Almost all Newtown residents and many passersby have come to recognize the building set a little ways back on South Main Street; the big windows greet customers and travelers all the same. Inside, however, tells a bit of a different story.

Owners Tom and Carrie Swan have decided to take the next step in life and are now entering retirement. The two started their business in 1980 as a part-time chimney sweep business out of their apartment in Bridgeport. Since then, the two have grown it into the business residents are familiar with now.

“Over the years, we grew [the business]. We started with a little 400 square foot shop in Sandy Hook,” Tom said. His wife, Carrie, said that it is now where Dolce Italian Ice & Gelato is. “We moved next door a year later to 800 square feet. Doubled, we did!”

“We’ve been doubling ever since,” Carrie added with a laugh.

The two bought the property at 182 South Main Street in 1988 with a small building that was located where the parking lot is now. In 2006, the Swans built the building that stands there now.

The couple bought their first home in Sandy Hook, and, as Carrie said, they “needed to get those phones out of the house. It was driving us nuts.”

Carrie and Tom explained that they had been thinking about their retirement for the past few years, but were unsure of the best way to go about it. They were not sure if they were going to close the doors forever, sell the property, or do something else. Carrie said the property was listed for a while, but there were no offers on it. Tom said he heard a story about a couple in Massachusetts that successfully retired and passed their business on to their employees and wanted to know more.

“We had friends in Massachusetts who were about 10 years ahead of us … The industry rumor was that one day he grabbed two employees, dragged them upstairs, and said, ‘You’re going to buy the business.’ That was Friday. They owned the business on Monday,” Tom explained.

Carrie joked, “Tom thought that was a pretty good strategy, [so we did] the exact same thing!”

Tom continued telling the story, adding that he called the new owner and asked for more information. The new owner of the Massachusetts store said that the story was “not far off.” The new owner said it was internally structured, and it allowed the previous owners “to step away and the employees to take over.”

Carrie thought to try the same strategy at Black Swan, and met with all 14 employees every Monday to discuss the possible sale of the business. The two gave every single employee the opportunity to decide if they wanted to continue the business, or if the Swans would have to close up shop. She said that the employees discussed among themselves in their own meetings what they wanted to do, and it took a few months for some to step up and decide they wanted to take over the business.

The three employees are Jessica Troccolla, Emmett White, and Forest Gajdosik.

The New Owners

Troccolla and White both started in 2021, with Troccolla starting in the summer and White in the fall. Gajdosik has been there the longest, explaining he started in 2006, right when the new building was being put up.

“My mom gave me an ad when I moved back from California the first time about a job at Black Swan,” Gajdosik told The Bee, “and I said, ‘What’s Black Swan?’”

“That first year was pretty crazy … [I started doing] installs, but then we built the building … it was only me and one other guy on the road crew at the time … Pretty much been here ever since,” Gajdosik said.

He said that becoming a new owner of Black Swan “seemed like the right thing to do,” adding, “Who knew I’d get the opportunity? To say yes? It was very shocking.” He did not want to see anything else happen to the business, and felt like he should step up when the opportunity was offered to him. He thanked both Carrie and Tom at the end of his sentence.

White then shared his story of how he came to be an employee, and now a new owner, of Black Swan.

“I was driving by and saw they wanted help. Honestly didn’t know what Black Swan did, lived in Newtown my whole life. Came in on a Tuesday, interviewed on a Thursday, started on Monday, and it’s really one of the only jobs that clicked for me,” White said. When asked why he thought that was, he wasted no time in his answer, “Every day is different. Nothing’s the same, solving problems, working with your hands, thinking outside the box.”

White said the opportunity to become an owner presented itself and “seemed like the right thing to do at that time.”

Troccolla has, perhaps, the most interesting story of how she came to be an employee at Black Swan because her first interview was going out on a job.

“I was coming in to interview [with Carrie] and Tom called Forest and said, ‘Tell her to wear sneakers and pants,’” she laughed. She clarified that she did, eventually, have an interview, and fell in love with the business. Troccolla worked in insurance for 20 years and was tired of it, so she quit. She needed a job, and Gajdosik helped her out.

Now, she is an owner just like White and Gajdosik. She said that she was “devastated” when she learned of Tom and Carrie’s retirement, and looks at the business as her “family.”

The Transition And the Future

Carrie said, “We gave everybody the opportunities to say yes or no so that they could actually still be in charge of their own destiny and know [that] they could stay together as a team. Which is pretty awesome that the whole team is actually staying together.”

Both Tom and Carrie stressed that customers will not even notice the change. Everything is staying the same except for who now owns the business. White pointed out, with a laugh, that the sale of the business means that the Swans “kind of trust” the new owners.

The three owners took over the business on August 1, but signed the papers on Friday, August 8.

Troccolla said she feels “very ready” to take over the business. “It just feels good. It feels right.”

Carrie added that the three new owners are “rocking it,” and she has “no qualms at all that this was the right decision.”

White said to the Swans, “Your legacy is still going,” adding that he is “beyond grateful” for the opportunity. Gajdosik added that this always would have been the right decision, and that this will give the Swans something better than closing the doors.

While Tom and Carrie transition into retirement, the new owners want to expand and grow the business, both in the Newtown and New Milford locations. The new owners will be hard at work while Tom and Carrie move to their farmland in Tennessee full-time.

Tom and Carrie thanked the Newtown community for their 45 years in business and the support they have received over the years. They both expressed gratitude for being able to grow and for the customers that have become friends along the way.

Gajdosik said it feels a bit like a “fairy tale,” and that there is still a future for Black Swan Fireside Hearth & Home. White and Troccolla echoed each other, saying the business is a town staple and all three of the new owners are Newtown kids that are now Newtown grown-ups.

“We’re not going anywhere,” White said, “We’re going still be Black Swan that everybody knows, and keep growing … Just looking forward to the next chapter and honoring everything they’ve built.”

“It’s been a fun ride,” Tom said, “It’s been a fun ride and I look forward to the next chapter for all of us.”

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Reporter Sam Cross can be reached at sam@thebee.com.