Buckland Business Brief: November 2024

Buckland Opening:
-Jay Jewelers is coming soon to the former GameStop space. The upscale jeweler will open later this month after a complete refresh of the space including new flooring, new paint, new fixtures, and more. 

-King's Jewelers is NOW OPEN at the mall. The family-owned jewelry store will be located in the former Francesca's space near Gong Cha. The store has a location in Holyoke Mall in Mass.

-Liege & Co. is coming soon to the former Gloria Jean’s coffee kiosk in the Center court between Macy’s and JC Penney. The new waffle shop will serve liege waffles with a large variety of different toppings! Check out the Facebook (tagged above) to look at some of the wonderful creations! The waffle kiosk will open on November 13th! 

-Skybrite Freeze Dried Candy is coming soon to the mall. The new candy and decor store will open in the former Hannoush Jewelry store space on the first level next to The Children's Place. The store is expected to remain open through the holiday season. 

-China Wok has reopened their food court restaurant. The restaurant temporarily closed due to a broken hood system. The system has been repaired and they are serving again!

-Lili's Holiday Pop-Up is NOW OPEN on the first level. The store is located in the former FYE / WOW Toy Store space near Macy's. The store is expected to remain open through the holiday season. 

-A new large Arcade is coming soon to the mall! The arcade will be located in the former Rue21 space. From the glimpse I got when talking to construction staff, the new arcade features a large amount of claw machines, typical arcade games, air hockey, and much more. Look for them to open very soon!

​-Matos Level Eminent Realty is planning to open a small office at the mall. The office will be located between L&L and New You Foot Spa. 

-BarQz Men's Grooming is NOW OPEN at the mall! The new barbershop is located on the first level near Macy's Furniture. The barbershop replaced the vacant C&J Tobacco Barn that closed in 2020. 

-BarQz Beauty Salon is NOW OPEN at the mall! The hair salon is a rebrand on Voila Hair Salon near the former Sears!

*These additions bring the mall to 85%+ occupancy! More stores are on the way as well! Stay tuned.

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Evergreen Opening:
-Lululemon has started construction on their new South Windsor location! Lululemon, an athleisure store, will open their 7th Connecticut location at The Shops at Evergreen Walk! The new store will occupy the former Soft Surroundings space next to Munson's Chocolate, 5,643 square feet. The store will be a longterm pop-up location. The store is expected to open before the holiday season and last nearly a year.

-J Crew Factory, a factory-outlet version of J Crew stores, will open in the former Coldwater Creek space at the outdoor mall. The store will occupy just over 6,000 square feet. The space will be totally renovated including modifications to the exterior facade. The interior will be built to new J Crew standards. J Crew was previously located at Evergreen Walk, just 2 doors down from their new location. The space is now home to Higher Ground Core.

-All Love Candles is coming soon to The Shops at Evergreen Walk! The candle making bar and store will occupy the former Waffle Cabin space at the green! The shop will be open for candle making classes, retail shopping, walk-in candle making, collaborative events, and much more! The candle company hosts candle making nights, private parties, and other events! Check out their website here to learn more about them and their upcoming events: https://alllovecandles.com

-Stretchlab is coming soon to The Shops at Evergreen Walk! The stretching studio will occupy 1,542 square feet of space next door to Emerald City Smoothie. No timeline has been announced for the studio's opening. 

-Starbucks is still under construction near Costco! The exterior is nearly complete, then the buildout of the interior will begin! Look for them to open this winter!

-Chipotle is complete and waiting to open! We are expecting an opening date to be announced soon! The new location will be located near Costco. The location will have a drive-thru for mobile orders called the Chipot-lane. 

-Club Studio will open their new gym in late January / early February according to corporate. The new gym is set to replace the former LA Fitness / Esporta Fitness at 100 Cedar Avenue in South Windsor. A temporary pre-sales office will soon open at 340 Buckland Road, the former Pasta Vita space in the Hannoush building.

-Sally's Apizza will be located at 5 Cedar Avenue, part of the new development with PeoplesBank, Chipotle, and Starbucks. Construction on Sally's has yet to begin, they are expected to start work once construction is complete on Starbucks and Chipotle. The pizza shop plans to open sometime in 2025. This would be their fourth Greater Hartford location. The pizza shop has locations opening soon in Farmington, Norwalk, & Newington.


