Geissler's Supermarket will acquire Simsbury’s Fitzgerald's Foods!
Geissler’s Supermarket will take over Fitzgerald’s Foods at 710 Hopmeadow Street in Simsbury! The family owned supermarket will purchase the store from the DeVoe family in mid-June and will begin operation of the store shortly after. Geissler’s will retain all the existing employees including the DeVoes when they take over operation next month. This will be the store’s 8th location including South Windsor, East Windsor, Windsor, Agawam, Granby, Somers, and Bloomfield. Geissler’s started in 1923 in Broad Brook, CT as a small food store, the store expanded into neighboring towns. Fitzgerald’s had a similar origin, starting as a small store in 1946 after the owner got home from the war.
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A new multi-tenant plaza is coming soon! The new building will be located at 143 River Road in Lisbon, land next to Chili's.
The new tenants for the plaza include a new drive-thru Starbucks, GoHealth Urgent Care, and Metro Mattress (a fast growing mattress chain with 13 locations in Connecticut.) There will be one more retail space available for lease in the building. Construction is now underway on the project. The Starbucks inside Target is expected to remain once this location opens, the licensed store inside Target is operated by Target, not a corporate-run store. Are you excited to see a drive thru Starbucks come to Lisbon? Comment below! Big Y World Class Market will open their doors of their new Middletown location on June 20th with a grand opening on July 11th!
The new store is located at 840 South Main Street in Middletown! The new building features Big Y’s newest prototype, similar to their Clinton location. The new store will have the sandwich and pizza stations, sushi, wings, meat department, seafood department, bakery, and more! Big Y plans two more Connecticut locations this year. A new location in Brookfield will open this summer; and another in Westport will open this fall. Both of those new stores were built for Amazon Fresh store before they sold their leases to Big Y. Make sure you check them out on June 20th! Finds by Rural & Roots is now open in Granby!
The new store sells rustic home decor with a bit of vintage in the mix! The store is owned by two women, Anderson and Carlson, both families have been around Granby since early 1900s! The store has a ton of cool stuff for your home! Selling home decor, dishware, kitchen items, candles, and much more! The store just opened on May 2nd! They are located in Granby Center at 10 Hartford Avenue, next door to Granby Barber Shop. The store is open Thursday and Friday 11-4, and Saturday 10-4. Make sure you check them out! Sonic Drive In is NOW OPEN in Torrington! The new location of the popular car-hop chain is located at 861 Migeon Avenue, the former Scarpelli’s Restaurant.
The restaurant is part of a new building including a gas station and 7 Eleven convenience store. The new location does not offer the typical drive in service, only drive thru and instore service will be available. The restaurant has been a longtime coming. Plans were originally approved in 2019 to replace the former restaurant with this development. Construction began shortly after, but was delayed due to the pandemic. Sonic now has 7 locations throughout Connecticut including Manchester, Danbury, Milford, New Milford, Bristol, Wallingford, and now Torrington. Five Guys, Jersey Mikes, Starbucks, GoHealth Urgent Care, and Aspen Dental are coming soon to Killingly!
A new development is coming soon at 536-552 Hartford Pike! The new development will include a new 12,580 square foot building to be home to all these retailers. A drive thru is planned for the end cap for Starbucks. The site is located near Killingly Commons, the commercial center of town. The project was approved by the Planning and Zoning Commission in November 2023. Construction is planned to accelerate soon! Building permits were issued for the project earlier this year for the base building and tenant fitouts! IHOP is planning a new location in New London! The breakfast giant will move into the former Outback / Shaking Crab / Restaurant Junction building at 305 North Frontage Road.
The building would be renovated inside to match IHOP's brand design including the removal of the large bar, new furnishings, new lighting, and the creation of 2 new dining rooms that can function as private event rooms. The project is currently in the bidding process of construction, the restaurant would open later this year. The restaurant would be owned by Gulshan Soni and Deepak Verma. Outback Steakhouse closed their doors in June 2020, was replaced with Shaking Crab, and later Restaurant Junction. Restaurant Junction was a short-lived concept that combined multiple food options under one roof including Shaking Crab Cajun, Bubbly Bubble Boba, Wow! Burger & Sandwiches, Olive Tree Greek, Cocina De Mama Spanish, Rice Bowl Desi Cuisine, and Fit to Eat Health Foods. Aroma Joe's Coffee is planning their third Connecticut location for Southington!
