A round-up of openings, closings, and other news about West Hartford businesses. 

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By Ronni Newton

It’s the Monday after Thanksgiving, and I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday!

I looked back at what I wrote in the introduction to this column the weekend after Thanksgiving last year, and the year before, because we’ve followed pretty much the same pattern the past few years – enjoying a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner at our daughter Katie’s and son-in-law Matt’s house and then leaving for Nantucket first thing Friday morning to visit Ted’s mom. Other than in 2020, we’ve been coming to Nantucket for the weekend after Thanksgiving for at least the past 15 years.

While the highlight of Millie’s time here is always running on the beach (off-season means off-leash most of the time), one of the traditions the rest of our family has enjoyed for many years is the Nantucket Christmas tree lighting on Main Street on the Friday after Thanksgiving. It’s a tradition that President Joe Biden’s family has also attended (nearly every year for about the past 40 years) and even when he was VP he and his family pretty much blended into the crowd. Back in 2013, we ran into him (almost literally, and Ted held the door for him) walking out of the Nantucket Pharmacy carrying a tray with cups of hot chocolate just before the ceremony began. Since 2021, however, getting to the tree lighting has meant navigating limited entry points and long security lines.

This year we got to town early and I was very glad to be able to fully participate in the tree lighting ceremony and carol sing! We were just a few rows back so we saw the president and first lady, too.

We have done quite a lot of eating over the past week, but not in restaurants. Ted and I did get some yummy takeout from Pokeworks on Tuesday night though!

While I have chosen to be positive and upbeat in the first part of this introduction, I’m going to take off my rose-colored glasses for a few moments here and step on my soapbox.

West Hartford tragically had another pedestrian fatality last week. I don’t yet have all of the details from the police investigation, but know that Anne Rapkin was walking her dog on Wednesday night when she was struck in the area of Sedgwick Road and Cornell Road at about 6:45 p.m. I arrived at the scene while the police were still fully engaged in their investigation (I spoke with the police chief, who was there), and reported the available details only AFTER the family had been notified. I had some closer-up photos of the scene, but out of respect did not publish those.

Everything about this incident is awful, tragic. But also horrible is the blaming that is taking place on social media. Unless you were there, or spoke to the driver of the vehicle or a witness, you don’t know what happened – whose “fault” it may have been. I don’t know all the details about what happened. I do know that a woman who was a very well-respected member of this community, who was a retired lawyer leading refugee resettlement activities for Trinity Episcopal Church, was walking her dog in her neighborhood and tragically lost her life. I know that it happened on a stretch of roadway I have walked and run along probably hundreds of times, and where my husband has probably walked, run, and crossed Sedgwick Road probably thousands of times. (He grew up on Castlewood Road, just a few houses down from Sedgwick, and walked to and from Duffy every day.)

I was also shocked to learn the day after the incident that although I didn’t know her full name, I had spoken with Anne Rapkin just a few hours before she died. I was in line late Wednesday afternoon waiting to mail a package at the LaSalle Road Post Office and a woman walking out of the post office stopped to speak with the woman in line in front of me. The woman walking out of the post office also recognized me and the three of us had a brief conversation. Anne Rapkin was lovely, and while she may have been 74, I would not refer to her as “elderly.”

I mentioned in a column a few weeks ago that something needs to change in people’s behavior, and on Wednesday afternoon, when I got home from the Center, I remarked that on the way home I had two pedestrians step out in front of my car (one was in a crosswalk where they were crossing even though the walk sign had been red for quite some time and I had a light that had been green for quite some time), and the other person was just strolling across the middle of LaSalle Road paying no attention whatsoever. Also on that same 1-mile trip home from the Center, I saw a driver run a red light (it was red for some time), and another driver pull out of a side street onto South Main, right into traffic, without even slowing. Luckily the driver of the car in front of me was able to react in time, as were the other drivers in the area.

The Town of West Hartford launched a Vision Zero initiative almost two years ago, following a string of tragic incidents in late 2022. It’s a 10-year plan, and while some safety improvements have been implemented, there are many long-term components to the plan and the intent is to completely eliminate serious and fatal traffic incidents by 2033. Updating the wattage of the street lights in what has been identified as the “High Injury Network” was already part of the plan.

