Frequently Asked Questions
What’s so unique about New Haven Direct Connect?
You may be able to buy certain items online and have them shipped to you, but New Haven Direct Connect is the ONLY service that allows you to build your own grocery basket from all of our beloved New Haven area food brands, including:
- Liuzzi Cheese
- Apicella’s Bakery
- Hummel Bros. Meats
- Lamberti’s Sausage
- Naploi Foods
- Lucibello’s Bakery
- Durante’s Fresh Pasta
- Blackie’s Hot Pepper Relish
- Foxon Park Beverages
- Claire’s Corner Copia
- Ferraro’s Meats
- Grand Apizza
- Petonito’s Bakery
And, we’re adding more partners all the time! Combining these items together makes shipping more efficient for you as well versus paying to express ship a single item.
Where do you ship?
We’re proud to say we’ve been shipping product for over 10 months to all of the lower 48 states. If you live in Alaska or Hawaii, send us a note and we can calculate shipping for you.
Why do you have a $75 minimum order (before shipping & handling)?
As we stated in the question above, there is a shipping and packaging efficiency that is hit once certain number of items are in an order. This $75 order level represents our best calculation as to where that efficiency currently is. If you want to try us out and have a hard time meeting this minimum, split your order with a friend, neighbor or relative!
Do you send me a tracking number for my order?
Yes. Once your order has shipped, you will receive an email confirming shipment and listing the package tracking number. Please be sure to CHECK YOUR SPAM FOLDER if you don’t see your email.
When does my order need to be in?
We are still perfecting our operational model, but we are continuously working. Along the top of our Home Page you can see when your order needs to be in and when it will deliver. A typical, non-holiday week should work like this:
- If we receive your order by Saturday night at 11:59 PM EDT it will be batched into our shopping list on Sunday for Monday pickup from our partners.
- These orders will ship out on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, for delivery to you on Thursdays and Fridays
- Orders received after Saturday at 11:59 PM EDT will be a part of the following week’s Sunday batch and Monday shopping and will ship out the following Tuesday and Wednesday.
- Your longest wait time would be if your order came in at, for example, 1:00 AM EDT on Sunday, June 4. That order would be batched and be part of our Monday, June 12 shopping and Tuesday/Wednesday June 13/14 shipments. You would receive this order on June 15 or 16. This is the longest, worst-case scenario. In most cases, your wait time is far shorter.
What do I do if I have a problem with my order?
Contact New Haven Direct Connect for any problems at support@newhavendirectconnect.com or 1-877-219-5150. Please do not contact any of our manufacturer partners, we will handle any issues with your order.
What if the Gel Packs leak?
The Gel Packs will sweat and there should be some moisture on them when you open your box. If you see a ruptured Gel Pack and gel has gotten outside of the plastic, please examine whether it is on any food direcly or just on the packaging. THE GEL IS NON-TOXIC and can be wiped or rinsed off. If the Gel is only on packaging, simple dlean it off and you can continue to use the products. If the Gel has somehow gotten inside of the packaging and is actually on the food items, please contact us.
I still live in the Northeast, but I have relatives who can’t get these items – can I send them as a gift?
Absolutely! Just list your address as the billing address and the person you are sending the gift to as the delivery address. You can send a single delivery or a VIP subscription as a gift! We’ll even enclose a card with your personal message.
How do you package and ship my order?
We use 200lb corrugated cardboard boxes for added strength. The box contains an insulated liner inside it to contain the frozen or chilled items in your order. Inside the envelope toward the bottom will be one or more frozen gel packs to keep the chilled items cool. Toward the top of the insulated envelope you will find your dry items and items that do not require chilled shipment, such as jarred items. These will typically be bubble wrapped for protection.
If you order soda, that ships in its own specially designed carton (soda is heavy at 32 lbs) and ships UPS Ground at a flat rate of $23.99/case.
What discounts do you offer?
