Manchester & Vernon Business Buzz 12/7/18

            Manchester Business Openings:

• Sam's Bargin Mart will be opening on December 8th! The discount store will be located next door to Cardio Express in the Manchester Parkade.

 

• Subway has filed permits to build-out a space for a new restaurant! Subway will build out a new space next door to Popeye's, the 1,000 square foot space is located in the same building as Popeye's, space remaining from the former Friendly's.

 

• Kumar's South Indian Cuisine has opened their Manchester restaurant! The restaurant is located in Big Y plaza in the former Misaki Buffet location. The construction was carried out by Ace Management and Construction out of Waterbury.

 

• Steve's Bagels has opened their new Manchester/Vernon location in the former Clam Digger location on Tolland Turnpike.

 

• Danielle's Spencer Street Pizza will open in the former home of Edi's Pizza in the Shoprite Plaza.

 

• Pastrami on Wry will reopen their East Center Street location early next month! The business was bought by Miguel Proano; read more on the purchase here!

 

• Lucky Taco has reopened their main dining room after a renovation; the restaurant has been renovated and expanded.

             Manchester Business Closings:

• Found Company has closed their Purcell Place shop after less than six months in that location. Found has been an online company for the past year and a half; launching their first brick and mortar location at Evergreen Walk before moving to Purcell Place.

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• Augie's on Spencer Street has closed. The restaurant has been a staple of Manchester. This restaurant was not associated with Augie and Ray's, which remains open.

 

• Farmington Bank on Middle Turnpike West will close early next year, the bank was purchased by People's United. People's United is merging this branch with their own located inside Stop and Shop.

             Manchester Business News:

• Dairy Queen on Hartford Road will be holding their annual cake sale on December 22nd, from 10 am to 5 pm! 

             ​Vernon Business Openings:

• Wendy's has officially opened their Vernon location! Wendy's is located next door to Taco Bell.

• Spark VR has officially opened their newly expanded location in the same plaza. Spark has added new experiences like Race simulators and has also added a bar.

• Off The Ground Sound has opened their Rockville music studio; the studio is located near Craig's Kitchen.

• All In Auto will occupy the former Foreign Auto of Vernon location on Union Street. 

• The Academy of Art and Learning has opened up their third academy in Vernon! The new location is in the former Apple Tree learning center, which closed suddenly a few months ago.

             Vernon Business Closings:

• The Book Rack, located in 'The Shops at 30, will be closing. The store's owner is planning on retiring, and the store is having a retirement sale right now.

• Papa Gino's has closed their Vernon location, The Manchester Scoop was the first news outlet in Connecticut to report on the closure last month. Read more here!

• Farmington Bank will close their Vernon branch early next year, Farmington Bank was purchased by People's United.

• Nature's Grocer has closed their Gluten Free bakery and grocery store in Rockville.

             Vernon Business News:

• One Stop Consignment will be moving to Ellington, behind Kloter Farms, and will be renamed Ellington Consignment.

• Minuteman Press will temporarily move to an empty storefront at 'The Shops at 30' while their Vernon location is renovated after a fire. Oriental Cafe caught fire earlier this year and seriously damaged Minuteman's space.

• Scranton Powersports has moved to their new location next door to Scranton Cadillac Buick GMC. The dealership was previously down the street in a former Santander Bank branch.

• Visual Perceptions is now MyEyeDr, a chain of opticians across the country. The same staff still operates the office.

• McDonald's in Vernon is receiving an interior face lift, the lobby of the restaurant is currently closed while the space is renovated, the drive thru remains open.

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• Kmart in Vernon plans to remain open, parent company Sears filed for bankruptcy. The Vernon Kmart and Manchester Sears landed on the 'Go Forward' stores list, which lays out the best performing stores, stores that will continue to operate after a buyer is found.

• In other Kmart/Sears news, Former CEO Eddie Lampert has announced a $4.6 Billion bid to buy the struggling retailer out of bankruptcy. Lampert is Sears biggest creditors, owns a majority of Sears stock, and has attempted to buy parts of Sears before.