We all need to remain alert and engaged when we are driving – and also when we are walking, or biking, or running. And education is also part of the Vision Zero initiative. I have an assortment of day-glo jackets and shirts that I wear for running (and I don’t run in the dark mostly because I don’t feel like I can see well enough not to trip), but I put on my black down jacket on Wednesday night when I was heading to the scene of the tragedy. Before I walked out the door I realized that wearing a dark jacket, along with dark jeans and my black boots, was not smart so I clipped on some blinky lights.

Please try to think about doing your part to keep the community safe, and please think before assigning blame from behind your keyboard. Tragedies like what happened on Wednesday night affect many people and their families, and assigning blame without knowing the circumstances doesn’t help.

At this time of year, especially, let’s try to be thankful for each other, for our family and friends and community, and be thoughtful in our actions and do our part to keep each other safe.

If you are a long term, regular advertiser on We-Ha.com and have a 60 to 75 word submission for a future Business Buzz please send to Bob Carr at [email protected]. You can also contact Bob if you are interested in becoming a sponsor of a section of the site.

If you have information to share about local businesses, please provide details in the comments or email Ronni Newton at [email protected].

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Here’s this week’s Buzz:

• I’ve been reporting on the evolution of New Park Brewing since long before they opened their doors at 485 New Park Avenue in March 2017, ever since I first sampled one of their brews (crafted by Alex Dee in his home kitchen) at a tasting after a Wednesday night fun run at Fleet Feet in the summer of 2015. (I distinctly remember that my daughter had come on the run with me but couldn’t sample the beer because she wasn’t yet 21.) They have come a long, long way from those early days, and West Hartford’s first craft brewery has expanded their operations and offerings and they are continuing to expand even further. The business was founded by West Hartford residents John Doyle and Tom Atkins, along with Dee, who left a PhD program in biomedical science after falling in love with the brewing industry. Dee, who is still the head brewer, was the first to devote his career full-time to New Park Brewing, but over the past few years Doyle and Atkins – who both previously had financial services careers – became full-time as well. In fact, New Park now has 12 full-timers, and 20 part-time employees. They started with a 7-barrel system that allowed them to brew about 400-500 barrels a year, and now have 15 15-barrel fermenters with eight more on the way, plus 12 7-barrel fermenters. They current capacity has been 3,000 barrels a year, and over the next year with the new fermenters that will grow to 4,000-5,000 barrels a year. the beer is served in the tap room, but distribution which has now expanded to southern Connecticut is now the largest part of the operation, Doyle said. They’ve taken over additional space at 485 New Park as well, and are in the process of expanding into another 2,000 square feet that will be used for the new fermenters and storage. In addition to the tap room, the Barrel Room was added a few years ago, and more recently they opened the Green Room – which just recently has been connected to the original tap room and can serve as overflow during regular hours, but also separated (with a cool vintage barn door) for use as private event space, including for live music. “We’re growing up,” Doyle said when I visited last week. Large groups can reserve a table in the tap room – or in the Green Room if it’s not otherwise being used, Atkins said. They host a lot of fundraisers for the town’s schools, sports teams, and other organizations, . Doyle said recently they have had a Hall football and Conard drama fundraisers as well as Safe Grad fundraisers for both schools, fundraisers for the high school music program European trips, for Ben Bronz and the Intensive Education Academy, for ConnectiKids, for CAND-aid (where bikes were built for needy children), and a “Pints for the PICU” fundraiser, as well as weddings, showers, etc. They also have ticketed live music shows in the Green Room, and last week hosted the two-year anniversary of the Expressions Songwriter Series. New Park has just launched a “$20 for 20 wings” deal in the Green Room where they will be broadcasting Sunday football games. There’s no TV in the tap room, so this way there will be something for everyone, they said! And that “something” also includes an expanded food menu prepared by chef Eddie Elinburg, who runs Patty’s – New Park’s in-house kitchen, named for and inspired for Doyle’s mother, whose signature is replicated on a neon sign that hangs over the kitchen. The expanded food menu includes seasonal salads and pizzas with fresh and locally-sourced ingredients, three kinds of French fries, four kinds of wings, and a turkey BLT. In addition to the expansion and perfecting of the beer brewing, which includes the new Tasman IPA (an immediate hit with the Newton family), Rebecca Ryder has launched the cocktail program at New Park, which features seven custom house cocktails (and eight different kinds of margaritas). They’ve also started canning a delicious and very flavorful (and gluten-free) Elmwood hard cider, in addition to the drier barrel-aged cider they already had. The event side of the business has grown as well, and one of New Park’s part-time employees keeps it streamlined from the customer perspective so they get back to people quickly (the average response time is 6.2 hours, Doyle said!), and put together a package that can include food from Patty’s or from the Salt & Pepper food truck (owners Power Minor and Sean Farrell use New Park as their prep kitchen) or a combination. They partner with West Hartford-based Missing Link Wines for the wine served at the brewery, and also for delivery. Other employees with key roles in the operation include Michael Day (music program), Christine Bighinatti (events), Sara Dee, and Karina Stanecki (packaging and private events) – and there are many others who are  important in the New Park community. “We’ve also added a killer happy hour,” said Atkins, which runs from 4-6 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday. New Park Brewing is open Tuesday through Sunday, and hours and other information can be found on their website. See the end of the column for many more photos, including of the menus and the cool merchandise that Ted and I tested out on our beach walk with Millie!

