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

By Ronni Newton

It’s not really Monday, but it feels like a Monday.

Business Buzz took a day off on Memorial Day, too. We figured that everyone would be busy celebrating the holiday – whether it was attending the Memorial Day parade and/or veterans’ memorial ceremony, barbecuing, beaching, gardening, or doing anything other than reading a business column on an electronic device on a beautiful summer-like day.

But of course there’s still plenty of business news to share … just a day later.

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:

An excavator on the site of what will be the Delamar West Hartford Hotel. Photo credit: Ronni Newton

• Did you see the construction site? Well, there’s one large excavator and a port-a-potty, and there were some guys in hard hats on the site of what will be the Delamar West Hartford last week. Tree removal has commenced, and the contaminated soil remaining from when the land was used by Public Works is being removed – the first steps in the long-awaited construction of West Hartford’s hotel. And if you’re worried about the hotel’s first “guest” – a red-tailed hawk who has built a nest in a large pine tree at the edge of the site bordering the sidewalk on Raymond Road, she is doing just fine and caring for her new baby! Click here for a YouTube video captured by “solstice1” that shows the hatchling (first visible at 1:23) along with momma hawk. Even though other trees on the site are being taken down, red-tailed hawks are a protected species and the pine tree that supports the nest will not be taken down until the hatchling has fledged – likely not for several more weeks. It’s not otherwise affecting the construction schedule, and it’s good hospitality on the part of the hotel, too!
• The New Children’s Museum in West Hartford will receive a share of $235,000 in grant money from the Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development earmarked to help non-profits and cultural organizations market themselves and their events. According to the Hartford Business Journal, the New Children’s Museum will use its share to “create marketing materials that promote it as a leading STEM education center.”
• Also seen in the Hartford Business Journal last week was a profile on West Hartford business owner and all-around-good-guy Tom Filomeno, president of Filomeno & Co., P.C. The feature story focuses on how Filomeno succeeds in the face of significant competition. “What we really need to do is focus on our people, develop our people, make our people great, make sure that they’re highly engaged, and give them opportunities for advancement,” Filomeno is quoted as saying. Unlike many accounting and consulting firms, Filomeno doesn’t measure success based on billable hours, but rather is project-driven, according to the article.
• The West Hartford Housing Authority (WHHA) announced in a news release that it has changed the name of its affiliate, the West Hartford Housing Corporation, to Trout Brook Realty Advisors, Inc. The name change, as explained by Trout Brook Realty Advisors President Richard Wienner (who many will remember for his leadership in developing Blue Back Square), is to properly position the company as a “regional development company is a logical step as we look to continue building successful communities in West Hartford, the region and throughout Connecticut.” One major new project under consideration is a “transit oriented, mixed-use development, targeting millennials.” Trout Brook Realty Advisors is currently conducting due diligence of the feasibility of that project which would be located on the site of a long-vacant Pontiac dealership just north of the Elmwood CTFastrak station on New Park Avenue in West Hartford.
• ICYMI: This week’s business association profile spotlighted the Park Road Association. Click here to read what association leaders Tracy Flater and Johnny Paindiris have to say. And stay tuned for more details coming soon about one of Park Road’s signature activities – the annual Celebrity Breakfast on June 9, 2015 at Effie’s Place.
• World of Beer, which seems to have successfully established itself as a popular hangout in West Hartford, is offering a social media contest with prize-winners earning trips to “three of America’s best craft breweries and will finish off the summer by giving away an epic grand prize of a cross-country brewery trip.” According to a news release from World of Beer, “All guests have to do is share their beer adventures, using the hashtag #WOBTRIP on Twitter and Instagram to be entered for a chance to win these prizes.” Click here for more details.

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].

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!