Manchester Business Brief 7/28/19

Opening:

The Firestone Studio and Cafe will take over the soon-to-be former Pinewood Furniture store on Main Street! The owner of The Firestone also owns The Claypen in West Hartford. The art studio will feature many medium of art including pottery and painting, as well as serving locally grown coffee. The studio should open later this year.

Dollar General will open a second Manchester location. The new store will be located in the former Rite Aid on Broad Street. The store closed last year after Walgreens acquired the store along with 2000 other locations. The store should open later this summer. 

Shining Star Driving School has opened on Main Street. The driving school is located at 294 Main Street, adjacent to Liberty Tax Services. The school is open from 9 am to 7 pm.

Work has begun on the new restaurant that will replace Caveys! The restaurant will feature an Italian theme. The restaurant, whose name has not been released, will be owned by Geno Auriemma; the owner of Geno's Grille, Geno's Fast Break, Geno's Day Break, Geno's Southside, and Wok-On by Geno.

Subway has opened their new location on Spencer Street. The restaurant is located in the same building as Popeye's. The restaurant relocated from their location in the Ocean State Job Lot Plaza, which was forced the close last year by the building department for lack of sprinklers. 

Antonio's Pizza will relocate their pizza shop on Main Street. The shop, currently located in the same block as Accra Mall USA, will move into the former Fani's Kitchen location near Webster Bank.

Danielle's Spencer Street Pizza will have their 'Super Grand Opening' on August 8th starting at 12. The pizza shop is located in the Shoprite Plaza near Go Health. The pizza shop was formerly home to Edi's Pizzeria.

Elicit Brewing Company has started construction of their new microbrewery and restaurant in the former Adams Mill space! The brewery will feature fun games, a wine bar, beer garden, and microbrewery.

Planet Fitness has reopened their Parkade location. The gym had closed last month for a complete renovation to accommodate the members transferring from the closing gym at Burr Corners. 

K Sushi & Deli will open in the former Amazing Touch Hair Salon! The restaurants address will be 471 Hartford Rd; right new door to The Gathering.

The Buckland Hills Mall and surrounding area has been a hot bed for business activity! Check out the latest in the stand-alone article, Buckland Business Brief 7/12/19 and look for the new edition on 8/12/19!

Manchester Car Center has opened their used car dealership next door to Steve's Bagels on Tolland Turnpike. The dealership sells quality used vehicles, operating at 1 Tolland Turnpike.


Closing:

Pinewood Furniture will close their Manchester warehouse and showroom later this summer. The owner has decided to retire, and has sold the store to The Claypen, who will open their new art studio is the first and second floor of the space. The remaining space will be turned into apartments. 

Lenox Pharmacy on East Center Street has closed. The pharmacy was a staple of Manchester Green area, and was one of the last remaining family owned pharmacies in Manchester. The prescriptions were transferred to CVS, who bought the pharmacy and their files. 

Save A Lot has officially closed the Manchester store. The store was located in the former Shaw's Supermarket. The space is now for lease by Northeast Retail of Windsor, CT.

Sean's Fine Jewelry has closed their location on Main Street. The store had been liquidating for the past month. The store has a sister store, owned by Sean's wife, called 41 Closets. This store closed last year. 


Other Manchester News:

Announced last week, People's United Bank will acquire Hartford-based United Bank. The deal will combine two Connecticut-based banks. The deal, which still has to pass regulators and shareholders of both banks, has drawn criticism from the former-head of Rockville Bank (merged with United Bank.) William McGurk coined the phrase 'That's My Bank!' has changed his tune saying 'That's Not My Bank!,' McGurk slammed the proposed merger. As the largest shareholder of United Bank, his opinion could ultimately kill the merger. The proposed merger would result in bank branch closure, as People's United Bank did after acquire Connecticut-based Farmington Bank last year, closing a recently opened Manchester branch on Middle Turnpike West. 

A developer has finally been found for the site of the Parkade. Manchester Parkade I says the 'dark side' of the Parkade will be built into a mix of apartments, entertainment, and restaurants. The developer has signed a memo of understanding for the site, and a finalized proposal for the site, including the sale of the site to the developer, is expected in September. The owner of Manchester Parkade I, Michael Licamele, is currently converting the former CO-OP property in the North End of Manchester into a pellet factory and apartments. 

Continuing the Danielle's Spencer Street Pizza news, they have announced the addition of a coffee hour on Saturdays! The restaurant will open from 10-11 in the morning with coffee, doughnuts, and muffins. $3 for a coffee and doughnut, $4 for a coffee and two doughnuts, and $4 for a coffee and a muffin.

Urban Lodge Brewing Company on Purnell Place has added a patio to their taproom. The brewery has not opened for business yet; but based on the patio and exterior progress, the opening will be by the end of the summer. 

Mazda of Manchester has been sold to Manchester Honda. The dealership was owned by Stephen Carter, the former owner of Carter Chevy. Carter sold his Chevy dealership to Manchester Honda in 2017. The building is currently undergoing significant renovations to meet Mazda standards.


Author Announcements:

Last month I launched an online store as a way for loyal readers to help support the site. The site is expensive to run and has unexpected expenses. The site sells branded merchandise, and will eventually sell Manchester themed merchandise! I will include some examples that Aerin Paulo, a digital marketing guru, and myself have been cooking up for the last few weeks! I am open to recommendations or ideas as well! Take a look at the store by clicking SHOP under the menu above, or by clicking here!