Have you noticed that it's impossible to find a business that's open after 8 PM in suburban Connecticut? Have you almost run out of gas on your way home because you couldn't find a suburban gas station that was open after 10 PM? Probably not if you live in Danbury, Waterbury, New Haven, Bridgeport, Hartford, and Stamford. They all have gas stations, fast food joints, diners, national pharmacy stores, and even markets that never close.

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I guess I took 24/7/365 convenience for granted, but now since I've moved from Waterbury to Torrington, I really miss it. If you live in Torrington, Brookfield, New Milford, Southbury, Middlebury, and Newtown, aren't you sick of traveling to your neighbor for evening and overnight services, restaurants, and conveniences?

The 4 Corners area in Brookfield for example, I was there at 5:30 this morning and all I wanted was a cup of coffee. Nothing. No one was open. Mrs. Large has had a hell of a time getting her prescriptions filled because our pharmacy in Torrington closes at 6 PM and she is a 9 to 5-er. I'm really interested to see what hours the new Amazon Fresh in Brookfield will have. It's a walk in-walk out, cashier-less business model with lots of back of house employees, and plenty of security, but, will there be a need to even close?

Thankfully there are still locally owned businesses that can take advantage of the smaller city's resistance to a national fast food chains opening up 24-hour drive-thrus in their sleepy little towns, but suburban Western and Northwestern Connecticut needs more of them. There are quite a few of us that are night owls, and early birds.

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