 

• Today is Cyber Monday, which follows Black Friday and Small Business Saturday, and precedes Giving Tuesday, which is tomorrow. There are many, many local charities that are hoping to receive a bump in donations on Giving Tuesday, and I’ll be volunteering my time as one of the media bartenders at the annual Connecticut Brain Tumor Alliance fundraiser at Max Downtown! I’d love to serve you a drink, and raise some money for the CTBTA, so please come by if you can!

• I saw the door open while driving by early last week and stopped in to see the progress at Gveenah, the Mediterranean restaurant that is opening in the former Black Bamboo space at 844 Farmington Avenue (Black Bamboo moved a few blocks east to 766 Farmington Avenue), and was happy to get a chance to chat with owner Roi Graber. He said they would be ready to open in about three weeks (now it should be closer to two weeks since that was almost a week ago). Gveenah will truly be a fusion of Mediterranean cuisines – Italian, Greek, Turkish, Israeli, etc. – and Graber, who left Israel after the war started in 2023, said previously that there is truly nothing locally to which it can be compared.

• Work is underway at 282 Park Road, where the former Edible Arrangements space is being transformed into ChoccoDiva! When driving by last Tuesday I noticed that the Edible Arrangements sign was down and stopped to take a photo and met the owner’s husband. He said they plan to open in early 2025, definitely before Easter. While having a brick and mortar location will be new, ChoccoDiva has been has been creating “confections for all occasions” for quite some time. Follow them on Instagram (@choccodiva) for updates and to see photos of those confections!

• I got my fresh turkey for Thanksgiving at Hall’s Market (I get my turkey at Hall’s every year and the quality is always excellent) and while picking it up on Tuesday morning I checked on the progress of Park Lane Pizza right next door. No one was there to talk to at the time, and while the exterior siding appears to be complete, as does the dining room, the sign on the South Quaker Lane sign is still broken. I think there’s one extra storage pod in the parking lot. In other words … they aren’t open by the end of November, but there seems to be some progress, and I will keep following.

• It’s looking festive all throughout town. I took this photo of the tree in Blue Back Square in the courtyard between
  Cheesecake Factory and the soon-to-open Coracora (no update on that yet). The tree will officially be lit on Thursday night during the annual Holiday Stroll, which will take place from 5-8 p.m. The annual New England-style festival will include music, visits with Santa, food, and other family-friendly activities. Also check out the windows that many of the West Hartford Center and Blue Back Square businesses have decorated for the holidays. The photo below was sent to me by Maurice Kaoud of their beautiful window display! Full details about the Holiday Stroll can be found here.

