We have a few new scoops to tell you about. Read about them in this "mini" brief!

-Verizon (36 Fenn Road) will be moving their location to 12 Fenn Road, the newly built annex to Fenn Road Plaza joining Jersey Mike's Subs, Tropical Smoothie Cafe, Salsa Fresca Mexican Grill, and Haven Hot Chicken. Verizon will round out the building to achieve 100% occupancy! A sign on both the current and future location confirms the move. No timeline on the move has been given. Work is beginning on the interior build-out of the new space. The Fenn Road location has been under the Wireless Zone franchise for years.

-The Shop Newington (287 Main Street) will be relocating their barber shop to 139 Lowrey Place, the former Garrett's Barber Shop/Galaxy Salon space at Northwood Plaza! The Shop joins Sky Zone as new tenants to the downtown shopping center. Buildout of the new space has begun. No timeline on the transition at this time. Also, no word if a new tenant has been found for their current space.

-Gas Man (476 Fenn Road) is now branded as a Citgo gas station. The station has been under the Gas Man brand since opening over a decade ago. Ahamed LLC remains as the business owner. Building and Electrical Permits were filed with the town back in January. The transition has finally been completed.

-The former Hartford Veterinary Hospital space (2300 Berlin Turnpike) has been sold to Nutmeg Properties, LLC as of June 26, and will once again be home to a veterinarian! Nutmeg Veterinary Hospital will be opening in the space well known in town as being the office of beloved veterinarian William Haines. Dr. Haines sadly passed away last year, and Hartford Vet closed their doors. Once we know more about Nutmeg, we will give an update.

-I just found this one. The building at 27-33 East Cedar Street has recently added two tenants. A&D Homecare has occupied the former Paper Station space at 29 East Cedar Street. Their address when searching them online is still listed as 27 Garfield Street. Rejuvenate Massage Therapy and Spa has occupied a former accounting office at 31 East Cedar Street next to Roma Tailors. Again, I am unsure of how long both businesses have been there, however it had to have been recent. Not much information can be found on them online. Just thought it would be good to point out this information.
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Any thoughts on these updates? Let us know what you think in the comments!

We now know the new tenant of the former Batteries+Bulbs space at 3384 Berlin Turnpike!

A Planning and Zoning Application was filed today for a new fast casual restaurant to be named LuLu & Bru's Chicken Coop. Not much is known on the details of the new restaurant, aside from the fact they will specialize in chicken. Indoor dining as well as takeout will be offered.

A lease has already been signed. However, that is contingent on the outcome of the Special Use Permit that has been requested by the applicant, John Coughlin. He will go before TPZ at a future meeting to be scheduled. We will reach out to him for more information.

We can confirm that the co-owner of Hungry Pot will be opening a new restaurant called Hungry Bowl!

The new Newington restaurant would serve all you can eat Mongolian Bowls, Sushi, and Ramen. The restaurant is working to secure permits to begin construction on the former TGI Fridays at 3025 Berlin Turnpike!

Are you excited about a new dining option on the turnpike? Did you ever try Hungry Pot? Let us know in the comments!

Catch up on latest business news in town with the Newington Business Brief! In this edition, we will recap previous news, including openings, closings, and looking ahead to future developments. We are also celebrating the first anniversary of The Newington Scoop with a few surprises! There is so much going on in town, we could not cover it all in this update! If you do not see it below, we are working on it!

Here is the brief:

-Dunkin' (79 East Cedar Street) opened in their new space on May 23. The building previously was a Santander Bank branch that closed in 2019. The longtime location at 1095 Main Street closed permanently May 19, just prior to the new location opening. The new shop now has a drive-thru and outdoor seating!

-Artisianna - Olive Oils and Balsamics (2600 Berlin Turnpike) held a grand opening event on June 7 and 8 and a ribbon cutting with the Newington Chamber of Commerce on June 10. The local specialty foods shop relocated within the same building at 2600 Berlin Turnpike to a first-floor storefront!

