Over the past few decades, Wallingford has evolved from a rural farm town into a home for many small, family-owned businesses. From barbers and flower shops to restaurants and breweries, Wallingford is now recognized by local residents for its wide range of unique establishments, all of which contribute to a tight-knit community. Behind the doors of each small business lies a story of how ordinary people transformed their passions into livelihoods
Beaumont Farms
Photo by Trista LeBlanc-Serbyn/The Choate News
Mr. Billy Beaumont is the current owner of Beaumont Farms, a family-run business with a vegetable and dairy farm, an on-site farmer’s market, and multiple greenhouses. The farm is a well-established Wallingford business, supplying the community with produce since 1899.
“This farm has always been here, but my great-grandfather also came to it from the Beaumont Dairy Farm from the other side of town, [which] had been started in the 1870s. All farming has got its moments — either too cold, too warm, perfect weather, you never know. We lost most of our greenhouses to Hurricane Sandy in 2013; you never know what’s going to be your obstacle of the year.
Me taking over the farm was just one of those things. My real trade is tractor repair. While other kids are riding bikes, you’re riding a tractor in this family. Since it is a family business, I took over the farm when my father passed away and have run it ever since. We’re not sure where the farm is going from here, but we’re planning on farming as long as we can.
Something I started doing was Christmas displays. The Christmas events have gone on for the last 16 or 17 years. It started with Santa driving the truck with the reindeer on it. Now we’ve branched out into pretty big displays on top of the truck. Last year was a Charlie Brown Christmas. We’ve been doing ’em all, and we’re already working on next year. It’s the public that makes me the happiest: the smiling faces, little kids going out to get their first flower to plant, or people having the best time at the Christmas corner. Seeing people having a good time is my biggest joy.”
The Timekeeper
Photo Courtesy of Nick Westcott
Repairing everything from pendulum clocks to wristwatches to antique music boxes, The Timekeeper has attracted customers from around the world. The shop’s founder and owner, Mr. Garry Craig, has dedicated 36 years to his fascinating trade.
“I started off as a collector of antique clocks — probably 35 or 36 years ago. I majored in mechanical engineering in college, and I worked for Alcoa as a mechanical engineer for about five years. Then, somewhere in the back of my mind, something made me want to figure out what makes these old antique clocks work. What makes them keep running and shining?
I ended up buying my first antique clock probably 36 years ago, and it didn’t work. So, I cleaned and serviced it, and now it’s been running nicely ever since. It kind of launched a new career for me. You have to be a real problem solver and an open-minded thinker in this profession. Even though I’ve been doing this for nearly 36 years, every great once in a while, I run into something new that I’ve never encountered. It’s a lot of commitment, a lot of tenacity. There’s been many times when I lay in bed thinking about a tiny piece, and then all of a sudden, a brainstorm comes to me. When I go into the shop the next day, I try it, and it works!
I’ve also been a dues-paying member of the National Association of Watch and Clock Collectors for 24 or 25 years now, and I keep receiving a lot of reference materials and literature from them every other month, and I keep all of it as a resource library. I’ve also been getting people sending and mailing me clocks and watches all over the world and the country — like California, Massachusetts, Michigan. A lot of it is the personal satisfaction I get from my customers when they pick up the timepiece that hasn’t run for a lot of years.”
New England Cider Company
Photo Courtesy of @NewEnglandCider on Twitter
Mr. Miguel Galarraga is the owner of New England Cider Company — a Wallingford brewery, bar, and tasting room that sells beer and hard cider to bars, restaurants, and package stores throughout Connecticut.
“My partner at the time and I started making beer first. Then, someone gave us an idea that we could make hard cider with apples. On a homebrew scale, we didn’t want to spend a lot of money on equipment, so this seemed like a feasible route to not spend a ton of money; it just kind of spiraled into what it is now.
There was a lot that we learned in the beginning. We took some courses because neither myself nor my partner at the time had a business degree — we were both mechanics. What drove my interest in business ownership was that I always wanted to do something else. Ten years ago, it might not have been cider, but I was definitely looking at getting out of being a mechanic. We took some business classes at the University of Hartford and fine-tuned our cider skills.
We started off making cider that we were really happy with and that we really enjoyed drinking. It was dry, more like wine or champagne-style cider. Customers weren’t so crazy about it — they wanted something a little more apple-y, a little more sweet. So, we changed some of our formulas to suit our customers’ needs. We’re always evolving and trying to change with the demand that’s being placed on us.
There’s ups and downs to being a small business. In this industry, having customers come in and enjoy the product that you’re making has definitely been the most rewarding part about this business.”
Dreissen Electric
Mr. Gary Dreissen learned the electric trade from his father, and now he has worked as an electrician for the past 35 years. He and his crew answer house calls, fix power outages, and do other repair work.
“My father was an electrician, so after school, I used to work on different jobs with him as I grew up. As I got older, I went to trade school at Wilcox Tech in Meriden and went through the apprentice program. I decided I liked electrical work after I went to trade school, so I went on my own and started my company around 1985. I’ve been in business for about 35 years serving the Wallingford area.
Our type of work is a lot of service work. Something breaks, you call me, we come out, we diagnose it, and we fix the problem. Running a business and being the owner is rewarding in the sense that it’s your name, your business, but it’s also a responsibility. If you’re an employee, you show up nine to five, you go home — you don’t get called in the middle of the night for a service call or on the weekends. That’s the difference between working for someone and being the owner.