• West Hartford Fellowship Housing (WHFH) is excited to announce the appointment of Sandra Hawes as the new Director of Community Engagement. With over two decades of experience in the senior housing sector, Sandra brings a proven track record in marketing, fundraising, and customer relations to the organization. In her most recent role as Director of Marketing & Branding at Andrus on Hudson in Hastings-on-Hudson, NY, Hawes led comprehensive market analysis initiatives that optimized brand visibility and customer engagement. Her strategic oversight of traditional and digital marketing efforts, including website and social media management, has significantly increased brand awareness. Notably, she successfully executed a rebranding initiative that revitalized the organization’s identity and market positioning. Hawes will concentrate her efforts on fund development, marketing, and enhancing resident life through new programs and services. “Sandra’s expertise within the senior housing sector aligns perfectly with our mission at WHFH,” said Mark Garilli, Chief Executive Officer of WHFH. “We are confident that her innovative approach and extensive experience will not only enhance our outreach and service to the community, but this new role will also support our growth through this new development and beyond.” Hawes has a degree in business administration and foreign language from Stonehill College and previously worked at other senior housing communities in the area. WHFH is in the midst of a phased redevelopment and expansion which will ultimately create close to 100 additional units of affordable housing for the community.

• The West Hartford Rotary Club, in conjunction with the Liberty Bank Foundation, has just made a large donation to the Town that Cares – West Hartford Food Pantry. On Nov. 26, they presented a check for $7,500. Liberty Bank provided matching funds with Rotary, that will address food insecurities in West Hartford. Pictured in the photo are (back row from left to right): Officer Stebbins, WHPD – Rotary; Josh Amieda (Liberty Bank); Kyle Egress (WH Rotary); Suzanne Oslander (WH Food Pantry); Patrice Taffe (WH Rotary); Eileen Rau (WH Rotary). Front row (from left to right): Mayor Shari Cantor; and Diane Barber (WH Rotary President).

• Congratulations to West Hartford resident April May Webb, who was the winner last week of the 13th annual Sarah Vaughan International Jazz Vocal Competition, part of NJPAC’s TD James Moody Jazz Festival at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC). Hosted by WBGO Radio’s Sheila Anderson,“The SASSY Awards” presented the Top Five Finalists on the iconic NJPAC stage in front of a live audience and a distinguished panel of judges: NEA Jazz Master and four-time GRAMMY-winning drummer, producer, and educator Terri Lyne Carrington, GRAMMY-winning pianist and Director of Jazz Studies at William Patterson University Bill Charlap, powerhouse GRAMMY-winning vocalist Lisa Fischer, NJPAC’s Jazz Advisor and multi-GRAMMY-winning bassist Christian McBride, and acclaimed singer-songwriter Madeleine Peyroux. Pulled from 220+ entrants from 21 different countries, these gifted young singers represent the next generation of great jazz vocalists. Ultimately, it was April May who received the top honor and a $5,000 cash award. April May is originally from Kansas but currently calls Connecticut home. A musician, composer, educator, and co-founder of the jazz ensemble Sounds of A&R, she is a 2023 Chamber Music America Grant recipient and 2023 Jazz Road Artist, and has toured with jazz legends such as Thelonious Sphere Monk III and was selected by NEA Jazz Master Dee Dee Bridgewater as a Woodshed Network recipient. She also took center stage in internationally acclaimed artist Tschabalala Self’s New York play Sounding Board. April May made history as the first black woman to graduate from the William Paterson University Jazz Educationprogram. Audiences can catch her performing at Dizzy’s Coca-Cola Club at Jazz at Lincoln Center in Manhattan this Spring 2025.

• Click here to listen to the latest installment of the “On the Scene” podcast, where On The Scene hosts Tom Hickey and Bob Carr talk with Barbara Karsky and Karen Herbert of the BK& Co. about their West Hartford Center store, virtual styling which was implemented during the pandemic but has become a mainstay, and more. Podcasts can also be found at the bottom of the home page on the revamped We-Ha.com website!

• ICYMI, a West Hartford couple has launched a new business offering coaching and other support services for neurodivergent children and their families. Read all about K & M Literacy LLC here.

Remember, if you have any business news to share, add it in the comments section below or email Ronni Newton at [email protected].

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