Jim and Paula Chnowski at Colby’s of Ridgefield, which turns 60 years old this year. The couple purchased the business from Colby and Jenny Easterbook in 1982, and have stayed at 13 Governor Street behind Town Hall since then. —Steve Coulter photo
If a business survives for long enough, it becomes part of the identity of the town it’s located in, as well as part of the identity of the people who own it.
Jim and Paula Chnowski know this to be true.
The couple has run Colby’s of Ridgefield since purchasing the business from its original owner, Colby Easterbrook, in 1982, guiding it through several economic downturns and making it known as the home furnishing store that specializes in window treatments and wallpaper decorations.
“People call us Colby,” Ms. Chnowski laughs. “Mr. and Mrs. Colby, because our last name is hard to pronounce — we almost go by it.”
For years, Colby’s has occupied a corner store in the Donnelly Shopping Center behind Town Hall between Bailey Avenue and Governor Street.
The original store, founded in 1954, was located on the opposite side of Main Street in what is now Village Wine and Spirits in the CVS shopping center.
Mr. Easterbook moved to the store to its current location in the 1970s.
“Colby’s was originally a bath and linen store that did some decorating,” Mr. Chnowski said.
“We kept the name because it was so established,” Ms. Chnowski added. “Everybody knew who he was and what type of store he ran — he had such a great reputation.
“If the business didn’t have such a reputation, we would have changed the name.”
The Chnowskis, originally from Norwalk, purchased Colby’s after working with the Easterbrooks for a couple of years through their upholstery and drapery business, Dominic’s of Fairfield.
The family, which includes two boys — Bryan and Dave, moved to Ridgefield in 1986 for all the same reasons families still move to town today.
“We were living in west Norwalk at the time and moved up here when we took over the business, because it was such a beautiful town that offered so much,” Mr. Chnowski said. “More property, better schools, all the ball fields and parks for kids to play on — this will always be the town, and we love it here.”
The Easterbrooks retired and moved from their home in South Salem and to the Carolinas, where they were originally from.
Meanwhile, the Chnowskis were forced to adapt their newly purchased store in Ridgefield, thanks to the arrival of Danbury Fair Mall in October 1986.
“Little by little we changed the business,” Mr. Chnowski said. “All the towns — New Canaan, Wilton, Fairfield — had their own bath and linen shop back then, but once the mall came up, the superstores really did away with all of those types of businesses.
“We actually ended up expanding the business to fit what we did best, so in the long run it was the best move for us.”
The slow transition from bath and linen store, which was “phased out” in the early 1990s, to custom decorating business was the first of many challenges.
The economy went downhill in the late 1980s and early 1990s, causing many of Colby’s neighboring businesses in the complex to go “belly up.”
Fortunately, like their other neighbors who survived the recession, the Chnowskis had a long-established family name hanging above their storefront.
“It was really difficult to get people to come in — it was like a big black hole in our shopping center,” Ms. Chnowski said. “But then businesses started coming in the mid to late 90s.”
The Chnowskis were able to persevere on more than just name brand and luck. They “weathered the storm” through several savvy business decisions, such as becoming an official Hunter Douglas gallery more than 15 years ago.
Now Colby’s is one of only 400 stores like it in the country that display window treatments designed by Hunter Douglas, the largest manufacturer of hard window treatments in the world.
“That’s what turned our business around,” Ms. Chnowski said. “We saw the trend changing from soft window treatments, like draperies and coordinating bedspreads, to hard window treatments that are more simplified and minimal — that’s the look people like these days.”
Looking ahead has always benefited the Chnowskis, who opened a small wallpaper gallery in the rear of the store shortly after the bath and linen portion of the business closed.
“Now we’re the only store in town still doing this,” Mr. Chnowski said. “We have a niche market here in Ridgefield, and the wallpaper decorations have become a third of the store.”
The wallpaper gallery features 400 to 500 books of samples and occupies one third of the store.
The Chnowskis are the only employees at Colby’s — most of their work is contracted out to various freelance businesses that do the installation and upholstery work.
“We used to have three or four girls work in the linen department, but now it’s just Paula and I,” Mr. Chnowski explained.
The couple advertises their work with local real estate companies and works with them in helping new homeowners.
“They recommend us and we’re happy about that,” Ms. Chnowski said.
“We’re not one of those fly-by-night operations where somebody promises to complete a project but never finishes it,” Mr. Chnowski said. “We’re here and we’re established and we can be trusted.”
The Chnowskis have become a fixture in Ridgefield, a town they know inside and out.
“It’s not unusual for me to go into a house that I’ve been in three or four times already,” Mr. Chnowski said. “Some of these houses have seen a lot of changes in their decorations because the ladies moving in didn’t like what was there before.”
“Jim kids himself that he has the measurements for most of the houses in Ridgefield,” Ms. Chnowski said. “We have great customers, loyal customers; they’re the type of people who stop in just to say hello — it’s that type of town.
“It’s a good feeling when people come back into town after not being here for 10 or 20 years and they’re really happy we’re still here,” Ms. Chnowski added.
“One of my favorite comments is new wives who come in and tell me, ‘My mother used to shop here,’” Mr. Chnowski said. “That sort of thing is magical to see.”