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

I hope everyone enjoyed the weekend, and I hope all the moms out there had a wonderful Mother’s Day!

And by “moms” I also extend that to anyone who has taken on the role of a mother. Sometimes a “mother” can also be a dad, or a grandparent, or an aunt (I always like to give a shout-out to my sister who beyond being “cool aunt” has certainly taken on a “mother” role with my kids at times), or a mother-in-law. And people “mother” their biological children, adopted children, foster children, pets …

A happy first Mother’s Day to my daughter, Katie! My heart swells with pride not only because I love our grandson so much, but also because I love watching her being such an amazing mother to him.

As I write this on Sunday, we are also celebrating Millie’s birthday. Happy 5th Birthday to our wonderful puppy who brings us so much joy every day!

We spent a few days in Nantucket last week doing spring cleaning and visiting my mother-in-law. That’s where the photo of Millie was taken (she had just finished chasing lots of seagulls and trying to drink sea water), and where the food photos from dinner (Thursday night) were taken. If you’re visiting Nantucket, the newly-opened Misogi Noodle Bar (in the former Beet space – same ownership and chef, just a new concept) is excellent!

I was excited to be in a place known for its dark skies for viewing of the Northern Lights – which has been a bucket list item for me since I was a child and first heard about the Aurora Borealis. I got some cool photos with my iPhone even though there were a few clouds, but I’ve seen amazing photos from West Hartford as well. I was ready to go out again on Saturday night but the lights weren’t visible. Maybe Sunday night …

Welcome to We-Ha.com’s summer 2024 interns! I am very excited that Bridget Bronsdon has returned to We-Ha.com for her second summer after a great year at UConn where she further honed her journalism skills – and has been named sports editor of the Daily Campus for next year! She will be working on a few stories for We-Ha.com beginning this week. I am also looking forward to working with Kaily Martinez (you can see her first byline here in this great story she did on Friday about a helmet donation and bike safety program at Charter Oak International Academy) and Sean Ahern. Both Kaily and Sean are UConn journalism students as well, and both are writers for the Daily Campus.

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:

