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 generally write this column on Sunday – but I tried to get most of it done this week on Saturday because Sunday we had Katie’s baby shower!

It was wonderful to use so many of our local businesses for the event, and a special thanks to Rockledge Grille for the great venue and food, Pink Flamingo Party Co. for the spectacular balloon displays, and Little Owls Bakery for the amazing cookies that look just like the jungle animals on the invitation.

We are so excited about the arrival of “Champ,” who is due on July 22.

We had a houseful of guests in town for the shower and staying with us for the weekend – Ted’s college roommate and his wife (who are Katie’s godparents) who came up from DC, and Sam’s girlfriend’s parents (who are longtime friends) from Pennsylvania – and in advance of having houseguests we had embarked on some long-overdue house projects. I shared a photo of our reglazed bathtub and tiles last week, but we also had two of our plaster ceilings repaired (that bathroom and a bedroom), and like the story “If You Give a Moose a Muffin” we also ended up replacing the fixtures in the bathtub, and I decided we needed new accessories, and new towels …

Thanks to Dante Cistulli at Zephyr’s Street Pizza who accommodated our group of seven people on Saturday night – several of whom had driven hours in the pouring rain through awful traffic with a feast of delicious pizza and some cold beers.

Housekeeping note: We are not planning to publish a newsletter next Monday, which is Memorial Day – unless there is serious breaking news to report. Look for the next Business Buzz to appear on Wednesday, May 31.

West Hartford is back off the COVID-19 map – meaning there are fewer than five cases in town. I’ll still keep the tab open and check for the next few weeks, but soon there won’t be anything to check. With the expiration of the COVID-19 public health emergency on May 11, the governor’s office announced the end of the reporting as of June 1. Going forward, the plan is to report on COVID-19 seasonally, like the reporting of influenza.

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 have a bunch of updates this week, one of which is the opening of Bohdii in the space that was formerly Philip David Jewelers at 968 Farmington Avenue. The sign just went up on Friday, and owner Justice Pellegrino said the store will be opening at noon on June 3. This will be the third location of Bohdii Boutique with the others in East Longmeadow, MA (34 Center Square), which opened in the winter of 2019, and another in South Boston (398 West Broadway) which opened in the spring of 2021. The overall aesthetic at Bohdii Boutique is “Boho-Chic,” Pellegrino said. The price point is moderate and she they are known for carrying casual, everyday styles, event dresses, athleisure, footwear, jewelry, hats, and much more. When I first spoke with Pellegrino about her plans to open the store in West Hartford, she said, “My target demographic ranges from 18 to 45, however I have always said my goal is to have a daughter, mother, and grandmother be able to leave with purchase! I typically find myself telling people that ‘There’s something for any woman, of any size or age, at Bohdii.’” Pellegrino said she has always had a “passion for fashion” – which is why she was inspired and driven to open the first Bohdii Boutique. “Throughout college and shortly after, I interned for a few small businesses and truly fell in love with the sense of community small businesses create and the love the owners have for their businesses. I started Bohdii in hopes of making the store a special place for women of all ages to feel welcome and comfortable to shop! She is very excited about the plans to open in less than two weeks. For more information about the business, check out their website.

• The sign also went up last week for More Than Just Sharkbite, and Lonnie Arnold, who is partnering with Courtney Pavlick to open in the space that was formerly a Pizza Hut at 1037 Boulevard, said he is going through the inspection process now. Opening should be sometime in the next few weeks. The restaurant is an offshoot of Arnold’s successful Shark Bite New England food truck, which offered fried seafood and fish and operated in Hartford, combined with Pavlich’s successful More Than Just Lobster operation. More Than Just Sharkbite will offer a combination of menu items that will include seafood steamed in bags with vegetables, lobster rolls, fried lobster tails, fried scallops, and other dishes made from fresh fish. Everything will be fresh, not frozen, Arnold said, and will be primarily grab and go.

• Right next door, also at 1037 Boulevard in the space that was formerly Subway, work is progressing on the build-out of BUD-R, which is owned by Derrick Gibbs Jr. who is partnering with co-founder Carl Tirella. When I stopped by last week to check on the progress I met the contractor who was working on the space and he said he anticipates the business will be ready to open by mid-July. Permits need to be obtained not just from the town, but also from the state because of the nature of the business and security requirements, etc. The sign should be going up very soon, and here’s a few peeks at the interior!

• Ellen Piccolo launched The Homemaker earlier this year – an interior design business that is based in West Hartford that offers services throughout the state. “After working at a full-scale design firm for a few years I saw a need for those seeking design help without the designer price tag,” she said. “A business in which clients receive detailed design direction but are able to purchase at their own pace while paying a nominal one-time fee. Hence the birth of The Homemaker.” Below are a few images that she shared, and many more can be found on her website. To contact Piccolo, email [email protected] or call 860-966-6168.