The New Hampshire-based coffee shop chain plans to open their third Connecticut location at 279 Queen Street in Southington, the former Rita's location. Plans have been submitted to the Planning and Zoning Commission to demolish the existing building and replace it with a new 1,011 square foot drive thru coffee shop. A meeting date for the application has not been released at the time of this post. Rita's announced earlier this year that they would not open for the season this year and would be seeking a new location in the area. Aroma Joe's has 2 Connecticut locations, one in Waterbury and the other in neighboring Bristol. The chain has over 100 locations throughout New Hampshire, Maine, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New York, Florida, and Mass. Georgia Fitness Centers will be opening their first Connecticut location at the former Esporta / LA Fitness location at 1379 Farmington Avenue! This will be the chain's first franchised location and first in Connecticut! They plan to expand their brand throughout Connecticut in future years.
In anticipation for the opening, the gym will renovate the existing building. They plan to replace the basketball court with 3 new pickleball courts, convert the pool to saltwater, new equipment, new paint, and a refreshed interior! GF Fitness Centers (as it will be called) plans a June opening for the gym, and is currently offering a introductory rate of $29.99, and a typical rate of $40 after the introductory period. The gym will accept 'Silver-Sneakers', a senior gym membership through medicare. Esporta closed on March 27th after 16 years under Fitness International's management. The gym operated for 14 years as a LA Fitness and convert to Esporta Fitness for their last 2 years of operation. Ivy Rehab and Liquor Ox are coming soon to Avon Village Center!
-Ivy Rehab plans to relocate their existing rehab office to a new slightly larger space at Avon Village Center. The office is currently located behind Whole Foods, but will soon relocate next door to AT&T. -Liquor Ox, a liquor store with a location in Enfield, will be adding a new location next to the new Ivy Rehab location at Avon Village Center. Avon Village Center opened in 2021 with Whole Foods Market as the main anchor tenant. The shopping center is home to The Good Feet Store, Vitality Bowl, Poke Bros, 琉璃鲸 Whale Tea, Level UP 24/7 Smart Gym, AT&T, Romeo Athletics, Milan Laser Hair Removal, WAGS Pet Store, Be Balanced Weight Loss Center, and Barre3. The center struggles with vacancy since its construction; the plaza has 11 vacant spaces of the 25 total tenant spaces in phase 1 of the development. What would you like to see open in Avon Village Center? Comment below! Enfield Square Mall is one step closer to being reinvigorated as Enfield Marketplace! The mall is under contract to be purchased by Woodsonia Acquisitions, a Nebraska-based developer.
The plans for the site would include a mixed-use development with retail, restaurants, 2 hotels, 450 residential units, and trails around the property. The total development is estimate to cost over $250 million according to the developer. The developer plans to demolish the mall except for the Target building, Target would remain as a stand alone structure. The town-council approved a 'tax increment finiancing' for the project, a tactic to motivate investor towards a development. The council also approved a 10-year tax assessment for the property. State funding is also being sought to help offset to cost of development. Do you like the idea of a mixed-use development in Enfield? Comment below! Tisane Euro-Asian Cafe has closed their doors after 24 years on Farmington Avenue.
The European-Asian Cafe was located at 537 Farmington Avenue in Hartford. The cafe was owned by Locals 8 Hospitality Group, owners of Plan B, Diamond Pub, Butchers & Bakers, and Tisane. Tisane opened in 2000 on Farmington Avenue, quickly becoming a community gather spot. The cafe was a fan-favorite in the LGBTQ community; become a popular hang-out spot. The restaurant hosted drag-show nights and coffee & cocktail meetups. The cafe has won numerous awards including best LGBTQ+ bar, cocktails, coffee, and tea selection. The restaurant underwent significant renovations last year including over $130,000 fixing the roof, renovations to the kitchen, and new menu items. The owner cites a lack of business growth after the pandemic as a reason for the closure. The restaurant is working with the staff to find other positions at their restaurants. The restaurant group has locations throughout the State. More tenants have now been announced for the new development known as The Shops at Stonebridge in Cheshire!