Just join our New Haven Direct Connect VIP Club! Most of our products feature a Subscribe & Save option when adding to cart. A monthly subscription entitles you to 5% off each subscribed product as long as you spend at least $75 on those items! We’ll ship them automatically to you each month and charge your card on file.
Is there a referral discount?
Yes! Refer your friends and family to New Haven Direct Connect, and you can each save 5%. Just go to our home page toward the bottom and click the link to our referral form. Enter your name and contact information (email and phone) and the contact information (email and phone) of the person you are referring. We will send them a 5% discount code for their first order. Once they order, we’ll also send you a 5% discount code off your next order with us! Discounts cannot be combined and expire in 90 days.
I live locally in the Northeast, but still too far from New Haven. Do you delivery locally?
Yes! We deliver to CT, all New England states and the Tri-state area in typically one day! Shipping also typcially costs much less for these close shipments.
DO YOU SELL GIFT CARDS?
We do, but we don’t call them Gift Cards. They are called Store Credit Coupon Codes. They work just like Gift Cards- you can buy them in $75, $100, $150 or $200 denominations and either download and print them, or we will email them with a gift message to whoever you intend to receive the gift. You’ll instantly receive a Unique Store Credit Code for the value you have purchased. Guard it carefully, and treat it like cash. When you or your gift recipient makes a purchase, they simply enter the code in the Coupon Code field at checkout, and the amount will be deducted. Be sure the email entered when redeeming a Store Credit Coupon Code is the same as that which was used when it was purchased for you. The amount can be used for goods we sell, shipping, handling and tax. If you have to pay sales tax, the amount will be reserved for the tax on the amount you redeem. Use all of part of your Store Credit Coupon Code. If your purchase is less than your Store Credit Coupon Code is worth, we will store the excess balance. Please see our Store Credit Coupon Code Terms & Conditions and Rules of Use on this site.
How do I see my Store Credit Coupon Code Balance If I Didn’t Spend The Entire Amount?
Go to the upper right hand corner of the Home Page and create an account. Then you can log on and select “Coupons” to see your balance.
My Store Credit Coupon Code isn’t redeeming.
The email address used when the Store Credit Coupon Code was purchased for the recipient muct match the email you enter when you redeem the Store Credit Coupon Code. This is another security measure that we use to ensure that your unique Store Credit Coupon Code can only be redeemed by you. If you are by chance logged in to another account with a different email associated with it, the Store Credit Coupon Code will note redeem until you log out. To redeem the Store Credit Coupon Code, just log out and under the purchaser information in the Cart, be sure to use the email address that was used for the Store Credit Coupon Code recipient when it was purchased. Once you enter the same email, the Store Credit Coupon Code will redeem. You do not have to be looged into an account to do so. If you have completed this and the Store Credit Coupon Code still does not redeem, please send us an email at support@newhavendirectconnect.com.
What if I have a subscription plan, but need to change my source of payment?
Just contact New Haven Direct Connect at support@newhavendirectconnect.com or 1-877-219-5150 and we will change your type of payment. Please allow at least 5 days for this modification.
I’m not comfortable ordering on the computer, can I call?
You sure can! Just call us at 1-877-219-5150 and one of our Customer Concierges will gladly and securely take your order for you.
What if I don’t see one of my favorite items?
We want to hear from you! There is an area on our website under the “Contact Us” section, where we’d like to hear your suggestions. While we can’t carry everything, we do plan on expanding to carry frequently requested items.
What if an item I order is out of stock?
While we work with our suppliers to ensure they have adequate stock and we also communicate our order expectations well before we go to pick up items from them, there may be an occasional situation where we have an out of stock item you purchased. There are two ways to handle this:
- We can issue a refund for the item.
- You authorize us to make a “next closest item” substitution on your order form. In this case if for example “Stuffed Broccoli Bread” is out of stock, we will substitute a “Stuffed Spinach Bread”. You need to opt-in to this substitution when you order.