Things have also evolved a lot better for communication between me and my employees; years ago, you’d have to speak to a part supplier in the morning on their home phone because they didn’t have a work phone. Even a customer would be calling you on a home answering machine, so it took a lot longer. Nowadays, with phones and the internet, it’s a lot easier. It cuts down on lost time for when you’re doing a job.
Electrical work does change with the different national and electrical codes. We go to school for that and get updated every year — who knows what the new product ten years from now is gonna be? I’ve been fortunate over the years that most of my business is within a ten mile radius of Wallingford. I stay local a lot because we have enough service and business work right in this area.
For the work we do, our name’s on the door for workmanship, so we feel responsible. If things don’t get done, we have to finish them and show up on time, because it’s our neck out there.”
Words on Wood
Photo Courtesy of Words on Wood
Founded in 2016 by former school teacher Ms. Jackie Valentines, Words on Wood is well-known for its sign parties and DIY workshops that provide an unforgettable bonding experience for friends and families. Ms. Valentines has worked with her family to share their custom-made wood products through not only their local storefront but also online retail and other out-of-state locations.
“Words on Wood actually started by accident. In 2016, when my daughter moved to China to teach English for a year, I was just super sad and missed her, so I decided that I wanted to do something to keep me busy. After I made a wood sign for another girl who was also away, I fell in love with the process. I created more signs, and people’s friends eventually started asking to buy them. Months later, we had a little sign party at somebody’s house, and the very next day, I had six parties booked!
Sometimes people come in and buy signs; you can order something custom-made, or you can make something by yourself at the studio. Now, due to the pandemic, we also offer DIY kits that people can buy and make themselves at home. As a former teacher, I have the skills to be able to instruct customers step-by-step through the process. Apart from the many parties that we’ve hosted, the fundraisers have always meant so much to me. I love them because it’s always so wonderful to have people come in to have fun and enjoy the process, but then we get to write a big check to the charity organization, and that’s very, very rewarding.
It’s very much a family business. My daughter works as our creative director, and my husband is her carpenter. We live in Wallingford, and we are very much rooted in our community. Every year, we always love to do things to give back. We participate in all the town-wide events, including the holiday stroll. We hire Santa to come in every year, and we do free photos, giveaways, and food and drinks. We’re always very involved, and even though we now have parties in other states and places, and hope to keep growing, we love being here in Wallingford. We love our town.”
Tata’s Restaurant
Photo Courtesy of Tata’s Restaurant
Tata’s Restaurant has been serving Wallingford diners authentic Puerto Rican cuisine for more than 16 years. Owner and chef Mr. Efrain Nieves moved to the U.S. in 1989, when he was 13, and opened his restaurant after graduating from the Porter School of Engineering Design, class of 1972. The restaurant’s atmosphere nearly always includes a live band, a DJ, or another form of entertainment.
“The dream came from loving the food and loving to cook. Most of the dishes we create here come from my grandmother, who taught me how to cook Tapas-style cuisine. She took me under her wings and showed me some of the techniques we use here in Spanish cuisine, so it’s pretty good. She was the reason why I wanted to open a restaurant, so I named it Tata – which means ‘granny’ in Spanish.
I actually came from New York, and when I was looking in a newspaper one day and found Quinnipiac Street. I came here and immediately fell in love with it. That was 16 years ago. Now, I’ve moved to Center Street, so I’m a couple hundred feet away from the restaurant, and I plan to stay here for a while.
Wallingford has been a blessing since I got here and opened the restaurant, so I do call Wallingford my second home. The people here are great. They are very supportive of you, and I like that it’s a community. I love to give out because they give back to me, too. We hold fundraisers for the people in different parts of the world, like Puerto Rico, when it suffered from an earthquake.
Covid-19 is one of the hardest things that we have had to deal with so far — trying to stay open and stay safe. I’ve opened this restaurant for 16 to 17 years, and I’ve learned that everything is a challenge — but dealing with this pandemic has been the hardest thing yet.”
Wallingford Flower Shoppe
Photo Courtesy of Wallingford Flower Shoppe
Mr. Salvatore Greco and his wife Ms. Ann Greco opened the Wallingford Flower Shoppe in 1950. Since Mr. Greco’s passing in 2007, his son, Mr. Salvatore Greco Jr., has taken over with the hopes of continuing his father’s legacy.
“Each order, each floral design — whether it is wedding, sympathy, everyday, birthday, anniversary, or baby shower — is handmade from the beginning to the end. That has not changed at all over the years. We really are a part of the tight-knit community of Wallingford, and it means a whole lot to us to provide our products and services.
We have done three generations of weddings, three generations of recitals and proms, and, unfortunately, two or three funerals for the same families with sympathy flowers. We are very family and community-oriented. We know most of our customers by sight or voice when they call. Our customer service staff here can get an idea on what the event is — the ballpark budget, likes or dislikes of the customer or the recipient — and recommend something that will be appropriate for that particular customer.
When our customers leave, I want them to have that feeling that they are getting exactly what they had visualized in their minds and that they got great service and great value. Five or ten years from now, I see the store exactly where it is now, doing exactly what we’re doing now: giving great customer service, providing the freshest flowers available, and offering great value.”
