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 hard to believe that this is the last week of July.

Happy first birthday to our grandson! We had a wonderful celebration on Saturday, and it’s hard to believe that he is a year old and so full of personality and spirit, crawling and cruising, holding onto just one finger while walking (and running), and eating all sorts of foods that I never even tasted until I was an adult (falafel, beans and rice). He has brought so much joy into all of our lives!

On Sunday morning I was speaking with Superintendent of Schools Paul Vicinus about the departure of Dan Zittoun and the new interim principal at Hall High School (click here for the story) and realized that in just a few weeks we will be meeting to talk about what to expect in the upcoming school year. Convocation is in just four weeks. Yikes.

While early last week was dreary and humid, the weather turned beautiful on Thursday evening, just in time for the Yard Goats game. Ted and I enjoyed some cold beers and stadium food, and although the Goats lost, it was a fun time and we saw a spectacular sunset.

I worked on a “sweet” story on Friday afternoon – the delivery of popsicles to Leisure Services campers and swimmers at West Hartford’s outdoor pools. Thanks to supervisor Sean Callahan for inviting me, and to letting me share in the popsicle experience!

The fabulous weather continued on Saturday, and Ted and I decided to hang out at GastroPark for dinner. I had seen a social media post about the Hindsight BBQ “corn rib” and just had to try it. We relished every bite (it was as delicious as it is cool looking) and by the time we got around to thinking about the rest of our dinner, it was past 8 p.m. and the food trucks were done for the night – but the food from GastroPark’s own kitchen was great.

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If you’re looking for news about West Hartford in print please note that many stories from We-Ha.com, as well as other local news, is published in the twice-monthly issues of the West Hartford Press.

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 mystery has finally been revealed: Crush Wine Bar is the business that will be opening next to Union Kitchen at 37 LaSalle Road, and in addition to a wine bar, there will be two rooms in the back that will serve as event space, which is something that is very much in demand in the Center. In May, Halfway – the restaurant concept that had taken the place of Wurst Haus and operated at 37 LaSalle Road for just about a year – closed for good. Signs on the door stated that “it won’t be a mystery for long,” and that the replacement business would still be part of Bean Restaurant Group. Vish Badami, the managing partner at Union Kitchen, will oversee both Crush and Union Kitchen and he’s partnering with his wife, Jill Feldman – a West Hartford native who has been the assistant general manager at Union Kitchen for about a year – who will be the general manager at both. “The menu will feature a rotating wine list and seasonal small plates which will change often. While the wines and food will be very curated, the atmosphere will be relaxed,” said Badami. Tim East, the chef from Union Kitchen, will be the chef at Crush, and additional kitchen managers will be hired to assist him. As for the event space behind the Crush Wine Bar area, there will be two private rooms – one to accommodate 12 people and the other that will seat 30. Patrons booking the private rooms will have the option of the Union Kitchen or the Crush menu, Badami said. The Crush logo is still being finalized, as are the design plans which are being created by LCR, and I’ll share the timeline for the opening as soon as it’s available. While Halfway attracted a young crowd that arrived long after the dinner hour, Badami said, “Crush will not be a late night spot. We will close at the same time as Union Kitchen.” Badami is known for his expertise as a sommelier, and the Union Kitchen wine list has made the restaurant a Wine Spectator award winner, and I am very excited to see what he and Tim East do at Crush.

• Blue Back Square has announced that today is the opening day for beem Light Sauna, at 76 Memorial Road. This is the second location in Connecticut for the light therapy studio franchise, which offers “infrared, red light, and chromotherapy sessions for improved health.” According to beem Light, the innovative light therapy helps people achieve “greater holistic well-being” and “generate a deeper, detoxifying sweat compared to traditional saunas, promoting cellular-level toxin removal. Red light and chromotherapy treatments address various health concerns, including pain relief, improved metabolism, stress reduction, and more. They even utilize an AI assistant named ‘luumi’ to personalize wellness plans for each client,” according to the announcement. “We are thrilled to add another dynamic health and wellness offering to Blue Back Square as we continue to diversify our mix of tenants,” Paul Brandes, principal of Brand Street Properties, the owner and management company of Blue Back Square, said in the announcement. The existing Connecticut location is in Glastonbury, and they also have studios in New York, Massachusetts, and more than a dozen other states. More information about membership and grand opening specials can be found on the beem Light website.