Other Buckland Area Openings:
-Lava Island, a chain of entertainment centers, plans to open their first Connecticut location in Manchester at 169 Hale Road, the former Bed Bath & Beyond / Most Excellent Gaming. The children's complex would feature 30,000 square feet of amusements including climbing structures, ballpits, trampolines, ninja warrior courses, party rooms, and much more. The space would also feature a restaurant inside. The project is planned to begin construction before the end of the year, with a spring 2025 opening.

-Hobby Lobby is coming to the former Christmas Tree Shop in Manchester! The home decor and craft shop will relocate from their location near Home Depot into the larger Christmas Tree Shop space at 120 Hale Road. The new store is expected to open this spring. The store plans slight removation to the existing exterior, though the bulk will remain unchanged. New doors, automatic doors with overhead windows, and an updated entrance will be added. The iconic corner facade will be modified to remove the glass front with the sleigh, the greenhouse-style entrance will remain. The interior of the space will be gutted and built to Hobby Lobby's specs.

-Raising Cane's has submitted an application for 'Erosion and Sediment Control Plan' for a new restaurant building in Manchester. The location is planned to be built at 75 Buckland Road in Manchester, a vacant lot at the bottom of the hill near Texas Roadhouse. The applicant was listed as Raising Cane's Restaurants LLC.

-Sri Balaji, A new vegan / vegetarian restaurant, is coming soon to Manchester! SRI Balalj Veg & Vegan Indian Restaurant will open at 231 Buckland Hills Drive in Manchester. The new vegan / vegetarian Indian restaurant will occupy the 1,800 square foot space that was most recently occupied by Scottrade. The restaurant has been under construction for months to convert the space into a restaurant. Look for them to open soon!

-Kyushu Sushi & Ramen is coming soon to 440 Buckland Hills Drive, the former Smashburger space in the Best Buy Plaza! The 2,500 square foot restaurant will be transformed into a modern sushi and ramen shop with an interior dining room and patio! The restaurant plans to open in mid-December! Stay tuned!

-Tint World is NOW OPEN in Manchester! The new car modification shop is located at 29 Pavilions Drive, near Edge Fitness. Check out their website here: https://www.tintworld.com/locations/ct/manchester-179/

-Kidstrong is coming soon to Manchester! The center features athletic play that builds confidence, character & family connection through science-based fitness games led by highly trained coaches. The center will be located at 48 Pavilions Drive, part of the vacant space next to Edge Fitness. Look for them to open next year. 

-Burlington is planning a new store in Manchester! The discount retailer plans to occupy the former Big Lots store at The Plaza at Buckland Hills. The store would be located at 1470 Pleasant Valley Road according their corporate. Big Lots closed their store earlier this month after a brief liquidation sale. The store is expected to occupy the 30,000 square foot space. The store is expected to open in June 2025 according to the website. No building permits have been submitted or issued for the project yet.

-Playa Bowls is NOW OPEN in Manchester! The fruit bowl restaurant is located at 1540 Pleasant Valley Road at The Plaza at Buckland Hills. The shop is located between Hot Table and Crumbl Cookie! The restaurant serves a wide variety of fruit bowls, fresh juices, smoothies, cold brew, oatmeal, and much more. Take a look at the attached menu for their offerings!

-Pokémoto Hawaiian Poke Bowls is coming soon to the old Sport Clips space at The Plaza at Buckland Hills! The restaurant serves poke bowls, similar to sushi but served in a bowl instead of a roll.

-Physical Therapy & Sports Medicine Center is coming soon to The Plaza at Burr Corner. The medical office will occupy the former Jenny Craig space next to Goldfish Swim School.


Closings:
-TGI Friday's has shuttered their Manchester location! The restaurant was located at 209 Hale Road in Manchester, between Residence Inn and Courtyard by Marriott. The restaurant chain has closed a number of locations across the country including what appears to be all their Connecticut locations.

-Track23 has closed their clothing store at the mall. The clothing store was located next to Shoe Dept Encore on the second level. 

-Impact Martial Arts has closed their martial arts studio in South Windsor. The studio was located in Buckland Commons, a small plaza located at 1 Buckland Road. 

-Metro Mattress has closed their Manchester location along with the rest of their Connecticut locations. The store was located at The Plaza at Burr Corners. 

-CREATIVEFACES Hair Salon & Boutique has closed their hair salon at the mall. The hair salon was located near Barnes& Noble.

-ICode has closed their children's coding school. They were located at The Plaza at Burr Corners.

-LabCorp has closed their South Windsor blood draw center. The center was located at The Shops at Evergreen Run, the plaza with Clothes Mentor and Plato's Closet.