardens Farm Market.

Fred said his family purchased the equipment from Elliott and signed the lease for the Huntington Center space Monday afternoon. He said he expects to open in mid-May.

Fred said the farm — one of the largest vegetable farms in southwest New England and a staple of the White Hills agricultural community — had enjoyed a booming business but was constrained by its limited retail space.

The Monahans had hoped to one day open a 3,000-squarefoot retail operation at the Wabuda Place site. Now they have 7,000 square feet of retail space — a major jump over the 750 square feet they now have at the farm.

“I’m still trying to wrap my head around this,” said Tom Monahan, one of Fred and Stacia’s three children. “It’s extremely exciting … beyond my expectations. We were just thrown into this over the last five weeks.”

Fred said most farmer’s children leave the farm because there is no real profit. But this move allows his children to make money and keep the farm running for generations.

“The goal this business venture — of what we were looking at (at Wabuda Place) — is to preserve the 500 acres of family farmland,” Tom said. “We want to preserve this land. To this keep this farmland open in Shelton through active farming.”

Visibility is key, says Tom, adding that 13,000 vehicles pass by the old Common Bond Market site every day, a far cry from the limited traffic on Saw Mill City Road.

Fred said Stone Garden Farm Market will offer farm fresh meats and produce — same as at their present location, but on a much larger scale — as well as frozen meats, grab-and-go meals (a popular option for visitors), a deli and grocery items, including the gluten-free and other healthy options and supplements that were a trademark of Common

Bond Market.

The Monahans will also be keeping most employees that had become a family while working together at Common Bond Market.

For Diana Maione, that is a dream come true.

Maione had been deli manager for some four months when she and her fellow employees were told in mid-March by ownership that Common Bond would be closing.

“That day, it felt like my heart fell out of my body,” Maione said. “I was so passionate about being here and serving the community. When that happened, I immediately was like, ’What can we do. What can we do to save this store.’”

The Monahans said they first heard about the closure when reading the paper, and when they saw Maione, a family friend, was involved, they made a phone call.

“It was like an answer to a prayer,” Maione said about when Stacia called her about the situation. “I know the family. I know how they are, and I knew this was a perfect fit.”

Stacia said the farm presently sells Maione’s barbecue sauce at its store, and Maione’s parents were regular purchasers of the Monahans’ meats and produce over the years.

“We get to keep the jobs within the community, we get to feed the community and give farm products,” Stacia Monahan said. It is a win-win for all of Shelton.”

Fred said the family will now close the retail sales area at the farm off Saw Mill City Road, and that 4,000-square-foot facility will be solely for meat processing and produce preparation. That staff will move to the new retail space at Huntington Center.

Stone Gardens Farm became a U.S. Department of Agricultureinspected butcher operation more than a year ago, but Tom said that he will be cutting back on the amount of meat he prepares for others now that he has a larger space to fill.

“It was five weeks ago today we called,” Fred said. “Now here we are.”