West Hartford Business Buzz: November 9, 2015

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

By Ronni Newton

This has been a crazy-busy week in West Hartford, with Election Day news as well as DEEP issues. There is also plenty of new and exciting business news to share – so much that it was tough to decide which piece of news should be first and get the feature photo!

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:

Sanditz Travel will be taking over the top floor of 945 Farmington Ave., the former location of Elements Day Spa. Photo credit: Ronni Newton

• The building at 945 Farmington Ave. has been vacant for more than a year, ever since Elements Day Spa closed abruptly in August 2014. Now, it appears that not only will the building once again be occupied, but the salt cave will also be re-opening. Our thanks to an alert reader who notice that there’s now a “Sanditz Travel” sign on the front of the building. Sanditz, which is currently located at 8 North Main St. in West Hartford, is owned by Henry Wrotniak, who along with partner Joseph Wrotniak formed Wrotniak Ventures II LLC and purchased 945 Farmington Ave. in April 2015. Joseph Wrotniak is listed as a partner in Spa Soli. It’s not open yet, but there’s a sign on the side of building and the website says that Spa Soli “is home of Connecticut’s first ever Himalayan salt cave located in West Hartford Center, just outside of Blueback Square. We are a full service spa with vichy shower services, massage therapy, hair removal, facials, bath treatments, body therapies, sauna, and of course the salt cave!” We will provide more details as soon as they are available.
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  Spa Soli will occupy the bottom floor of 945 Farmington Ave., and appears to be planning to reopen the Himalayan salt cave. Photo credit: Ronni Newton

  Harvest Fine Wines & Spirits will be opening in Elmwood, in the space at 1128 New Britain Ave., formerly occupied by Fred Astaire Dance Studio which moved to South Road. Harvest Fine Wines & Spirits currently has a location at 842 Farmington Ave. and is famous for its beer cave. According to additional information obtained Monday morning, Harvest is not moving; this is an additional location and will be more focused on wine, and will include a tasting room. Beer will be a focus as well.
• Lululemon‘s new store in Westfarms opened about a week ago on the upper level near Nordstrom, and there will be at least one other new store opening before the holidays. Children’s retailer hanna Andersson will open its first area store in late November, according to Westfarms spokesperson Amanda Sirica. The Swedish-based apparel store is best known for its comfy, high-quality traditional cotton clothing.
• The Green Teahouse in Blue Back Square will be holding a special celebration on Saturday, Nov. 14. In honor of being voted the “Best Teahouse Connecticut,” Green Teahouse will be hosting a tea party begining at 1 p.m. According to Green Tea House’s Facebook page, “there will be complimentary food, activities, and of course tea!”
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  Children’s retailer hanna Andersson will open in Westfarms in late November. Photo credit: Ronni Newton

  ICYMI: West Elm is now open in Blue Back Square! The home accessory and furniture store had its grand opening on Nov. 5, after a very well-attended preview party the evening of Nov. 4. For a peek inside, click here.

• TD Bank has just announced in a news release that West Hartford resident Steve Litchfield has been named regional vice president for its Greater Hartford region. According to the release, Litchfield will be based in Hartford and will “manage and lead the commercial banking team responsible for growing the commercial loan, deposit and fee-based products and services offered to commercial, not-for-profit, commercial real estate and small business entities at TD Bank’s 18 retail stores across Hartford, Middlesex and Tolland counties.” Litchfield has been in banking for 31 years, and was most recently Senior Relationship Manager, SVP at People’s United Bank in Hartford.
  

  Lululemon is now open in Westfarms near Nordstrom. Photo credit: Ronni Newton

• There’s a new lunch menu at Vinted in Blue Back Square. Chef Michael Voight was recently featured on Better Connecticut on WFSB, where he served up the Kale Salad and Duck Confit sandwich, one of the new lunch offerings.
• Congratulations to A’vert Brasserie, which celebrated its two-year anniversary last week. A’vert is located at 35 LaSalle Rd. in West Hartford Center.
• Quelling a rumor that was being spread earlier this week: the former South Main Pizza space has not yet been leased. Activity in the vacant space and the removal of the “for lease” sign in the window had led to speculation that a new tenant was moving in. According to the property manager the space is being cleaned up and cleared out, but is very much still available for lease. The sign is now back in the window.

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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