-Blender Bar has signed a lease for a space near Saybrook Home! Blender Bar is an eatery serving fresh juice, salads, shakes, and more. The shop has a location in Cheshire at 189 Highland Avenue. - GoHealth Urgent Care has signed onto the development. The urgent care center will occupy a portion of an outparcel at the development. The urgent care center continues their expansion across CT with this location. These stores join the other recently announced tenants including Saybrook Home, Whole Foods Market, TJ Maxx, Mercato Italian Kitchen, Marketplace, Birdcode, Chipotle, and Choice Pet Supply. There are at least 8 more tenants in various stages of leasing space including the last 18,000 square foot junior anchor space. Stay tuned for more updates on this exciting project! Camp Stores, an immersive toy store, has closed their only Connecticut location after only 5 years in business! The toy store was located in The SoNo Collection in Norwalk.
Camp is a chain of 7 toy stores featuring a front toy store with an immersive backroom. The backrooms of each store contain intrecate themeing to kid's tv shows or movies. Recent collaborations include Bluey, Encanto, and other Disney IP. The store at The SoNo Collection opened in 2019 with the rest of the mall. The store was located on the third level near Abercrombie Kids. The chain also closed their store at Garden State Plaza in New Jersey last year, leaving New Jersey all together. Camp has 7 locations remaining including in Burlington Mass, Boston, Washington DC, Atlanta, Dallas, New York City, and Chicago. I finally got the chance to check out Hell's Kitchen at Foxwoods Resort Casino!
The restaurant is amazing! The restaurant operates similar to the show, there is a red and a blue kitchen that work together on orders. The menu features Gordon Ramsay specialties like his famous Beef Wellington, Lobster Risotto, Pan-Seared Scallops, Braised Shortribs, Sticky Toffee Pudding, and more. I ordered the lobster risotto for $33, the beef Wellington for $65, and the sticky toffee pudding for $14. My friend ordered the braised short ribs for $48. The restaurant also has a prix-fixe menu with Gordon’s recommendations that includes the pan-seared scallops, beef Wellington, and sticky toffee pudding all for $95. The food was delicious, lobster risotto was perfectly cooked with the lobster finished in butter right before being served. The beef Wellington was amazing, served only mid-rare. The mix of filet, mushroom, prosciutto, pastry, and Demi glaze creates the perfect combination of flavors. Finally the sticky toffee pudding was the perfect end to the meal; with a combination of sweet and savory. Special shoutout to our waiter Billy, he made the experience even better by being so attentive and helping us navigate the menu! Hell’s Kitchen is located in the Grand Pequot Tower, next door to the new Pequot Woodland Casino. Reservations and the full menu can be made at https://www.sevenrooms.com/reservations/gordonramsayhellskitchenfoxwoods We also had to finish the night at the new Sprinkletown Donuts & Ice Cream shop! The new donut shop is owned by Celebrity chef Zac Young. Have you visited Hell’s Kitchen yet? What was your favorite menu item? Comment below! A new Indian supermarket is planned for Bristol!
Desi Spice LLC will be opening a new supermarket in the former EbLens store at 1290 Farmington Avenue in Bristol! The new grocery store will feature a butcher and kitchen. No timeline has been announced for the project, building permit applications for the projects were submitted this morning (05/10). The owner of the store will be Mahesh Sanakkayala of South Windsor and Pradeep Ravella of Vernon. Mahesh also owns Spice Town Indian Grocery in Vernon. EbLens has sat empty since the store closed (along with the entire chain) last year, the sneaker store was located in the plaza for decades. The Bear’s Den is NOW OPEN in Granby! The new pub is located at 18R Hartford Avenue, the former Four Dads Pub space.
The new pub is owned by 2 Granby residents, Peter & Tony. The new owners plan is to create a cozy cocktail experience with your favorite flavors and new twists on pub staples. Check out their food menu here: https://order.toasttab.com/.../the-bears-den-granby-18r... The Bear's Den replaces Four Dads Pub, which closed earlier this year, Four Dads Pub was once a fast-growing restaurant group with locations in Granby, Hartford, and Coventry; a fourth location in Mass was announced by never opened. Check out our story on their closure here: https://www.facebook.com/theconnecticutscoop/posts/pfbid0ZTUtWtyR8u7VgBh6i7cRrdZh1jyFBmkDKhmM7ARjsgdrrNTHQX3yLkxtxz4gydn7l Make sure you check out Granby's newest hangout! Grace By Nia Foxwoods will officially open their doors next Thursday, May 16th at Foxwoods Resort Casino! The new supper club will be located next door to the High Rollers area on the first floor of the Grand Pequot Tower.
