While Westbrook has faced a headwind in efforts to bring business back downtown, a new business is set to brighten the green district just in time for summer.

On June 1, representatives of town government and the Middlesex Chamber of Commerce celebrated the opening of Colors in the Wind

, a new kite shop in Westbrook’s Town Center with owner Al Minervini and his business partner Ron Beattie.

Minervini has deep family ties to the Connecticut shoreline area and is one of several members of his family owning and operating small businesses. His oldest brother Nathan Minervini owns Minervini’s Pizza in East Haven and his youngest brother Kenneth Minervini owns Minervini’s Pizzeria in Wallingford.

“I’ve always loved kites,” said Al Minervini who lives in North Haven. “When I was a kid, I made kites from paper bags and sticks and would go to Rice Field in East Rock Park to fly them.”

Minervini had a kite store in Massachusetts, but closed it so he could move back to Connecticut where he was raised. Minervini’s business partner Beattie is a retired high school physics teacher, and the duo’s shop is re-occupying the storefront that used to house Nautical Needles.

The addition of the kite shop will help to reverse the vacancies created by Nautical Needles’ departure and the more recent closure of the Military Historians Headquarters Museum despite the town’s recent efforts to improve parking along the green and add parking off of Knothe Lane. The town is currently exploring options to add centralized wastewater treatment for town center businesses as septic capacity has been a noted limitation to development, especially for restaurants.