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

It’s the middle of November, and I’m certainly thankful that we are supposed to have some rain this week. There was another brush fire in West Hartford Saturday night (sparked when a tree fell on some power lines near the intersection of Albany Avenue and Mountain Road/Old Oak Road) and while that one was an accident, please, please, please be careful with leaf blowers that can start a fire because of their heat (we had at least one of those in town recently), and refrain from parking your car on dry grass or leaves.

‘Tis the season for ribbon cuttings in West Hartford, and you will find blurbs about three of them held last week in the main part of this column. I try to attend as many of them as I can as I look to highlight the opening of new businesses of all types in town. There’s at least one more coming up this week, and a number of soft openings between now and Thanksgiving as well.

Tonight is the 10th annual Best of West Hartford – which includes networking, cocktails, food, and celebration of the winners along with “Dancing with the WeHa Stars.” I’m teamed up with WTNH’s Dennis House in this “competition,” and while I don’t think we have much chance of winning since due to our combined crazy schedules we have probably had far less practice than the other couples (excuses, excuses …) it has been fun learning our dance. Thanks to Christian at Arthur Murray near Westfarms for his incredible patience with us. Here are a few photos from a practice session, and if you want to celebrate the Best of West Hartford winners and see the competition, it’s tonight, from 5:30-8:30 p.m. at the Mandell JCC. Click here for tickets.

In addition to ribbon cuttings, I also covered several emotional events in town last week, including both the Veterans Day ceremony and vigil for the Patricia Brulotte (the pedestrian fatally struck on Oakwood Avenue) on Monday.

My restaurant dining experience last week is the lead story of this column, and many thanks to my friend Jeannette Dardenne of Eat In Connecticut for not only being such a fun dining partner but also for creating a reel (see @eatinconnecticut on Instagram) with video and images of the dishes we sampled. The rest of my (more serious) photos are below.

 

We were in town on Saturday night, but our dining was not in a restaurant but rather at the St. James’s Episcopal Church “Grease” (and Greece) auction and dinner. The food was amazing, and it was fun dressing up in Grease attire. Yes, I am a “Bad Sandy,” and everything that I am wearing was already in my closet …

 

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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:

• As I mentioned in the introduction above, I had a great dinner at Boqueria last week – but it wasn’t just about a fun night out with my friend Jeannette Dardenne! Boqueria opened last October at 46 South Main Street, and founder and CEO Yann de Rochefort – who was in town last week for the new menu rollout – sat down with me for an interview. He said while things have been going well in the Blue Back Square location, and they have been particularly busy on the weekends, they have been listening to guest feedback and have revamped the menu, which they debuted on Wednesday. Updates include adding 15 new dishes, including some fun takes on “American” classic dishes by preparing them with a Spanish flair, such as chicken wings and Mac ‘n cheese, as well as changes to the layout and pricing structure so that it’s more straightforward with tapas falling into one of three price categories. Nearly all of the dishes that were perviously on the menu are still there, at the same or a lower price. West Hartford is the test bed for the new items, as well as the new menu style, and if it’s well received they plan to roll it out to the other nine (soon to be 10 when Atlanta opens in January) locations, de Rochefort said. The original inspiration for Boqueria came from the time de Rochefort spent in Spain, where he lived for a time in Barcelona as well as Madrid. “I felt like in New York, at least, no one had really gotten the tapas concept right. They were mostly regular restaurants with small plates and that’s not what makes tapas bars fun. It’s the whole energy of the space, eating standing up, so we adapted it,” de Rochefort said. While Boqueria is not just a stand-up bar and has seats, all are “high tops,” so it has a different feel. “Most of the food is pretty authentic,” he added, although there are special touches adding a few more contrasts of flavors or crunch. The new tiered menu pricing structure – with tapas for $8, $12, or $14 each – was inspired by a restaurant in New York which did the same thing years ago and was an idea he really liked. “You’re much more focused on what food you want rather than how much you’re spending,” de Rochefort said. New menu items include the roasted chicken wings (spiced with Za’atar and topped with sweet and sour Pedro Ximénez reduction and fresh cilantro, $8), steak skewers (marinated top sirloin, smokey Bilbao chorizo, pickled pepper, and roasted tomato in mojo verde, $14), beef sliders (sobrasada-bacon jam, crispy Manchego cheese, garlic aioli, $14), Iberico mac ‘n cheese ($12), and a roasted grape flatbread (topped with whipped sheep’s milk cheese, roasted grapes, sherry glaze, toasted hazelnuts, and fresh greens, $13). We also, at de Rochefort’s urging, sampled the Bikini grilled cheese (named for a bar in Barcelona, and featuring Serrano ham and burrata cheese with truffle aioli, $8), the seared octopus ($14), patatas bravas ($12), the Catalan salmon (entree, $28), and charcuterie. I couldn’t leave without sampling the churros, and we also tried the delicious Basque chocolate cheesecake. The all day tapas menu can be found below as a PDF (there is also a weekend brunch menu you can find online, $29 per person, or a la carte) and the new menu also features an adjustment in pricing for the Chef’s Menus to $39 per person for “The Classics” (a customized assortment of guests’ favorite tapas) and $55  per person for “The Boqueria Experience” (The Classics and beyond, with a selection of seasonal dishes, paella, and taste of aged Jamón Ibérico Bellota.) The Jamón Ibérico Bellota is not served anywhere else in the area, de Rochefort said. Anyone on Boqueria’s email list should have been notified about the new menu – and that email includes a complimentary offer to try one of the new tapas items! For more information, visit the Boqueria website.