• Erik Castiglione, owner and head coach of Viking Athletics, will be relocating his gym from its current location at 635 New Park Avenue to a building at 433 New Park Avenue that he purchased on June 18 for $1.2 million through the entity Castle Holdings LLC. Castiglione has operated out of the current location for eight years, and when the lease was renewing, with steep rate increases, he said he started looking around at other options. “It becomes abundantly clear that this was not going to be the affordable space it once was,” he said of his current spot, and owning his own building looked to be the more sustainable option. The building at 433 New Park, once occupied by Keystone, which moved to Corporate Center West, is roughly 9,000 square feet. “The training space is roughly the same,” he said, although the layout is different and will “hopefully be more conducive to class flow.” There will also be office space for nutritional counseling, member meetings, and physical therapy, as well as for the retail operation. Viking Athletics was originally known as CrossFit Relentless, and while they still offer CrossFit, they rebranded in 2020 because they also offer other fitness- and wellness-related services, including nutritional counseling and remote coaching. Castiglione, who has an engineering degree, was working for the Department of Defense in Philadelphia and coaching CrossFit on a part-time basis. The coaching, “really resonated with me. I liked being part of other people’s success.” He said the gym he was with was looking to expand to a second location in the Philadelphia area and he became one of the investors, eventually transitioning to being a full-time coach. “My work at DOD had become meaningless,” said Castiglione, a constant battle for funding. “I felt like ultimately I was having no impact on anything,” which was in stark contrast to coaching where he can have positive impact on people’s fitness, health, and mindset. The move to Connecticut came after he and his wife wanted to start a family and be close to one of their families – with the choice between Connecticut and Florida, where his wife is from. Castiglione hopes to complete the relocation by December, but first must get approval through the town for the transformation of the space. Because he is in the Transit-Oriented Development Zone, and his business is one of the approved uses, the permits won’t require hearings but rather just an administrative process. When the new location opens, they will be offering a “founders’ club” to current and prospective members, Castiglione said. Current membership is under 150, he said, including those who use the gym and remote training clients – one of whom lives in Kuwait. Remote coaching is available “to anyone and everyone,” he said. Viking Athletics has six employees. For more information, visit their website.

• Tune in to the Food Network next Sunday, Aug. 4,, at 9 p.m., and you will see the premiere episode of West Hartford’s own Adam Greenberg, renowned chef and partner with Sparrow Pizza Bar, competing on “Alex vs. America.” Greenberg is a Food Network veteran, and this will be his eight performance on the network – four times on Chopped, he “beat Bobby Flay,” and he was also on “Guy’s Grocery Games.” Greenberg said the casting director reached out to him for an appearance on this series, hosted by Eric Adjepong. He tests his lobster preparation skills in competition with Chef Alex Guarnaschelli as well as two other chefs – one from Maine and another from New York – and judged by Antonia Lofaso and Esther Choi. Greenberg said they will hold a viewing party at Sparrow (977 Farmington Avenue) on Sunday, Aug. 4, with buy-one-get-one-free pizza in the bar area. He is also creating a special lobster pizza that will be one of the offerings. No clues as to the results of the competition – which Greenberg has had to keep quiet for the past 11 months since the episode was filmed.

• Congratulations to Beazley on hosting their official grand opening and ribbon-cutting on July 17. Mayor Shari Cantor helped cut the ribbon for the beautiful 19,000-square-foot space at 65 Memorial Road in Blue Back Square. Beazley, a UK-based specialty insurance company, relocated their local operations and 234 employees from Batterson Park in Farmington to the new West Hartford space this spring. You can read about Beazley and see photos of their space from when they were featured in Business Buzz in May.

• Congratulations to the Light Source Center in Bishops Corner, which celebrated their 25th anniversary with a Chamber of Commerce ribbon-cutting on Wednesday. The Light Source, located at 2457 Albany Avenue in Bishops Corner, is a nonprofit school of meditation, “creating a space where students can learn the tools to create balance, love themselves, and live in Light,” the organization states.

• I snapped this photo of the Maui gas station and convenience store at 898 Farmington Avenue one day last week. It looks like it’s getting close to completion!

• I have not gotten any further details, but Stride Physical Therapy has obtained a sign permit for the former WeHa Fitness (and former Degras) space at 261 Park Road. The space has been vacant since Mike Walker relocated his business to Newington in June.

