Young’s of Ridgefield Celebrates 75 Years of Business
Community-wide celebration planned for Saturday, July 29th
When Joe Young opened Young’s Feed Store on Catoonah Street back in 1948, he probably never dreamed that 75 years later the Young’s name would continue to represent a prominent Ridgefield business.
Young’s of Ridgefield—still locally owned and operated—is planning several celebrations throughout the year to mark this milestone. Kicking it all off is a mini “country fair” to be held July 29th from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. during the Chamber of Commerce’s Summerfest on Main Street.
The original Young’s Feed Store supplied several types of animal feed to local farmers and was a mainstay of the community. In 1973, after 25 years in business, Joe Young sold the store to Bob Fowsky, who continued to operate it in the same location on Catoonah Street, across from the Ridgefield Firehouse. Today the building is home to Colonial Cleaners.
In 1978, John Couri, a successful businessman and entrepreneur, purchased Young’s. John had settled in Ridgefield a few years earlier after marrying Elaine Conklin, a local girl with deep family roots in town. John and Elaine had met while working at John F. Kennedy Airport, where John owned a duty-free shop, and married in 1974. They made their home in Ridgefield and adopted their son, Christopher, in 1976.
“We had a small farm and we bought all of our feed from Young’s, so I was familiar with the business when I heard it was for sale,” said Couri. “Elaine grew up going to Young’s with her dad, who owned the old Stonecrest Manor property. It was our dream to own a business in town, and we felt that purchasing Young’s would be a good way to contribute to the Ridgefield community.”
After Couri took over the business, he expanded it into a Feed & Garden store, selling plants, soil and mulch in addition to animal feed and hay. In 1982, they expanded again, opening a power equipment showroom at 99 Danbury Road (where Young’s is currently located).
In 1981, Couri recruited Dan Rella, a 26-year-old go-getter from Queens who worked for his duty-free business at JFK Airport, to be manager of both the feed store and the power equipment store. Rella moved with his young family from Queens to Danbury, and immediately took on managing the Young’s businesses—despite knowing next to nothing about power equipment or farm animals and their diets.
“I had no clue,” said Rella.“I literally faked my way through it until I figured it out.” He sold his first tractor in 1982 to Art Tuccio, an old-timer in town.
In 1984, Young’s Feed & Garden left Catoonah Street and merged with the power equipment operation at the larger location on Danbury Road. There they continued to sell feed and garden supplies alongside John Deere tractors and other equipment. In 1990, an equipment rental arm of the business was added.
Young’s expanded again and became a full-service residential landscaping contractor in 1995. Arnie Nielsen joined the team in 1998, the same year that Chris Couri graduated from Babson College. Chris took the reins of Young’s in 2001 and, with Dan Rella, expanded the business to include estate management and commercial landscaping. Soon they were handling year-round property maintenance for some of Ridgefield’s most prominent commercial properties and residential estates.
In 2010, Young’s was forced to close the Feed & Garden retail store as well as the rental equipment business when John Deere pulled their licensing rights and big-box stores started taking over the garden supply market. Never ones to be discouraged, Young’s pivoted and started selling and installing fences alongside their landscaping services.
Since then, Young’s has grown into a full-service fence and landscape business, employing more than 35 employees. The company was recently named a “Top Workplace in Fairfield County” by Hearst Media Group. It is a true family environment, with some team members working at Young’s for more than 25 years. Dan Rella and Chris Couri still lead the team today.
Young’s is proud to be the top fence company in Ridgefield and is focused on providing the best customer service and most professional fence installations in Fairfield and Westchester counties. The company loves to partner with non-profit organizations in the community, assisting with Scout projects, sponsoring youth sports teams, and supporting the Ridgefield Garden Club, several local elementary school gardens and the new composting center in town, to name just a few. Young’s is focused on building a strong “fence of community” and believes in small town values.
“We are thrilled to be carrying on the Young’s name after 75 years. I’ve met so many customers who have become friends,” said Dan Rella.
Chris Couri added, “I loved growing up in this town and it is an absolute pleasure to be raising our family here. Aside from being charming and picturesque, this town and its residents embody a true sense of community and caring. We are blessed to have such an amazing team at Young’s and we love being a part of the Ridgefield community. We hope that you will come out to our 75th anniversary celebration on Main Street at Summerfest on July 29. We plan to have some fun activities for kids, maybe even some farm animals, and lots of giveaways. We invite the entire town to stop by our booth so we can thank them in person for supporting us all these years.”