Grace By Nia Foxwoods is a traditional supper club, featuring Southern classic like gumbo, green tomato salad, hot crab dip, and more! Guests can expect an exciting weekend brunch full of shareable cocktails, cold brews on tap, and a playful menu featuring praline beignets, piri piri shrimp and unicorn grits, red velvet pancakes, and candied pepper bacon. Live jazz music along with other genres is expected at the new location. Grace by Nia has a location in Boston’s Seaport District that opened in 2023. The restaurant is now accepting reservations, you can make them here: https://www.sevenrooms.com/reservations/gracebyniafoxwoods Babies R Us is coming back to Connecticut! The baby store will be opening location inside 3 Kohls stores starting later this year! The new locations include:
-Manchester at 155 Tolland Turnpike -Plainville at 200 New Britain Avenue -Norwalk at 500 Connecticut Avenue These stores join the 198 new Babies R Us at Kohls locations throughout the United States. The chain has a flagship store at the American Dream Mall in New Jersey. The chain closed all their stores in 2018 after their parent company, Toys R Us, filed for bankruptcy. Toys R Us has relaunched their stores with a series of flagship stores with small shops inside Macy's. Where would you like to see Babies R Us open next? A number of new businesses are coming soon to Darien in the new development known as The Corbin District! The Corbin District is located at the corner of Boston Post Road and Corbin Drive.
-Kilwins Chocolate will be opening their second CT location at the development later this year! The chocolate shop is planning a 2025 opening in the development; most likely part of phase 2, now underconstruction. The chocolate shop has a single CT location in West Hartford with another over 150 locations throughout the US. -Cailini Coastal is coming soon to the development! The shop is described as luxury coastal with a highly curated assortment of quality and unique coastal-inspired decor and furnishings. -French Presse Linens is coming soon to The Corbin District! The new home furnishing store is described as chic & sustainable products that range from formal to comfortable and were created to bring peace and serenity to your home. -Chopt Creative Salad Co. is coming soon! The salad chain is described as well known and loved for creating the best made to order salads with the freshest of ingredients and homemade dressings. -Laurel Restaurant is coming soon to the development, the latest brand from MMM Hospitality. The restaurant plans a late 2025 opening, and is described as being driven by seasonal ingredients and powered by a wood-fired kitchen serving lunch and dinner. -Roots Ocean Prime, a classic New York style steakhouse is coming soon! The restaurant is the latest brand from the famed Harvest Restaurant Group. They plan a summer 2024 opening. -CycleBar is coming soon! The indoor cycling studio will be opening soon at the development; no firm opening date has been announced. -YogaSpark is coming soon! The studio is described as a hot power yoga studio. Every class is open level, challenging, set to great music, and FUN! The development is already home to numerous tenants including Bank of America, Barrett Bookstore, Bluemercury, Darien Toy Box, and so much more. Check out the full directory here: https://thecorbindistrict.com/shopping/ Jersey Mike's Subs will be expanding their Connecticut footprint later this year! The chain currently has 37 locations in Connecticut.
The chain has 5 new Connecticut locations listed as coming soon on their website, with at least 2 more planned. They have new locations coming soon in: -Avon at 186 West Main Street inside a new development to be home to Terriyaki Madness and PeoplesBank. The buildings are now under construction with a planned opening late this year. -Colchester at 95 Linwood Avenue, the restaurant will be located inside Linwood Plaza. The shop will open next door to Starbucks; and join other retailers Wagging Tails, Autozone, and Stop & Shop. No timeline has been announced for their opening. -Killingly at 562 Hartford Pike, the restaurant will be opening a new location in a yet-to-be built development. More information to come on this new development soon! -West Hartford at Prospect Plaza. Jersey Mike’s is now under construction in a new ground-up building that will also be home to Teriyaki Madness and a new Chipotle with a drive thru. No timeline has been announced for their opening, though a late 2024 / early 2025 is expected. -Plainfield at 764 Norwich Road. The sandwich shop will be part of a new building next door to O’Reilly Auto Parts. The developer is still looking to lease the remaining 1,700 +/- square feet of space with the possibility of a drive-thru for a new tenant. No timeline has been announced for the opening. -Madison at 611 Boston Post Road. The shop will be part of CVS plaza and will replace Subway in the shopping center. Building permits for the project were issued in March for the project. No timeline has been announced for the opening. -Plainville at 311 New Britain Ave; the restaurant will join Goodwill, a dispensary, and Trinity Health in the development. The new restaurant will occupy a small in-line space in the new plaza. Goodwill is an existing tenant. No timeline has been announced for the opening. More information to come on this new development soon! Where would you like to see them open next? Comment below! Rosa Mexicano Restaurants has closed their only Connecticut location after only a year and a half of business! A great replacment has already been found for the space!
