A round-up of openings, closings, and other news about West Hartford businesses.
By Ronni Newton
What a difference a week makes!
The daffodils along my driveway are always early bloomers, but seem to be ahead of schedule this year. Photo credit: Ronni Newton
Just last weekend we were shivering as temperatures struggled to climb above zero. This weekend I walked the dog without even wearing a coat. People were strolling around West Hartford Center on Saturday afternoon eating ice cream cones and there were tons of runners on the sidewalks. A friend who lives in Stonington posted a photo on Facebook of crocuses in bloom, and my own daffodils seem to have survived the arctic blast unscathed and appear convinced that spring is on its way.
Perhaps I owe an apology to the groundhog for doubting his wisdom, but then again I don’t want to jinx it.
No matter the weather, there always seems to be plenty of business news in West Hartford!
If you have tips about businesses opening or closing, or doing something worth sharing, please provide that information in the comments or email Ronni Newton at [email protected].
Here’s this week’s Buzz:
The ‘for rent’ sign in the window of the soon-to-close Chico’s store should disappear now that Coldwell Banker has signed a lease for the space. Photo credit: Ronni Newton
- We announced last month that Chico’s would be closing at the end of February when the lease expired, but that storefront at the very visible corner of Farmington Avenue and Dale Street will not remain vacant for long! Coldwell Banker Sales Manager Rosemary Gunning announced Friday that the company just signed a lease to move its offices from 36 LaSalle Rd. to take over the Chico’s space at 992 Farmington Ave. “We think that’s the best location in the Center,” Gunning said. She said that build-out will take about two or three months. “Needless to say we are extremely pleased to be moving to such a high visibility location in West Hartford Center,” said Gunning. Stay tuned for news coming very soon about the business that is planning to move into Coldwell Banker’s spot. (Yes, that’s a tease, but it can’t be announced until it’s official!)
- The Prospect Café is continuing with it menu revamp, and as of Feb. 21 is now offering Sunday brunch from 10:30 a.m. – 2 p.m., with some new takes on traditional brunch favorites. Menu offerings include Eggs Benedict with a choice of sides like salmon pastrami and slow garlic-thyme roasted tomato with kale-basil pesto and pecorino romano, egg sandwiches, omelets, Belgian waffles, carnitas, and New England clam chowder. See the full menu in PDF form below.
- Hartford Baking Company will join forces with Back East Brewing (if you are a carb-lover, this sounds like a match made in heaven) for Breads and Brews II. The event, scheduled for March 9 at Back East’s tasting room (1296 Blue Hills Ave., Bloomfield), includes three hours of food (like sauerbraten, frikadellen, cheddar ale soup, and German potato salad), and unlimited beer sampling. Back East will be debuting a new beer, too. More details are available on Hartford Baking Company’s Facebook page.
- Kitchen & Bath Design + Construction has announced in a news release that Owner Lorey Cavanaugh, a veteran of the remodeling industry, will offer two interactive seminars through the adult continuing education programs of West Hartford and Farmington. The “Kitchen Remodeling Guidelines and Trends” seminars will be held on Thursday evenings, March 3 and 10, and the “Bathroom Planning Guidelines” seminar is Thursday, March 17, 2016. All seminars are from 7 – 9 p.m. at the KBDC showroom located at 13 Sedgwick Rd, West Hartford, and offer a “forum to get their remodeling questions answered and experience first-hand cabinetry material, stone and tile options, as well as view images of kitchen and bath projects which incorporate these materials and current trends such as open shelving, glass tile, reclaimed wood, LED lighting, and cabinetry accessories.” To register for either of these seminars, contact the continuing education department of West Hartford, 860-561-6900, or Farmington, 860-673-8263.
- Raymour & Flanagan will be holding “St. Patrick’s Day of Health Awareness” on Saturday, March 19, 2016, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. to benefit the Ron Foley Pancreatic Cancer Foundation. Raymour & Flanagan is located at 490 New Park Ave., West Hartford. For details on how to participate, see the PDF below.
- A few people have recently asked what “ICYMI” means. It means “in case you missed it” and I usually use the term when there has been a business story published earlier in the week that I want to make sure readers have seen. So, ICYMI the news earlier in the week, the Lyn Evans store is back open, and is now an outlet store. According to management, the first few days have already been a resounding success. For details, click here for the story.
- Also ICYMI, there has been a new business that has expressed serious interest in the UConn West Hartford campus. Click here to read the story about Weiming, an international private school based in China that would like to open its first U.S. campus in West Hartford.
- Connecticut Magazine published its list of “Simply the Best Pizza in Connecticut: Our Picks and Yours” last week, and not surprisingly there were a few West Hartford places that made the cut. Rizzuto’s was listed among “Best of the Rest,” and Joey’s was listed among “Reader’s Picks.” Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletana‘s New Haven location received “Legend” status, but since we have a satellite location here, we’ll count that one, too!
- Amenta Emma Architects has its headquarters in Hartford, but principals Anthony Amenta and Robert Emma are West Hartford residents. Three of the company’s projects recently received top awards at the ninth annual IIDA New England Design Awards ceremony held in Boston on Feb. 11. The CREC Discovery Academy design was named “Best in Connecticut,” Xylem was named “Best Office Design,” and Reproductive Medicine Associates of CT earned “Best in Healthcare” honors.
For more information about the company, click here. - Congratulations to Tyler Anderson a recently-announced semifinalist for the James Beard Award in the category of “Best Chef – Northeast.” Anderson, currently the chef/owner of Millwright’s in Simsbury, will be one of the partners in the Cook and the Bear, scheduled to open in West Hartford’s Blue Back Square this summer.
- A sure sign of spring: Rita’s has reopened! According to Rita’s Facebook page, the Elmwood ice cream parlor ended its winter hibernation on Friday, Feb. 19, and is serving up frozen custard and other favorite sweet treats from 12-9 daily.
Remember, if you have any business news to share, remember to add it in the comments section below or email Ronni Newton at [email protected].
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Too bad that the Chico’s space will be a realtor. I guess better it is rented, but sad that such a prominent space won’t be a retail space. We have fewer and fewer “browsing” shops, more and more mortgage/bank/realtor storefronts, many restaurants (can’t browse there), hair salons (ditto), a surfeit of jewelers…I know the landlords need to fill their spaces, but this is not the mix the Center needs.
I have heard radio commercials for Value Office Furniture on Park Road saying the owner is retiring and everything must go.
I completely agree with the first poster – what a disappointment to see prime shopping space taken up by a realtor. That’s not something that’s going to bring people to the center. I wish it was a family friendly shop/activity center of some sort or a high quality refurbished furniture shop.
A few thoughts / questions ….
(1) Does anyone know what is coming to the old Coldwell Banker space? I am hoping it is the Hartford Baking Company.
(2) There seems to be a lot of activity on the fist floor of the new (and beautiful) building at 11 South Main – any ideas?
(3) Why can’t the new landlords of the buildings on LaSalle clean up the vacant storefront windows – there are still businesses trying to succeed there and that strip is starting to look like a third world country
(4) Is Eddie Bauer confirmed to come to Blue Back – looks like they are advertising for a store manager on line.
(5) Happy Lynn Evans re-opened with a different format (and that it is working)- great idea for them to try a different approach
(6) Does the merchant’s association every reach out to companies we would like to see in the center? Would sure like to see a Hallmark Paper Store and a Vineyard Vines …. think both would do great.
(7) Parking, parking, parking – How about turning one side of Farmington Ave in the center into angled parking like on LaSalle – more spaces, looks elegant, would slow down traffic through the center – win, win, win!