-Hound and Home is NOW OPEN in their new space at 1042 Main Street, the former Flowers Etc! The pet store had been located at 2600 Berlin Turnpike. Muddy Paws Barkery is also merging their business in to the new space. Check them out!

-A ribbon cutting was held at Flash Car Wash (16 Fenn Road) on June 24 with the Chamber!

-CAVA (3323 Berlin Turnpike) opened their Newington location to the public on June 28 with a Community Day event on June 27 offering free meals to customers who pre-registered. They even matched any donations made to Food Rescue US - Hartford!

-Also at Meadow Commons, PJ's Coffee and Playa Bowls will be opening very soon. Sally's Apizza is also coming soon. Stay with us for continued updates.

-Millyard at Meadow Commons (98 Pane Road) and The Pike (227 Pane Road) are progressing well. Millyard has already welcomed new residents while The Pike will be doing so within weeks. Visit their Facebook pages to learn more. Both housing developments are currently offering tours of their units. Pictures are attached!
Smoke City Tobacco and Vape opened recently at 2435A Berlin Turnpike!

-NewGen Pickleball (77 Pane Road) was supposed to open in June, but that did not happen. The new building they will be in is still finishing construction. NewGen will be joining SafeSplash Swim School in the new building. We hope to get an update soon!
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-The future Sunbelt Rentals (67 Pane Road) is still very much under construction. The former Frink’s Garden Center is undergoing a complete transformation to an equipment rental facility which is moving from its current location at 2258 Berlin Turnpike!

-Al's Landscaping and Nursery (204 Kelsey Street) has recently changed ownership. It is now known as Niro Garden Center!

-WeHa FiT moved their facility from 261 Park Road in West Hartford to 600 North Mountain Road in Newington!

-The Community Room Café has announced plans to open at 39 East Cedar Street, in a large portion of the Century 21 building. The real estate office, now known as Century 21 North East, still has an office in the building. Since we broke the scoop, their petition was approved by Planning and Zoning! Read the post here: https://www.facebook.com/thenewingtonscoop/posts/pfbid02syGRrBF3Eq7DTDZtWAPtKzzfE78YBsmSL5H6Rnsm12VTpRmpDC4ewuVPmhNP7DSVl

-We were “first on the scoop” this week with word on a replacement for TGI Fridays at 3025 Berlin Turnpike. The co-owner of the Hungry Pot franchise filed an LLC with the state for a new restaurant likely to be named Hungry Bowl. Hungry Pot has locations in Wethersfield and Manchester. We will keep an eye out for more on this and a timeline for opening!

-CT Breeder (2221 Berlin Turnpike) announced on their Facebook page recently they hope to be open in their new Newington location by September 1st!

-The former Mobil station at 50 Fenn Road will be converting to Shell. Read our post here:
https://www.facebook.com/thenewingtonscoop/posts/pfbid02skAJUd2yzjG4dpPwcmR87QFdAb6FXjYAk8Qf2r2e9FJBrYDFbWHrTjJY5gpcnBvTl

-Sky Zone Trampoline Park has plans to open in the former Best/Local Market space at 175 Lowrey Place. They have submitted plans to TPZ; however, a Public Hearing has not been scheduled as of this post. We will keep you posted on the date. See our posts here:
https://www.facebook.com/thenewingtonscoop/posts/pfbid02y6yRNeefygEnMZbX5M59rur4eHdcW9rPECe89aSVFJ3srH5qdxdtRaA6VkamMcXfl
https://www.facebook.com/thenewingtonscoop/posts/pfbid02ddQw2TRhrHiu2L2zbannT7knQshoX9bEKUxFCXEjUEDGxyT91xHRYVUHvzZbJcJPl
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-The Hartford HealthCare campus (181 and 184-200 Patricia Genova Drive) has been taken off the market after briefly being up for sale. At the last Economic Development meeting this past Wednesday, it was stated that the sale of the property was put on hold until a comprehensive study of the downtown area was completed with the expertise of a consultant soon to be hired by the town. This study is being done in hopes of coming up with a master plan to make the downtown area a more successful business district with the collaboration of all businesses and property owners. We are following this process closely and will keep readers informed!
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-The Newington Commons shopping center (150-206 Kitts Lane) was recently purchased and improvements are planned for the property. See our story here:
https://www.facebook.com/thenewingtonscoop/posts/pfbid022ptAeYfGo1Ng71UCnf4S9fgnDgMChMRuUtM46hWkCLeAHSYsnCXGBo4LHyE5fR6sl

