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

Business Buzz is sponsored by NBT Bank, and we are very thankful for their support!

By Ronni Newton

It’s mid-January – officially what I would call the doldrums of winter.

Despite my disdain for the winter season, I do usually manage to get myself out the door for a morning run a few times a week, even if it’s freezing cold and blustery. On Monday morning – which was cold and windy – I opted for an indoor strength workout, and while doing kettlebell swings I suddenly felt severe pain in an area of my lower back that I have hurt in the past. About 30 minutes later, when my physical therapist daughter was dropping off her son for me and Ted to watch for a short time, I was barely able to get out of my chair. Katie didn’t take “no” for an answer and insisted it was high time I see a PT (she even made me an appointment with one of her colleagues for the next morning) since this is not the first time I have had back pain.

I’m very glad that I did go see Steph at PTSMC first thing the next morning, since I was pretty much unable to bend over enough to put my shoes and socks on, and no sitting, standing, or lying down position was comfortable. After following her advice and doing the exercises she gave me, within a day I felt much better. I’ve continued to comport myself as Steph instructed – doing my exercises and not lifting weights or running (she said walking is okay) – and this was a good reminder of how effective physical therapy can be, not just for acute injuries but also for advice that can help avoid injury, including ergonomics. As I write this on Sunday afternoon, I am cognizant of keeping proper posture at my desk, and am trying to keep my feet in a position so that they are flat on the ground.

No dining out in a West Hartford restaurant this week, but I did have a great coffee from Alvarium during the Elmwood Business Association meeting at GastroPark (love the new seating there), and Ted and I got some yummy takeout from Pick & Mix on Friday night.

My sister and her boyfriend got us tickets (great seats) to the Wolfpack game on Saturday night, which was also a tribute to the Whalers and celebration of 50 years of hockey in Hartford. Although the Wolfpack lost, it was still a fun night that began with beers at Vaughan’s Public House on Pratt Street.

I’ve gotten a few more comments submitted this week that readers would like posted to articles on the site. Please, please, please use your full name. We can’t post comments without it – even if they are positive comments.

Also, winter sports are in full swing. We can’t get to every game – or even every sport – but we do welcome submitted articles, or even just a photo and some brief details about the results of a game or meet. It’s a great option to highlight our high school athletes and/or team success. Email info to me at [email protected].

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:

• The New England Coffee Guy has come to town, and is very excited to have his new opportunity for a permanent home. Jason Ostrout, aka the New England Coffee Guy, took over the cafe operations at WeHa Brewing & Roasting (141 Shield Street) as of Jan. 1, 2025. “For the last two-and-a-half to three years I’ve been operating a mobile espresso cart,” Ostrout, who lives in New Britain, said over coffee at the cafe last week. He’s done a few events in town, including at West Hartford Town Hall (I saw him at the Journey Home “80s Prom” back in the spring) and has brought his car to weddings and for teacher and staff appreciation events, but he was hoping one day to have a brick and mortar location. “Cody [McCormick, owner of WeHa Brewing & Roasting] reached out to me in November and asked if I was interested in taking over the cafe part of the business,” Ostrout said. He already knew, and loved, the aesthetic of the Shield Street space, and is very grateful for the opportunity. As they get up and running, what’s being called “The Cafe by New England Coffee Guy” at WeHa Brewing & Roasting will be open Friday through Sunday, from  8 a.m. to 4 p.m., but he plans to soon be open seven days a week – including a salon industry day on Monday, prompted by his wife, Lisa, who is a hairdresser and also helping out at the cafe. They will have some overlap with the brewery as well, so guests will be able to have a choice of coffee and/or beer – as well as the expanded cocktail menu that WeHa Brewing & Roasting will be offering once their new liquor permit is finalized. A collaboration on some coffee-forward cocktails may be in the future as well, Ostrout said. The cafe will also be hosting live music, and spoken word events, and he hopes to connect with local school drama departments to host performances. “We are bringing back that 90s cafe feel,” Ostrout said. As for food, there’s the menu from Mama Nena that’s available (hours, which vary by the day, can be found here) some of the time, including for brunch on the weekends beginning at 10:30 a.m., and Ostrout said he will be partnering with some local bakeries for some sweet as well as savory items to offer along with coffee drinks, teas, chai lattes, and refreshers that are on the cafe menu. WeHa Brewing & Roasting’s coffees will be among the offerings (a more extensive variety of the WeHa Roasting beans will continue to be for sale online), amd the cafe will also feature beans from other local roasters like Woodbridge-based Sleeping Giant, and teas from New Hampshire-based 27 Teas. “I love coffee shops, and I love roasters,” said Ostrout, adding that guests are welcome to bring their own mugs, which can be filled at the cafe at a discounted price. The Cafe by New England Coffee Guy will have a grand opening on Saturday, Feb. 15, from 9 a.m. to noon, with a live DJ and a variety of music each hour, and will have an acoustic celebration on Sunday, Feb. 16. They also plan to host events with other local operations, including artists. “It’s like a collective business,” Ostrout said of the collaborations. “There’s something for everybody,” he said, adding that he is very much looking forward to becoming part of the West Hartford community.