• Local Infusion (18 Kane Street, in Prospect Plaza) celebrated its ribbon cutting with the West Hartford Chamber of Commerce on Wednesday, and this location is the 11th for the business. Local Infusion was founded in 2022 in Bedford, NH, and five additional locations are under construction with plans to open before the end of the year. The clinic, which is not an “infusion bar,” offers medical infusion therapies to treat a variety of medical conditions – including gastrointestinal, neurological, and rheumatological – and referrals from a doctor or other medical provider are required. Depending on the therapy, infusions can take just 15 minutes, or may be as long as 6 hours, and all patients are treated in comfortable private rooms. “We took all the things that were not going quiet right and fixed them,” said Julie Kadamus, Local Infusion’s Business Development and Partnership Executive about the company’s approach to treatment, noting that patients deserve better. All details are handled through a single contact person, and they have shaved more than four days off the processing time for referrals in comparison to other infusion centers, said Regional Manager Samantha Sollitto. If you’re traveling and need an infusion, Local Infusion allows use of any of their centers. While the nurses at Local Infusion are certified to administer chemotherapy, they are not yet doing that but are looking to introduce it company-wide in the future. For more information about Local Infusion, visit their website.

• Ribbon cutting No. 2 last week was at Eminence Hormone & Weight Loss Center, at 998 Farmington Avenue. Owners and West Hartford residents Kayse Barry and Amber Barry, both PAs, focus on women’s menopause treatment including hormone replacement therapy, weight loss, and overall nutrition and lifestyle treatment for healthy aging. They also treat men for testosterone replacement therapy and medical weight loss, and offer general adult sick visits with same-day appointments available. Both Kayse and Amber have prior experience in critical care medicine, and “are excited to switch gears a bit and focus on helping patients stay out of the hospital,” Kayse said. “One of our passions is frailty with women, osteoporosis,” Amber said, adding that she firmly believes people should obtain DEXA scans to determine their bone density. For more information about Eminence, visit the website.

• The third ribbon cutting last week was at the Tempur-Pedic store at Westfarms. The store, located on the upper level in the Nordstrom wing, actually opened several months ago but Friday served as their official grand opening, with what was actually a double ribbon cutting – one corporate purposes and the other with the West Hartford Chamber of Commerce. Karin Montiel, who is a West Hartford resident, is the manager of both the existing Blue Back Square store and the newer Westfarms location.

• Ted and I carved out the time to see “The Lion King” at The Bushnell on Thursday night. While I had seen the movie (probably 100 times) when my kids were young, I had never seen the theatrical production and it was truly amazing! There’s even a West Hartford connection: Cedrick Ekra, a 2018 Hall High School graduate, is a member of the ensemble and understudy for Simba (click here for his bio). Photos during the performance were not permitted (I obeyed, but it was not easy), but the PR firm did provide the below image from the Broadway version, which looks exactly the same. The show runs through Dec. 1 at The Bushnell.

