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

Happy Father’s Day to all the dads and father figures out there! I hope you all had a special day on Sunday! And Happy First Day of Summer, too! The summer solstice officially arrived at 4:24 a.m. on Sunday, June 21, 2026.

On the first day of summer, the longest day of the year, the sun rises in West Hartford at 5:16 a.m. and sets at 8:29 p.m. Sunrise and sunset are the same time on Monday, but the sun rises at 5:17 a.m. on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. While sunset remains the same through July 3. another minute of daylight disappears on Friday when sunrise is at 5:18 a.m. I always think of my former co-worker at Marsh & McLennan in DC, who announced each year on the first day of summer that “It’s all downhill from here.” I definitely disagree, and while I love the longest day of the year, my favorite season is just beginning! (Curtis had some other quirks – including refusing to leave his house on Friday the 13th and allowing his pet parrot to fly free around his house. He’s long since retired and lives on a farm somewhere in Virginia – and hopefully isn’t reading this!)

We spent the weekend on Nantucket doing a very delayed spring clean-up and summer prep, and visiting with my mother-in-law whom we had not seen in a few months. Millie got some good beach walks, and is pictured here proudly showing off one of the 11 window boxes she “helped” me plant! We are looking forward to returning for some relaxing time in the next few weeks.

On Father’s Day, Ted and his brother honored their father, who passed away in late 2022 and was a Korean War veteran, by flying the special flag they were presented by a veterans group.

Ted and I celebrated our wedding anniversary last Wednesday in West Hartford – and were glad the weather cooperated for traditional – and absolutely delicious – dinner on the patio at Bricco.

No trolls last week – the one person who commented without initially including a full name responded to my email and provided a last name – and thank you to all who comment with your full names, and avoid making personal attacks! Please note that it has been our policy for several years that full names be used when commenting directly on the site – with the exception of those commenters who were grandfathered when they commented prior to the policy being updated. Please comply or your comment will not be published.

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].

**************************************************

Here’s this week’s Buzz:

• West Hartford resident Sojung Jacobskind is very excited that the plans are moving ahead for the opening of Little Wanderers in the 3,500 square foot space that was formerly the Yoga Shop in Bishops Corner. The Town Plan & Zoning Commission (TPZ) approved the Special Use Permit for the business at its April 6 meeting, and last week the Health District approved the permit, she said. The application for a building permit is in the review process, and as soon as it’s approved the build-out will commence, with an expected opening (subject to change) in late August or early September, Jacobskind said. She shared the following: “Little Wanderers is a new indoor sensory play studio and café for young children (primarily 0-7 years old) and caregivers coming to Bishop’s Corner in West Hartford. The space is being designed as a calm, sensory-rich indoor play environment for little ones, with climbing/play features, sensory play areas, classes, birthday parties, and a café area that will serve coffees and craft drinks. The heart behind Little Wanderers is that nature will always be the best playground – but on days when it’s too hot, rainy, cold, or families simply need a calmer place to land, we hope Little Wanderers can be that space for young children and their grown-ups,” she said. There will be a barn-door enclosed multi-purpose room that they plan to use for small classes as well as workshops, programs for children and caregivers, birthday parties, and other community events. There are already more than 320 families that have joined the waitlist for further information (an app will be coming) and you can sign up and obtain more details on the website thelittlewanderers.com. You can also follow Little Wanderers on Instagram: www.instagram.com/littlewanderers.weha. Little Wanderers is also starting to connect with potential part-time team members, local businesses, instructors, and workshop leaders who may be interested in collaborating. Anyone interested in working with Little Wanderers or collaborating can reach out by email at [email protected] or through Instagram.

• Lil Hope, the spin-off of Hope & Stetson, owned by the Muchin family, which offers clothing and other items for babies and toddlers, opened at 18 LaSalle Road in the fall of 2023, and announced Thursday on social media that they will be moving – but thankfully not very far! “We have loved our time on LaSalle so much. It’s where our little store started, where we met all of you and your kids…but we have quickly outgrown our little crib and are in need of an upgrade to a toddler bed,” the business posted. They will be moving to 990 Farmington Avenue, which was formerly Pink Soda and temporarily served as the leasing office for One West Hartford (that office is now at the 950 Trout Brook Drive location). “You will be able to shop with us in store all the way up until we move over to Farmington, and our online shop is always open and full of new arrivals! We also want to take a moment to say thank you all so much for your endless support and love for our little store. None of this would be possible without you and we are so excited for our continued growth,” the social media post said. More to come!

• This week’s status update on the construction of the West Hartford Center Infrastructure Master Plan shows even more of the sidewalk area opened for use on the western portion of the construction area. Work is most intensely underway in front of Treva and near the Central Building. New sidewalks are otherwise completed on the north side of Farmington Avenue, all the way east to North Main Street. Dale Street is now fully open and the sidewalk at that intersection with Farmington Avenue is complete. Phase 5, which is on the south side of Farmington Avenue from The Claypen to Music and Arts is now in the midst of construction, including in front of Zohara where the patio has been temporarily removed. I saw a social media post about the trees, and please note that the new trees along Farmington Avenue will be planted all at the same time, in the fall. At that time all of the road paving will also be done, including the final layer of pavement on LaSalle Road.

• Continued great progress continues on the new Animal Control facility on Brixton Street! The building is really taking shape!

I stopped by the former UConn campus area to check on the progress of the Residences at Heritage Park – where another building is beginning to be constructed on the east side of Trout Brook Drive, and also took some photos at 1800 Asylum – the future Heritage Park – where the demolition of the former UConn Undergrad building looks to be mostly complete.

• A large group of volunteers from Beacon Bank supporting the hundreds of golfers at the Geno for the Kids Charity Golf Tournament, held this year on June 16 at the Hartford Golf Club. The event which has benefited Connecticut Children’s Foundation for the past 25 years. Beacon Bank, which has 11 branches in the Greater Hartford area including on the corner of Farmington Avenue and Raymond Road in West Hartford, “Led by Hall of Fame UConn Women’s Basketball Coach Geno Auriemma, the event helps ensure every child facing health challenges in Connecticut receives the expert care they deserve, close to home. In all, more than a dozen Beacon Bank colleagues spent the day helping participants check in, enter raffle drawings, stay refreshed on the course and more.

• Congratulations to West Hartford native and Kingswood Oxford alum Sara Chase, the daughter of daughter of Arnold and Sandy Chase, was nominated for a 2026 Tony Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical for playing Melissa Gimble in the the Broadway show “Schmigadoon!”
• ICYMI, a spectacular mural honoring the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Community was unveiled in Blue Back Square last week. Read the full story and see photos here.
• Did you know …

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

Like what you see here? Click here to subscribe to We-Ha’s newsletter so you’ll always be in the know about what’s happening in West Hartford! Click the blue button below to become a supporter of We-Ha.com and our efforts to continue producing quality journalism.