• There’s quite a bit of progress on the build-out of The Friendly Toast, and I was able to get an update and sneak peek last week from the owner as well as the construction company working on the 36 LaSalle Road space. “The Friendly Toast is thrilled to join the West Hartford community. We have had our eyes on Connecticut for a while and feel that we will bring a wonderful addition to the growing West Hartford food scene. Whether you’ll stop in to pick up takeout on your way to work, or join us for a weekend brunch with friends, we cannot wait to meet the community and serve you high quality, delicious, scratch-made meals,” Eric Goodwin, co-owner of The Friendly Toast, told We-Ha.com in an email. “We cannot wait to expand into Connecticut for our 14th Friendly Toast location. We are a small but mighty independent restaurant group, and I think the West Hartford community is the perfect fit for us. We offer something for everyone, from classic breakfasts to brunch appetizers, signature mimosa flights to rotating mocktail specials. We can’t wait to open our doors and for Connecticut to get to know us!” added Madelyn Dignam, director of Marketing for The Friendly Toast. And according to a spokesperson from Construx Co., the Farmington-based construction company that is doing the build-out (and has been involved in many other projects in West Hartford, including IVX at Bishop’s Corner, Aroma Spa, Verogy, and installation of the solar panels at Town Hall), “the restaurant is due to be opened in late spring.”

• I received a response to my request for details regarding the opening of Just Salad in Bishops Corner. “The location is tentatively slated to open in the next month,” said spokesperson Nicole Natoli in an email last week.

• Fine Fettle is making progress on their build-out of 1232 Farmington Avenue. Owner Ben Zachs shared this photo of the sign that was installed last week. In late December, he said they were hoping to open in mid to late March.

• Congratulations to West Hartford-based Lux Bond & Green on their plans for expansion! “As the Marketing Director at Lux Bond & Green, I’m thrilled to share that our 127-year-old family-owned luxury jeweler is expanding to downtown Mystic, Connecticut. Our new location in the former Bank Street Book Store buildings at 49-53 West Main Street is an exciting milestone as we bring our legacy of craftsmanship and exceptional service to one of New England’s most iconic shoreline communities,” Sarah Karp Ward said in an email regarding the announcement that was released on Friday. John Green, fourth-generation family owner of the business, said,“The Mystic / Groton / Stonington area has been rapidly growing with exciting new restaurants, shops, hotels, and attractions. Our family looks forward to collaborating closely with the community to enhance the already exceptional experiences that make this area so special.” The flagship store will remain in West Hartford Center, Karp Ward said.

• An oft-asked question is what’s happening with the Starbucks in the parking lot of Corporate Center West on South Main Street near New Britain Avenue. It was originally supposed to open in the fall, and I had heard (can’t recall the source) that the state was somehow involved in the hold-up. According to a report at the Elmwood Business Association meeting last Friday, it will be a few more months before the opening. I took the below photos on Sunday, and while the exterior looks complete and the parking lot is paved, the interior is far from done.

• I’m probably going to be accused of burying the lede because the most-often asked question these days is about the status of Park Lane Pizza‘s reopening. I’m putting this toward the end, because it’s not really good news and I like to start with the positives in this column. It’s now been about a year since Park Lane closed due to a storm that resulted in damage and a ceiling collapse. Once you open up the ceiling and begin renovation work, a space is no longer grandfathered but rather is subject to all updated code requirements, and the 337 Park Road building where Park Lane Pizza is located was built in 1921, so it’s now more than a century old and there were many upgrades required. The reality, according to Jimmy Vavaroutsos – one of three brothers who are partners in the ownership of Park Lane (Bobby Vavaroutsos operates the restaurant) – is that they have run out of funds to complete the work that is required before they can reopen. I spoke to Jimmy last week, after someone shared with me that he had launched a GoFundMe campaign with a goal of raising $9,500. “We’re just looking to reopen, not to pad our pockets,” he told me. Left to be done are some upgrades to the ovens required by Connecticut Natural Gas, and replacement of the sign. He joked – although it didn’t sound like much of a joke – that it would have been “cheaper to knock the building down.” According to Jimmy, they received $80,000 from the insurance company for the damage, but have thus far spent about $160,000. “It’s been an adventure, and I don’t want to do this. It’s embarrassing,” he said. He said the work left to be done should take about three weeks. This is the message that was posted on the GoFundMe: “Update from Park Lane Pizza: We’d like to apologize for the delay in opening. We miss our friends and customers! Since the town required major updates for the building, new codes (it’s old) needing electrical plumbing, sheet rock, new roof, venting, heating, and air conditioning, etc. Since insurance and the cost for all this has put us in the unfortunate spot of needing funds to open. This is the hardest thing we’ve ever asked for, so if anybody can spare to donate so we can stay open for the next 20 years, your neighborhood pizza house, thank you so much. Bless.” So … that’s this week’s Park Lane update.

• And in the truly sad news department (no GoFundMe chance to help here), I have confirmed (thanks to Jean-Luc of The Connecticut Scoop for the tip) that Ten Thousand Villages will be closing their West Hartford Center store (967 Farmington Avenue) by the end of March as part of the closing of 13 corporate-owned locations, mostly in the Northeast. “For 27 years, our West Hartford store has been more than a shop – it’s been a hub for community, connection, and fair trade in action. After exploring every alternative, we must sadly share that our West Hartford location will be closing by March 31,” Store Manager Teri Osborne said in an email response to my request for details. “To everyone who has supported us, thank you for being a part of this journey. While this chapter is closing, our mission continues. You can continue to shop artisan-made treasures at www.tenthousandvillages.com. Together, we’ll keep empowering artisans and transforming lives.” It appears from the website that Ten Thousand Villages had 37 locations, and 24 of them will be remaining open. I reached out to the corporate spokesperson for more details, but have not yet received a response. I’m personally going to miss Ten Thousand Villages, which has been one of my go-to stores for unique gifts, and quite a few Christmas presents were purchased there this year.

• ICYMI, the town launched the WeHa Parking Finder app last week in partnership with Modii, a program that allows visitors to review nearby parking options in the Center rand Blue Back Square and make plans in advance, and also includes a link to pay for parking directly. Click here for the details.
• The Hartford Foundation for Public Giving has added $100,000 to each of its 29 Greater Together Community Funds, which benefit nonprofit organizations. Complete details can be found 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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