• Connecticut’s Christmas Movie Trail launched on Wednesday, with a celebration at the Silas W. Robbins house in Wethersfield – aka the home featured in “Christmas on Honeysuckle Lane.” Twelve contest winners were invited to attend the trail’s launch event, which was also attended by actors Wes Brown, Erin Cahill, and Michael Rady, Gov. Ned Lamont, and Connecticut’s Chief Marketing Officer, Anthony Anthony. During the event, one of the contest winners will be selected in a random draw to become an extra in an upcoming holiday film. After a presentation, those present got to tour the “Honeysuckle Lane” home, which was decked out for the holidays already and also had displays of costumes from several films. In 2022, the Hallmark movie “The Ghost of Christmas Always” was filmed in part in West Hartford and that home is included as part of stop No. 7 on the trail. The Connecticut Christmas Movie Trail “is a curated guide, connecting travelers with the accommodations, dining spots, and attractions that play a role in 22 films from Hallmark, Lifetime, Netflix, BET, and Universal Studios,” an announcement from the governor states. For more information, visit the Christmas Movie Trail website.

• I got a sneak peek inside Yemerica Coffee (1000 Farmington Avenue) after the ribbon cutting at Eminence Hormone Therapy. As of now, they are planning on a soft opening on Nov. 25. I love the murals – one of which is of the capitol of Yemen, and the other is of the coffee beans grown in Yemen, which are red before they are roasted.

• While at the Local Infusion ribbon cutting I took advantage of the opportunity to get some photos of the progress of the building that will soon be home to Chipotle, Jersey Mike’s, and Teriyaki Madness in Prospect Plaza. They are aiming to have the work completed by the end of 2024 or early 2025.

• Build-out is well underway on Just Salad (the sign is now up!) as well as Chick-fil-A in Bishops Corner. In between them is the Dunkin’ store, which is temporarily closed – but it won’t be closed for long, a worker told me – for renovation.

• JunkPot Studio will be holding its first Holiday Market Friday, Dec. 6, from 4-8:30 p.m. Owner Pedro Centeno said they will have ceramic art, pottery, and jewelry from local artists on display for purchase. “Separately we’ll have students’ and members’ work on sale with all the proceeds going to Journey Home,” he said. They are partnering with GastroPark, he said, and will have a cash bar on site.

• Signs that The Friendly Toast (36 LaSalle Road) is under construction are now visible, with the removal of the Division West signage and awnings. I peeked in the window and work is well underway inside as well – with the tables (that had been still set from January) now gone, and the dining area at least partially gutted. A few weeks ago Madelyn Digman, marketing manager for The Friendly Toast, told me in an email that “We are very excited to open in the community in 2025.”

• Sally‘s Apizza, which is getting set to open inside the Jordan’s Furniture store at Westfarms, has launched a happy hour at all of its locations other than New Haven. Happy hour is Monday through Thursday from 3-6 p.m., and features small plates from $3-$8, several 10-inch pies for $9, and $6 drinks. Here are some photos of the offerings!

• Garland Bartlett, head coach of Men’s and Women’s Swimming and Diving at American University, who is a West Hartford native and Conard High School swimmer and graduate (2008), is Head Coach of the American Men’s and Women’s Swimming Team that competed in the III International University Sports Federation (FISU) American Games in Cali, Columbia. They competed against university teams from South America, Central America and the Caribbean.  The venue is where a recent Pan Am Games was held.

• West Hartford-based YHB Investment Advisors is proud to share that on Oct. 2, it was named 24th in the CNBC Financial Advisors 100 list. The CNBC FA 100 ranking recognizes firms that help clients successfully navigate their financial lives. The selection process involved a rigorous methodology* assessing over 40,000 Registered Investment Advisors (RIA) for the 100 available spots. “Since 1989, YHB Investment Advisors has been implementing successful investment strategies, facilitating retirement planning, and orchestrating the transfer of wealth to future generations. We are a dedicated partner for our clients, managing their investments to provide for their futures, their families, and their legacies.” For more information, visit the YHB website or call 860-561-7050.
• Although the road looks much cleaner now that the outdoor dining corrals in the Center are gone for the season, it makes me sad because it’s another sign of winter coming. Outdoor dining in the roadway won’t be back in the Center next year because of the anticipated Master Plan construction.

• ICYMI, the owner of the former UConn campus property plans to donate the portion of the property now occupied by the ballfields to the Town of West Hartford, and has also submitted the official application for 1800 Asylum. Complete details here.

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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