• We don’t often feature an office as the lead item in Business Buzz – but this one is definitely feature-worthy! Beazley has relocated from Batterson Park in Farmington to West Hartford where in April they have opened a very large office (roughly 19,000 square feet, and about half the third floor of the Rutherford Building at 65 Memorial Road in Blue Back Square) which houses 234 employees – and it’s such a beautiful and cool office and company that it makes me almost regret having left the insurance industry nearly 30 years ago. Beazley, a large and highly-rated specialty insurance company based in the UK that started in the Lloyd’s market, now has about 40% of its operations in the U.S. – about $2 billion in revenue – and are continuing an ambitious focus on U.S. growth, said Lead Corporate Content and Media Relations Manager Sam Whiteley. Immediately intriguing is the lobby – where there is a pink hat stand with two pink bowler hats, and a slogan painted on the wall that states: “It all started with a hat stand …” The story behind the saying is that when company founders, Andrew Beazley, Nick Furlonge, and Robert Hiscox, launched the company in 1986, it was a tough time in the liability insurance market. “But at Beazley we see every risk as an opportunity to do things differently. So we took the plunge and started our business, with just a couple of second-hand desks and a handsome old hat stand. Insurance is about risk, but it’s also about people,” Beazley’s website states, and as they continue to grow, hiring the industry’s “brightest sparks” and focusing on problem-solving, the company doesn’t want to forget its origins and the ubiquitous hat stand. The space was designed by Munira Hirji, who heads Beazley’s commercial management division in New York, said Elizabeth Zigmont of Image Marketing, who serves as a spokesperson for Blue Back Square’s owner Brand Street Properties. The design extends to the auditory experience, and throughout the office you can hear birds quietly chirping in the background. The space includes focus rooms with red or green lights indicating whether or not the rooms are available, as well as other private spaces for small groups to gather, and even soundproof booths (think of a modern version of an old fashioned payphone booth) where you can go to have a private conversation. There are plenty of spaces for collaboration, including open workspace areas, a kitchen that also has booths to accommodate working group lunches, a lounge area (with a giant Scrabble game in progress), a pool table, a library, and a terrace. There are also storage lockers for each employee, and shower facilities. “Over time things just evolved,” Whiteley said of the plan to move from Farmington to a new and modern location where they could provide perks associated with coming into the office. Employees are compensated for their travel to the office as well. “Collaboration is important to us,” said Whiteley, and they want employees to be in the office at least two days per week. “We pay for travel to the office, and if you go to lunch, it’s included,” Whiteley said, with employees receiving a $13 voucher for lunch when they are in the office, a program which supports the local economy as well. Lunch vouchers are a feature of other Beazley offices as well, she said, with the amounts differing somewhat depending on the location, but all representing roughly the buying power of 8.5 GBP in London. “Having a great work environment is really important to us,” Whiteley said, as is a work-life balance, diversity, and sustainability. “We think we can deliver profitability and be helpful to the planet and those who do business with us,” she said. And it’s not just corporate-speak; in 2022, as part of a commitment to biodiversity and to give back to the ecosystem, Beazley added four beehives to the roof of the Farmington location, and because there wasn’t a space for them in the more urban Blue Back Square environment, those hives were relocated to West Hartford’s Westmoor Park about 10 days ago. According to Megan Hemingway of Beazley, “Best Bees provides our bees’ honey DNA. The beekeepers analyze samples each year and compile the data from our area/hives to better understand the pollinator habitat. They share it with the scientific community to improve bee health. Our bees pollinate the surrounding environment, improving the biodiversity of our neighborhood.” The bees produce more than 80 pounds of honey per year, which fills slightly more than 200 6-ounce jars, she said. “It’s another thing we think is important to do,” Whiteley said. The West Hartford office has a diversity of corporate operations, including underwriting, Beazley digital for small and medium businesses, a digital media team, and other back-office operations including finance. Beazley plans to continue their growth plan in the U.S., and West Hartford is a major part of it. While the lease terms were not provided, “We’re fully committed to West Hartford. We could not be more excited to be in West Hartford,” Whiteley said. A few photos are directly below, and more are at the end of the column. For more about Beazley, visit their website.

• ICYMI, We-Ha.com broke the news Tuesday morning about Coracora moving into Blue Back Square, opening a flagship location where Rosa Mexicano had just closed a few days earlier. It’s been one of the most popular stories on this site in recent months, and you can read the complete article here.
• Also, ICYMI, a wetlands application for 1800 Asylum Avenue – the west side of the former UConn campus – has now been submitted and a public hearing has been set. Complete details can be found here.

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Advertiser Spotlight!

Keating Agency Insurance is a third-generation family business founded in 1969 by Mike Keating Sr. Mike Keating Jr. joined in 1981 and family ownership perpetuated in 1999 with Ryan Keating joining in 2016 and Maura Keating in 2019. We believe what separates the Keating Agency from our competitors is our extensive product knowledge and applying that knowledge, proactively, for our policy holders.

Both Ryan and Maura have continued our community involvement in both town and the region with FLOW, The West Hartford Chamber, Leadership Greater Hartford, and Insure Tech Hartford. Also, they provide ongoing support of our Conard and Hall sports teams, Safe Grad, WHYBL, WHYHL, and various nonprofits within the community including Noah Webster House, Journey Home, Playhouse on Park, Dog Star Rescue, West Hartford Dog Park Coalition, Bike West Hartford, HARC, the Junior League and Friends of Feeney – to name a few.

Life happens and our agency has seen the impacts of Ice Storm Felix, the Hartford Civic Center collapse, Windsor Locks tornado, Hurricane Gloria, the 2011 Halloween storm, Superstorm Sandy, Tropical Storm Irene, auto fatalities, house fires, and other big events over the years that can affect our day-to-day lives and financial well-being.

At the end of the day, what separates one agency from another is their ability to proactively service their policy holders, and their knowledge of the insurance industry, products, and different situations that may present themselves to their clients. As Mike Keating Sr. said on day one: “It doesn’t matter til it matters so get it right.”

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].

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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