Burger Baby at 283 Asylum will be opening soon (or recently opened) at the former home of Mayor Mike's. An advertisement on Craigslist for hiring purposes called the restaurant a "modern American burger bar." This is a great addition to downtown since the region's burger joints are not located downtown (Max Burger, Plan B, The Burger Joint, Red Robin, etc.). Great to see that the former Mayor Mike's (which I still miss) is no longer sitting vacant – hopefully guests of the Homewood Suites at the Bond will be frequenting this place.
Rio Grill & Bar will be opening at 77 Pratt Street in the former Cugino's space. The Brazilian restaurant is being opened by the owners of Brazil Grill on Park Street in Hartford.
Zula (901 Main St) finally opened back in February of 2011 in the former America Airlines building (aka One American Plaza) which has now been converted into apartments and ground level retail space. The Zula space on the corner of Main & Pratt was originally supposed to be Kyoto Sushi & Wine Bar. Zula offers American and Mediterranean cuisine, an awesome bar, live music in the evenings and happy hour from 4 to 7, Monday through Friday.
The Russian Lady has reopened at 191 Ann Uccello Street. The former Russian Lady closed in 1997. The new Russian Lady has a Vodka Lounge with 100 different types of vodka, a rooftop Cigar Lounge and a bar menu. I can tell you that that on Thanksgiving Eve there was a huge line to get in. I can also tell you the blaring music on Thanksgiving Eve could be heard loud and clear on the corner of Ann & Asylum.
Pietro's Pizza Restaurant has opened at 942 Main Street (Richardson Building/Residence Inn by Marriott). This is the second location of Pietro's which has been on Wolcott Hill Road in Wethersfield for 9 years. Next door is Bocca Rossa Wine Bar and Lounge with paninis, salads, pastas and bruscette complimented by a great wine list. They do a happy hour and also have DJ's. Lively addition to Main Street that seems to be doing well.
Over at Hartford 21 a First Niagara Bank opened and on September 15th the Saint Joseph College's School of Pharmacy was dedicated. The school has 35,000 square feet of renovated office space and the first class of students started this fall.
Last year the 1700 square foot Al's Market and Deli opened at 241 Asylum Street in the former Niro's clothing boutique. This may seem like an insignificant opening but the market offers downtown residents a place to grab affordable and quality groceries. The market carries fresh meats, dairy, produce, baked goods and canned foods.
In addition let’s not forget some other great business happenings -
- The new Tea Hunt Canvas on Trumbull Street is an art gallery and tea house.
- Salute at 100 Trumbull Street (formerly Dulce) and the new Hot Tomato’s at 1 Union Place seem to be doing quite well. Salute has quickly become my favorite downtown restaurant (as of today).
- The owners of the popular Churrascaria Braza on Farmington Avenue in the West End will be opening another location in the former Spris space on Constitution Plaza. This would be the third Braza in CT (the second is in Waterbury). This is great news for Constitution Plaza which is now home to an office of the Brazilian consulate. XL Americas recently added space at 100 Constitution Plaza, so that it is now occupying a little less than 100,000 square feet in the building. Plans also are proceeding for studio and one-bedroom apartments in the former Clarion hotel on the plaza.
- Metro PCS will be opening at 915 Main Street
And in the South End I can’t confirm these openings or what the names are but...
A new restaurant/bar seems to have opened in the former Capriccio Ristorante space at 626 Franklin Ave
A little bit farther up Franklin it looks like something will be opening in the former Restaurant Europa at 438 Franklin Avenue.
ANYONE WHO HAS MORE INFORMATION ON ANY OF THIS, FEEL FREE TO SHARE!
Excellent, thanks for the post! Also worth noting on Pratt Street: House of Essence, Downtown Yoga, and a hair salon which I can't remember the name of. A new Nail Salon is now on Asylum Ave between Sovereign Bank and Feng. That's it off the top of my head, but it's great to see all these new businesses opening their doors!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the additions! Its great to see all these new businesses open their doors. Much more pleasant to write about business openings versus closings. Small businesses that are unique to Hartford and that cannot be found in the suburbs are what will draw people to the city. We need to work on expanding these ventures!
ReplyDeleteanonymous said...
ReplyDeleteIt's really impressive to see someone young like you keep pace with the happenings in Hartford. I hope that the movers and shakers of Hartford realize you are doing them a great service.Perhaps more people will realize how great Hartford can be if everyone does their part!
Thanks for the kind words! I am currently living in Brooklyn, NY but Connecticut will always be home and I am not opposed to any opportunities that might allow me to move to Hartford! The city has a lot of potential and if we can all work to be Hartford's cheerleaders and get the perception of Hartford turned around for the better I think that would do wonders for the city. For better or worse, I feel it’s the perception that suburbanites in Greater Hartford hold that needs to be changed as opposed to those in the rest of the country who tend to hold fairly positive views of the city.
ReplyDeleteI just want to chime in about Pratt St. With The House of Essence opening up this past August and The Tobacco Shop moving in from Asylum St under new ownership and catering to a broader customer demographic than just the "old boys club" Pratt really has a fighting chance.
ReplyDeleteZula has worked into be a great co-anchor to The Russell - although I believe that Zula's end of the block suffers from it's juxtaposition to a parking lot - they still have been a great draw.
Looking for Rio and that side of Pratt to fill in - there are rumors/plans for the ownership (Hugh) at The Russell to open a Jazz club in the former Sweet Jane's space.
Businesses are starting to stay open later and on Sunday's which makes Pratt a destination. Great for the seasoned tenants on the block like Vaughn's who did incredibly last Sunday, as well as the newcomers. The House of Essence definitely may be the breakout of the year though - The Courant has covered them at least twice, and the just bring and entirely new element to Pratt and to Hartford as a whole. Definitely pay them a visit the next time you're in town!