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Don’t forget about Wilton

It takes faith and determination to open
a new business. Sure, the consensus is
that the economy is doing well, but still …
The latest to jump into the new business
frying pan is the Colleton family
who opened The Barking Monkie restaurant
and bar on Nashua Street in Milford,
near the Oval, an area that already has
quite a few eateries.
But the Colletons have faith and determination
and what it really takes to open
any kind of business: courage.
We wish them well, naturally, and many
businesses seem to thrive in Milford.
The same can’t be said, sadly, for Wilton
where a really nice restaurant recently
closed its doors and where there are at
least two other vacant storefronts. And
we can’t understand it. Wilton is a lovely
town and has several interesting shops
that should attract good crowds and one
would think that those good crowds would
spill over into a good restaurant.
We recall that several years ago, someone
opened a coffee shop a
bit of an
espresso place, really on
Main Street and
that didn’t last very long, more’s the pity.
We can’t figure it out, unless …
It seems to us that to go to Wilton, you
have to want to go to Wilton. You don’t
just pass through and decide to stop as
you do, or at least do more often, in Milford.
It’s easy to bypass Wilton on Route
101. You can do that, too, in Milford but
more roads lead to the Oval and more
traffic passes local businesses.
There really isn’t anything the town can
do about access, unfortunately. The Main
Street Association tries its best, we believe,
to attract visitors and shoppers but it’s no
easy feat when they have so many other
places to go, so many places to stop when
they just happen to be passing through.
All we can do here is to encourage you
to not forget downtown Wilton. We know
that many of you are familiar with the
Town Hall Theatre and that’s great, but
there’s more.
So the next time you go to the movies
in Wilton (and you should go; you should)
go a little early and take the time to look
around. We think you’ll like it.