-Bob's Stores Footwear & Apparel (172 Kitts Lane) will be closing along with the entire chain. The company has been having financial difficulties for years and have gradually closed locations and most recently even opened new ones. The Newington store was to close back in 2020 but stayed open. This time, the closure appears to be permanent. See the post from The Connecticut Scoop here:
https://www.facebook.com/theconnecticutscoop/posts/pfbid0Y8XAhtVxSimc5F5PdKcajniceLdXnJdjcoP69WMJJVi7ycdFfhRpzZ4Y4KmGu9UFl

-The town approved the purchase of the OFI property (28 Garfield Street) at the June 25 Town Council meeting to house a new Emergency Operations Center (EOC). The lease for OFI expires early next year. At that time, the town would take ownership of the property. A new location would likely be found within town for OFI.

-Yankee Mattress (3277 Berlin Turnpike) closed their Newington location recently after only a few months in business. They opened just before the holidays last year. No reason was given for the closure. Their other locations are in New York.

-Construction is continuing at the future DORO owned restaurant at 2929 Berlin Turnpike. DORO plans on opening an Italian-themed restaurant at the site of the former Bertucci’s space similar to Treva in West Hartford. A complete overhaul of the building has commenced, and new landscaping and a patio are included in the plans!

-ICYMI: We recently expanded with the launch of The Berlin Scoop! The neighboring town of Berlin, which includes the Berlin Turnpike along with the Farmington Avenue area and Kensington, has seen an uptick in business openings and new developments. We have been featuring news from Berlin for several months, and have decided they needed their own platform. Just over the town line at 224 Berlin Turnpike, Fancy Sushi recently opened, and T-swirl Crêpe is coming soon. To see these stories and more, LIKE and FOLLOW The Berlin Scoop on Facebook. We also have a section for Berlin on the Connecticut Scoop website. Instagram is coming soon!

-The 42nd Annual Life. Be. In. It Extravaganza will be taking place on Saturday, July 20th, with a host of events leading up to the big day each evening beginning on Wednesday, July 17th. The Newington Scoop has partnered with Newington Parks and Recreation this year to give our followers a special offer! Check back with us on Monday for an announcement!

Now for a celebration of our own! We reached a milestone this month as The Newington Scoop celebrates our first anniversary! I am so grateful to have been given the chance to run a local news page and help support the Newington business community and economic development. Our purpose is to help get the word out on what is happening with the many businesses who are in our backyards and bring us several essential and unique services. A big thank you to Scoop founder, Jean-Luc Dube, who offered me this opportunity a year ago. He is a wealth of knowledge and has assisted me in getting the most accurate information on all business developments in town. Please stay tuned for a few surprises during our Anniversary month. Thank you for your support so far!

VISIT US ON THE WEB-Do you prefer a web URL to view our stories or know of someone who doesn’t have social media? We have everything you are looking for at www.theconnecticutscoop.com. There, you will find every story you see here, in addition to stories from our Scoop family across Connecticut! Check it out!

Do you have business news you would like to share? Are you a business who wishes to advertise on The Newington Scoop? We are always looking for a few extra pair of eyes and ears, especially in Berlin. If you would like to share your story, send us an email at [email protected].

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