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

By Ronni Newton

I feel like a broken record, but I can’t help but start this column off talking about the weather – yet again.

It’s supposed to snow this week. A lot. Mother Nature has been messing with us for the past several weeks, especially ruining our weekends with frigid cold weather.

A few weeks ago I mentioned that my husband wanted it to be cold and snow at least one more time before we departed for a warm weather vacation, just to make it seem like more of an escape. However, the snow he wished for was threatening to scuttle our entire vacation, so we had to reschedule our plane flights to avoid the weather. Not that I am complaining about leaving the arctic a bit earlier …

Before getting to the business news, there are two other important notes. One is that We-Ha.com now has more than 5,000 Facebook likes! We topped 5,000 several days ago, and as of Sunday afternoon are at 5,022. Thank you so much for liking us!

The other important note is about something that you have probably noticed: We-Ha.com has a new look! We transitioned the site to a new template on Saturday afternoon. We wanted to make the site cleaner looking, but more importantly we knew that it was loading slowly, especially on mobile devices, and we wanted our readers to access the content they want to see without undue delay. Faster loading is important to our advertisers as well, and they are the reason that this site continues to exist.

As expected with any transition, we’re still working out some kinks. We’ll have enhancements like photo and video stream, and an improved calendar.  We’ll also post a “how-to” for posting on the calendar!

When spring really gets here, readers will love having the ability to post (at now cost) tag sales on We-Ha.com, or find out where the neighborhood tag sales are.

Thanks for being patient with the new look, and please let us know what you think in the comments below!

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:

Sandra Stanfield and Bruce Stanger from West Hartford’s Stanger Stanfield Law firm. Photographed on the steps of Hartford’s supreme court building. Photo courtesy of J.Koteen Photography

• A longtime and well known West Hartford law firm has a new name and a new partner.  Stanger & Associates has changed its name to Stanger Stanfield Law. Founding partner Bruce Stanger, a fixture in the West Hartford community, said, “Adding Sandra Stanfield’s name to our law practice acknowledges Sandy’s contributions to the firm, her commitment to our clients and our community.” Stanfield has a diverse civil practice, pursuing litigation and appeals in all Connecticut State, Appellate, and Supreme Courts on behalf of businesses and individuals. Her substantial experience in the areas of personal injury, employment law, workers’ compensation, nursing home malpractice and litigation, professional negligence, medical malpractice, and more expands and enhances the firm’s services. The two partners have 100 years of combined legal experience. To learn more, visit Stanger Stanfield Law at www.stangerlaw.com.
  

  New Asia will move across the street and reopen on March 14, 2017, at 1155 New Britain Ave. Photo credit: Ronni Newton

• New Asia will be closed on Monday, and will reopen Tuesday, March 14 in a completely-renovated building right across the street at 1155 New Britain Ave. in Elmwood. “We’ve been in Elmwood for over 14 years and it was great that we did not had to move far. Being able to find a new location directly across the street is exciting. Most of our customers have been coming for years and we want to continue to serve West Hartford with yummy Chinese food made with fresh ingredients,” said co-owner Tommy Li. There will still be seating available in the gleaming new space, but slightly fewer seats. According to Li most of the business is takeout and delivery. He said there are plans to add more weekly specials featuring traditional Chinese food.
• We are very exciting to announce that Hartford Baking Company will be opening its West Hartford Center location on March 22 (tentative). More details will be forthcoming in the next couple weeks, so look for that feature story to include photos of the interior of the brand new space.
• Have you noticed that We-Ha.com has added another buzz? We have just launched a new weekly “Beverage Buzz” column, where readers will be able to find tips about wine, spirits, and beer – and some of their best accompaniments – courtesy of local expert Matt Whitney of Maximum Beverage. A video will be included with each week’s column. Click here to check out the first column, with the seasonally appropriate topic of Irish Whiskey.
• We have a couple of closings to report this week, including the BCBG MAX AZRIA store at Westfarms. According to an article last week in the Hartford Business Journal, “Northbrook, Ill.-based Hilco Merchant Resources announced that it will close 118 of its BCBG MAX AZRIA women’s clothing boutiques, including locations in West Hartford and Clinton.” I was at Westfarms over the weekend, and saw the “store closing” signs and sale offers.
• Driving through West Hartford Center one day last week I also noticed a store closing sign on the Radio Shack on South Main Street. It’s one of the 187 Radio Shack stores that will be closing after a Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing made Wednesday. A clearance sale of Radio Shack inventory is underway, but according to the company website the Sprint store at the South Main Street location will remain open.
• Another closing announced last week is MOOYAH in Bishops Corner. After five years, the franchisees decided not to renew their lease. Click here for more details.

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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