What if I have a big order- can I spend more than $75?
Sure! You can order as much of the food you love as you like. If the order is large, we may ship it in multiple boxes, but you will know that when we send you your shipment confirmation.
Do you sell Gift Cards?
Yes! We do in $75 and $100 denominations. Order a gift card and in the “Order Notes” tell us where to emal it (if not to you) and who it’s for. Within 48 hours we will generate a Unique Gift Card Code and email it. Use the code like cash at checkout. Please spend the entire amount when you redeem your Gift Card Code because we cannot track balances. Our Gift Card Codes are not re-loadable, but you can just purchase another when you need to.
Who are you owned by?
We’re privately held. A small company started by a New Haven native, Steve Thomas, in the greater New Haven area. Steve has been a marketing executive for some very big food companies including Subway Restaurants and Edible Arrangements. But, he is a quality food lover above all else, and is a hands-on owner who oversees all of the operations for New Haven Direct Connect.
Do you ever have busy periods?
We are a new business, but predictably the holiday periods will be busier as people tend to celebrate with foods they love. These include the Easter, Thanksgiving and the Christmas holidays and our order cut off may be earlier than is typical, so we do not overbook capacity. If this happens, we will post it on our website, our Facebook Page and email our customers so you are aware of these extended order lead times ahead of time.
A lot of your products are Italian in nature. Your last name is Thomas? That’s not Italian!
Steve Thomas’ original name was Tommassi. Two generations ago, Steve’s grandfather and his brothers were students in a catholic school in the New Haven area. Some of the nuns were German, and just could not pronounce “Tommassi”, and so they shortened it to “Thomas”. This was especially prominent with my Grandfather, Ralph. After several years of going by “Thomas”, Ralph and one of his brothers officially changed the name. Other brothers kept the Tommassi last name and today, Steve has second cousins that are Tommassis. That said, the Italian-American traditions most families of that nationality enjoy, were also enjoyed by all of the Thomases.
Why are so many of your products Italian?
Because that is the food we are closest to and because those are a lot of the foods that we heard people who moved away from the Northeast missed the most. We do carry some non-Italian items, like most meats from Hummel’s, and some of our cheeses from Liuzzi, and plan on expanding in the future.
What types of payment do you take?
We accept all major credit cards, Apple Pay and PayPal.
What is in Shipping & Handling
We are very transparent that shipping is one of our biggest costs. We typically use UPS Second Day Air to ensure freshness. The nature of express shipping, usually by cargo jet, is that it is expensive. Today’s fuel costs contribute to these high costs. Our shipping rates are not marked up, we calculate the gross weight of your package including the packaging and then pass along the costs. Handling includes the cost of the refrigerated packaging elements we use to keep products fresh.
Do I have to pay CT Sales Tax?
Only if your order is going to CT. Because our business is based in CT, we must collect sales tax and pay it to the State of CT for orders delivered here. Every order total being delivered to CT includes CT Sales Tax (currently 6.35% on the total amount of the order).
What if I want to add to or change my VIP Subscription items?
Just log into your account and add the items you wish. As long as the total remains at $75 or above, you will still qualify for the discount. If we don’t get your changes in time to catch the next order, the following order will reflect your changes.
What should I do with my products when I get my box?
Open your box and immediately refrigerate (or freeze) the items in the insulated envelope. Fresh pasta is intended to be eaten within 5 days of delivery. You do not need to refrigerate Italian cookies or pastries, but many people prefer them cold. Your canned, jarred and dry goods can go in your pantry or on your shelves where you typically store such items. Most meats and cheeses can be frozen and thawed as needed.
It is normal and expected for the frozen gel packs to be thawed by the time your box delivers. There may be some moisture from condensation on the gel packs too. Your products should be cold to the touch when delivered.
Can I freeze any of your products?
Yes, most of our products can be frozen.