Rosa Mexicano closed their West Hartford location at 51 Isham Road at Blue Back Square. The restaurant permanently closed at the end of business on Sunday, Cinco de Mayo. The restaurant opened their doors in November of 2022, replacing Bar Louie. Coracora will be opening their second West Hartford location of their Peruvian eatery in the space later this year! The eatery recently won the James Beard Award as an outstanding restaurant. The restaurant has a location at 162 Shield Street in West Hartford. Rosa Mexicano expanded rapidly in 2021-2023, adding a number of restaurants throughout the country. The restaurant group has now closed three of their newer locations including West Hartford, Burlington Mass, and Arlington Virginia; all opened around the same time in 2022. Check out the full story from We-Ha.com here: https://we-ha.com/award-winning-restaurant-opening.../ Are you sad to see Rosa Mexicano close? Are you excited to see a local restaurant expand? Comment below! Stew Leonard's could be coming to Orange! The grocery store chain confirmed that they are in talks to open a new location at the former Christmas Tree Shop at 200 Indian River Road.
Stew Leonard's usually require 60,000-80,000 square feet of space, the former Christmas Tree Shop is roughly 53,000 square feet. The space could be expanded by taking over some of the adjacent tenant space. The former Christmas Tree Shop is currently home to Bargain House Furniture, a short-term tenant. Stew Leonard's currently has 7 locations including Danbury, Newington, Norwalk, Yonkers, Paramus, Farmingdale, and East Meadow. The store will open their 8th location later this month in Clifton NJ, The store had tried unsuccessfully to build an Orange location in the past, the land is now home to a Fedex Freight Hub. Jersey Mike's and Teriyaki Madness are coming soon to West Hartford's Prospect Plaza! The two eateries will be located in a new building with Chipotle that is now under construction!
Jersey Mike's currently has 37 locations throughout Connecticut with new locations planned for Avon and Madison. This will be the first Jersey Mike's in West Hartford, the next closest location is currently in Newington or Glastonbury. Teriyaki Madness is a fast-growing Japanese eatery with 2 locations currently opened in Connecticut in Enfield and Hamden. The eatery has a number of location in development including Manchester and Avon (joining Jersey Mike's.) We were happy to break the Scoop last week with We-Ha.com. Make sure to check out their post here: https://we-ha.com/west-hartford-business-buzz-april-29-2024/ Nan Xiang Xiao Long Bao - Flushing, Queens will be opening their first Connecticut location at Stamford Town Center! The Michelin-recommended Asian eatery will occupy the former Kona Grill space in the Restaurant Row section of the mall at 100 Greyrock Place.
Nan Xiang Xiao Long Bao is an award winning dumpling restaurant that started in 2006 in Flushing, NY. The restaurant describes itself as "Tthe first choice for local Chinese immigrants who are craving for authentic Northern Chinese food, Jiangsu & Zhejiang cuisine. A lot of western diners also visit Nan Xiang to experience our famous dishes recommend by various publications and food bloggers." The restaurant describes their famous food as "Our signature dishes are the restaurant’s unrivaled crab and pork soup dumplings, plentiful steamed buns and Shanghainese dim sum. Other popular dishes include pan-fried crispy noodles, fried rice cakes, scallion pancakes with sliced beef, fish fillet & pickled cabbage noodle soup and pan-fried dumplings." No timeline has been announced for their opening, requests for comment were not answered at the time of posting. This will be the restaurant's fifth location; with locations in Flushing, East Village NY, Koreatown NY, and Cherry Hill NJ. The chain has 4 more locations coming soon in Westbury NY, King of Prussia PA, Pittsburgh PA, and Stamford CT! |
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