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

By Ronni Newton

Daffodils, March 29, 2015. Photo credit: Ronni Newton

Happy Monday morning!

Before I get down to business, I feel the need to provide a daffodil update. Two weeks ago these guys began poking out of the just-melted snow along the edge of my driveway. They survived Saturday’s annoying winter reprise, and on Sunday morning appear to be getting really close to blooming – maybe later this week! Is anyone else desperate for some spring color in the world?

Okay, on to business because there is plenty to share this week!

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:

Construction of the Delamar West Hartford Hotel, which will include the Artisan restaurant, will start in the next few weeks. Rendering from Delamar West Hartford website

• At Thursday’s West Hartford Chamber of Commerce Economic Development Luncheon, Director of Community Services Mark McGovern answered the question many have been asking: “What’s up with the hotel?” The answer is that the groundbreaking for Delamar West Hartford was held up due to some minor revisions in the construction plans, but those were approved last Tuesday by the West Hartford Town Council – an action necessary because the hotel is a Special Development District. (Click here if you want to see the new detailed plans, but be forewarned that unless you are an engineer or architect your eyes will probably roll back in your head if you try to decipher them.) What this all means is that groundbreaking is now imminent. The first step will be about a month of remediation (the land was formerly a Public Works yard, and there is some contaminated soil remaining). McGovern said plans are for the hotel to open in the summer of 2016. Artisan, an award-winning restaurant in the Delamar Southport that’s partly-owned by its award-winning Executive Chef Frederic Kieffer, will have its second location in the West Hartford hotel.
• Akua Ba Fitness will hold an open house and ribbon-cutting this Thursday at its new location, a state-of-the art studio at 121 Talcott Rd., West Hartford. Akua Ba, which owned by former Ghanaian child-soldier-turned-workout-guru D’Mario Sowah, utilizes the “Reverse Evolution” concept for its fitness program, which according to a news release “takes a new approach to working out, and produces stellar results in record time. The program activates the body so the core is rebuilt, fat burns faster, injuries are minimized, and results are maximized. The success of the training program is attributed to the tailored programs that address the specific conditioning, morphology, interests, and goals of each client. The program works with the body’s existing resources to strengthen and recondition it to work in concert with nature as it was intended.” The open house is free of charge and scheduled from 5-9 p.m. on April 2, and will also include a “meet-and-greet” with West Hartford Mayor Scott Slifka, FOX CT’s Joe Furey, author Diane Smith, and comedian Linda Berry. Refreshments will include traditional African dishes from Ghana.
• The Fleet Feet Sports Women’s Annex, located a few storefronts to the west in the 1003 Farmington Ave. shopping center, is scheduled to open this week. According to the most recent Fleet Feet newsletter, there will be a sneak peek on Thursday, April 2, from 4-7 p.m. and another peek on Friday from 2-7 p.m. In case you don’t know what The Annex is, it’s going to be the area’s only “bratique,” offering “nearly 30 different styles of sports bras ranging from size XS to 54F.” The bras “feature compression, encapsulation, underwire, racer-backs, u-backs, petals and more, in a wide variety of colors, prints and brands,” according to  Fleet Feet. The Annex will have regular hours beginning Saturday at 10 a.m., and the store’s “big grand opening extravaganza” is scheduled for the weekend of April 25-26, and will include a chance to win free sports bras for a year.
• If you’re interested in community supported agriculture, CSA farm shares are available from Oxen Hill Farm. The farm is in Suffield, but you can conveniently get your organic vegetables right in West Hartford at First Church on 12 South Main St., where they will be dropped off each Thursday. Click here to sign up online. Community supported agriculture maintains open land, promotes small scale and organic farming.
• Something exciting for West Hartford businesses is coming later this week! Lux Bond & Green, Bouvier Insurance, The Mercy Community, Cunningham Supply, Doctors Express, Stanger & Arnold, Jeff Hodges Landscape Contractor, and Sheehan-Hillborn-Breen are already part of it. Watch for details in Wednesday’s newsletter.
• Bonus bullet point for the week: ICYMI, the article about Thursday’s Economic Development Luncheon was like a giant Business Buzz column. In fact we’re proud to report that Director of Community Services Mark McGovern said he our past columns as a reference! Click here to read that article so you can know everything there is to know about business in West Hartford.

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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