• Also on Park Road, it appears that a business named ChoccoDiva is planning to open in the former Edible Arrangements space at 282 Park Road. The website linked to the QR code that’s on the door isn’t active (I tried) but there is clearly work going on inside and signage in the windows and on the building – although the town does not have any permit applications as of Friday afternoon.

• Arugula (953 Farmington Avenue) reopened last Wednesday, July 24, following an electrical fire that took place on July 13. They are open for open for social hour, lunch, and dinner and private parties, chef/owner Christiane Gehami said. Visit the website for details.

• Local Infusion, an IV therapy business, has leased a portion of 18 Kane Street that was formerly a T-Mobile store. According to town officials, they have been issued some permits, while others are still outstanding. Details to follow.

• There’s no visible work taking place yet, but plans have recently been submitted and according to the town’s website are being reviewed for the build-out of The Friendly Toast in the former Division West space at 36 LaSalle Road. Plans for The Friendly Toast were detailed in the April 29 edition of Business Buzz.

• Congratulations to West Hartford-based Firebrick Design, which recently won the top honors at the 48th annual Connecticut Art Directors Club awards – for the second year in a row. They also receded three Gold awards and two special judge’s awards. Designer Pam Howard said a single studio has not won back-to-back “Best in Show” honors since the 1980s, so this is quite the accomplishment for the small local studio. The show considers designs from throughout the state. Examples of the work are shown below. “Many creative award shows have gone completely virtual in their judging process which makes it nearly impossible to convey the experience something can have. In a room filled with many stunning print pieces, Firebrick Design’s brand identity and invitation for La Vie Bohème made an undeniable impact with our judges to have it awarded Best in Show for 2024. It has been decades since a studio has taken back to back Best In Show Awards, though with this caliber of work, its not hard to believe,” Michael Marques, Executive Director of the CADC, said in a statement.

• The University of Saint Joseph has welcomed three new Trustees – two of whom are West Hartford resident –  each bringing experience that will help inform the Board’s decisions. The new trustees are Vivian Chow, Keith J. Hubert, and Sr. Sue Keefe. According to a news release, Chow is a retired vice president of Human Resources at Travelers, where she managed talent sourcing, calibration, development, organization planning and management coaching for business units in Operations, Information Technology, eBusiness, Data and Field Management. She was also an advisor in the formation and growth of the Asian Diversity Network Group. Prior to Travelers, Chow was vice president of Human Resources and Corporate Affairs at the Hartford Courant. Throughout her professional career, Chow was active on the boards and committees of the YWCA, Camp Courant, Metro Hartford Alliance, and Bushnell Performing Arts Center. Born and raised in Hong Kong, Chow came to the United States for college, graduating from the University of Oregon. She lives in West Hartford and has three adult children and seven grandchildren. Sue Keefe, RSM, also a West Hartford resident, has served as an APRN in Palliative Care at Saint Francis Hospital and Medical Center since 2001, and as Section Chief and Lead of APRN Palliative Care Services at Saint Francis Hospital and Medical Center Trinity Health of New England since 2020. Keefe received her M.S. in Nursing from New York Medical College. Keefe is an adjunct faculty member at the UConn School of Medicine in its Geriatric Fellowship Program; teaches at the Yale University School of Nursing; and is an instructor of Medicine at Quinnipiac University Frank H. Netter MD School of Medicine. She is a member of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners Hospice and the Palliative Care Nurses Association. Hubert has been Managing Partner of the Hartford office of PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) since 2011. He leads PwC’s Northeast Insurance Services practice, working closely with large managed healthcare and life insurance companies on investment and retirement products, as well as accounting and financial reporting matters. He has more than 30 years of experience in the insurance industry. Hubert received his bachelor’s degree in Accounting from LeMoyne College. He is a Certified Public Accountant in Connecticut, Massachusetts, New York, and Vermont, Connecticut, and is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and The Connecticut State Society of Certified Public Accountants. Hubert resides in Farmington with his wife Natalie and three college aged children.

• ICYMI, here’s the story on the most recent wetlands hearing for the 1800 Asylum Avenue portion of the former UConn campus. There were several hours of testimony, but due to some outstanding information the hearing was continued.
• Thanks to Grayson Rivers for this story about the impact that Jillian Puzzo is having on the West Hartford community.
• West Hartford author Amy Neff is getting rave reviews about her debut novel, and her launch party is tonight. 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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