By Thane Grauel

WESTPORT — The owners of the plant store/café Terrain are seeking to use the old Dress Barn building for a floral studio and storage.

The structure at 561 Post Road East, at the corner of Crescent Road, was built in 1900, according to land records. It is 1,920 square foot, and across Crescent from Fire Department headquarters.

Terrain East LLC has submitted a special permit and site plan application to the Planning and Zoning Commission. It described the project as “Renovation of an existing house on-site for use as a floral studio and storage.”

It seeks to amend the existing approval.

“The proposal consists of utilization of a portion of the Dress Barn building as a floral studio, with associated storage in the balance of the building, as well as an employee restroom to support the operation,” a project narrative reads.

“Terrain recently replaced the roof on the existing Building B, ‘Dress Barn,’ the document reads. “This prompted the brand to consider how they might use the space. Terrain currently has a floral services counter in the main retail space. They are challenged when building larger custom planters for clients inside the retail space.”

Terrain opened in May 2012 in a much larger, renovated building next door that for decades had been a car dealership.

Dress Barn began in Stamford in the 1960s, selling affordable dresses at a time large numbers of women were entering the workforce. In 2019 the company announced it would close its 650 remaining retail stores. The Westport location was long gone by then.

Thane Grauel grew up in Westport and has been a journalist in Fairfield County and beyond for 36 years. Reach him at editor@westportjournal.com. Learn more about us here.