I met with Jim Jr of L&J Pools located in Bethel, Connecticut. L&J Pools has an interesting history; Jim Sr. started his construction business in 1975, where he built many subdivisions, roads, foundations for houses and more. After Jim Sr. built his own house he decided he wanted to get a pool, and so he built himself a pool. Jim’s friends and family were so impressed and in awe of his custom built concrete wall, vinyl liner pool that he was inspired and driven to get into the pool business.
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Jim Sr. started his custom pool building business out of his garage in Redding, CT in 1984. And after years of success and growth Jim Sr moved his business from his garage to a commercial building with a showroom and concrete plant in Bethel, CT.  L&J Pools is still family owned and operated, Jim Sr. along with his wife and 3 children and more employees, work together to provide quality custom pools throughout Connecticut. Their pool company has many satisfied pool owners in Danbury, New Fairfield, Ridgefield, Brookfield and other areas of CT.

L&J Pools is much more than just a vinyl liner and gunite pool building company. Jim Sr. got into the pool business when new construction sales where slowing down. Also when he had received great feedback from his friends and family after building his own inground pool, weighed in his decision. In 1987 he started a Heating Oil company to accompany the Pool business since the pool company is seasonal. His Heating Oil Company would be able to keep his guys busy in the off season.
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Fiorilla Heating Oil does automatic deliveries throughout Fairfield County and the lower half of Litchfield County.  Their website at fiorillaheatingoil.com is very user friendly; customers can go online to see what the current rate is, select the day for delivery, and even pay online. Fiorilla Heating Oil regularly posts their daily cash price on Facebook (@fiorillaheatingoil), and when you follow you can receive Facebook only specials. 

Time is always difficult to manage says Jim Jr. “You’re basically married to the business, you’re here, and every single thing falls on your shoulders to make it all run smoothly. You’re the first one here, and the last one to leave. The favorite part of my day is getting home to my family.” Jim Jr. lives locally, and is the father to three little girls.
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“Another thing that our pool company needs to deal with is the constant fees, licenses, and high requirements just to clean a pool.” Jim proceeded to explain everything to me about the SP-1, SPB licenses needed to run a successful pool company, but it was too overwhelming for me to follow.

Jim Jr. explains, “We build the pool, patio, fencing, etc., from the start of your project to the finished product and everything in between, everything is done in house. We mix our own concrete so we don’t have to rely on any one. On top of that my father, Jim Sr. is a licensed septic installer so he can relocate your septic tank if required. Most of the pool guys in Danbury and Bethel just build vinyl liner pools. We of course build vinyl liner pools as well, but we also build custom gunite pools. A gunite pool is a commercial grade swimming pool, and it is top of the line. Vinyl liners are kit pools, and have specific dimensions. Our customers love our gunite pools because they are completely customizable. We make swimming pools to fit our customer’s individual needs.”
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Besides listening to information about pool licensing my interview with Jim Jr. was very interesting and had a lot of information to offer. I thought it was great that they created another company (Fiorilla Heating Oil) on top of the Pool Company to provide their seasonal employees with work during the off season, which shows great character. I know where I’ll be going to get a pool…. Eventually!

I met with Kris the owner of Escape 101, a new addition to the Danbury community.  Growing up in Bethel, Kris always had a serious lack of things to do.  You could either go to the mall, the movies or sit home and play video games.  Escape 101 provides a fresh new look at entertainment for all ages.  You have exactly 60 minutes to get out of the locked room.  Your team will need to solve puzzles to earn keys or combinations to further your escape. 
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Escaping from the rooms takes serious team work.  They have three rooms available with a fourth in production.  For those like myself with a competitive mindset they have two of the same room for head to head battles.  

​“I spend a lot of my time in NYC, and love their escape room scene.  There wasn’t anything like this in Danbury or even this part of Connecticut.”  explains Kris.  The father of one of the kids who’s trying to solve the Widow’s Room with their friends interjects to explain how great it is to have somewhere that his daughter is excited to go.  On top of having fun on a Saturday afternoon she is able to learn teamwork develop problem solving skills. 

​Escape 101 is something entirely new to do in Danbury.  The environment is friendly, welcoming, and we have an all-star staff that makes the whole escape experience fun and challenging.  In 6 months from now we’re looking to be a big part of the Danbury community.  We’re looking to establish Escape 101 as a great opportunity for team building and networking.  We’re constantly investing in new technology, new games, and developing new escape rooms.  

​Kris was enthusiastic about the opportunity for Escape 101 to become part of the Danbury Community. I definitely agree with him that there is nothing else like it in Danbury or the surrounding Connecticut area.  I’ll have to get a few friends together to do the head to head Escape Room soon!