First a word from our sponsor! SUMMERS AT GLENBROOKE ARE CHOCK FULL OF FUN Raise your hand if you're ready for summer! We certainly are and we know exactly what will make it that much more fun. Glenbrooke Outdoor Sports Center recently added an array of activities and sports for some full-time fun! First is their brand new recreational day program that will keep the kiddos busy from morning through afternoon (restful nights for the whole fam is a WIN-WIN!). They have swim, tennis, basketball, soccer, double-dutch jump rope, crafts...the list goes on and on. Plus, the new Melissa J. Molin Memorial Soccer Field is almost finished and THIS Saturday, March 13th (Rain date: March 20th), the Center will hold tours for returning and potential new members. Stop by anytime 1:00 to 3:00 PM to get a first look and meet Ken Goodale, the director of Coerver East Soccer (he will run the new soccer program at Glenbrooke) and Dan Crovo, Glenbrooke's new General Manager. First 50 kids get a FREE t-shirt. We cannot say enough about the people in charge at Glenbrooke. They have a love and passion for this special spot like nothing we have ever seen. They truly want families to have the best old-fashioned summer! Built in 1964, it was a true labor of love and that mantra lives on to this day. Find more deets about all their offerings HERE or call Rose 860.682.8265 and plan your summer of fun TODAY. Opening:
Americas Best Contacts & Eyeglasses will open in the Plaza of Buckland Hills. The eye care office will open in the last vacant space at the plaza, once home to Lane Bryant. J Jill appears to be moving from their current location to a vacant spot next to Apple. The women's clothing store is currently located in the first building of Evergreen Walk, next door to Christopher & Banks. The building is slated to become a junior tenant, and I speculate that will be the new home to Old Navy if Evergreen's grocery store plans pass. China Wok will be opening in the food court at The Shoppes at Buckland Hills where the former China Max was. China Max closed last month after over 5 years in the mall food court. China Wok's addition will only leave one vacancy in the food court, the space once home to Subway. My Wife Didn’t Cook had their grand opening on 2/1/2021 in the food court at Buckland Hills Mall. This restaurant has proud ties to New Britain. The restaurant serves a variety of foods, specializing in soul food. Try the fried catfish! Aldi in South Windsor, Manchester line, will open their door on March 11th according to a sign posted outside the nearly finished grocery store! The discount grocery is part of a new development called 'The Gateway.' This should hopefully calm the Vernon store down, the store is usually very busy during peak hours with cars parked up and down the entrance road. East Celebrity Elite Cheerleading will be opening next to revolution basketball on Tolland Turnpike. East Celebrity Elite will be moving from the former location in East Windsor. The address of the new facility is 1406 Tolland Turnpike. Jersey Mikes has reopened after renovation their restaurant! The sub shop is located at The Plaza at Buckland Hills, the renovation included a refresh to the interior, as well as the addition of a drop ceiling in the dining room. Burton’s has expanded their South Windsor restaurant! The restaurant is located at the entrance of Evergreen Walk. The restaurant added a second dining room in the adjoining vacant space last home to Jos. A Banks. Harbor Chase is nearing their opening near LA Fitness! The leasing office at Evergreen Walk will be having a lunch promotion on March 11th from 11 Am to 1:30 PM. Stop in to the office to learn about the facility and receive a delicious lunch from October Kitchen! RSVP to Hartman@harborchase.com or by calling (860) 543-1010. New grocery store possibly coming to Evergreen! We have heard a lot of names thrown out for the operator of the store! Names on the list include Whole Foods Market, Amazon Fresh, and The Fresh Market. The grocery store would be located on the space currently occupied by Sakura and Old Navy. Crab Du Jour opens next month on the lower level of the mall where Panera Bread used to be at Buckland Hills Mall. The Cajun restaurant will be taking over an adjoining space as well as the Panera Bread space. Chosen 1 Seafood opened early last month at the plaza at Buckland hills where the former Bonchon was. This is the seafood restaurant's third Hartford Area location. Poke Don a new Hawaiian-Poke restaurant opened next to Panera Bread. The restaurant took the place of the short-lived BurgerIM space, the restaurant was open a little of a year before closing during COVID lockdown. Taste by Spellbound will be moving from their current spot next to Omaha Steak to the former Crandall and Daughter space in South Windsor! The bakery is making a major investment by expanding their business to a much larger space! The location as Evergreen Walk is around 700 square feet, while the new location will be roughly 2,500 square feet. Amazon has leased the remainder of JC Penney Warehouse in Manchester for last mile fulfilment center! This is Amazon's first foray into Manchester, Amazon has warehouses in South Windsor and Windsor. Higher Ground Core at Evergreen has reopened for in person fitness classes! The studio was giving outdoor classes in Evergreen Walk's outdoor green. Closing: Chosenfew clothing located on the second floor near Cinnabon at the Shoppes at Buckland Hills Mall has closed. This was their second Manchester location, their original store on Middle Turnpike closed shortly after the mall location opened. Hollister has unfortunately closed their store at The Shoppes at Buckland Hills. Hollister was located on the first level near Forever 21. The store has been located in the mall for as long as I can remember, and was the last Abercrombie owned store at the mall (Abercrombie and Abercrombie Kids closed years ago.) American Eagle has also closed their store at The Shoppes at Buckland Hills. The store was located next to the recently closed Hollister store on the first level. The store has been a mall stable for years. The Body Shop has closed their store located on the second level of The Shoppes at Buckland Hills. The store sold body lotions, soaps, and many other personal care items. The Goofy Turtle appears to have closed at The Shoppes at Buckland Hills. The toy store opened nearly two years ago in the former FYE space near Macy's. The toy store never reopened from lockdown, and the windows have been blacked out by mall management. Supreme Clientele Barber Shop appears to be another casualty of the pandemic. The barber shop never reopened after lockdown. The barber shop was located on the first level near Barnes & Noble. Francescas has closed their location at Evergreen Walk. The women's clothing store was located next to DAVIDsTea. The store originally opened at Evergreen in the space now home to Evereve. The store moved into the Buckland Hills Mall, opening on the first level across from Forever 21, before moving back to Evergreen. Christopher and Banks has closed their location at Evergreen Walk. The entire chain closed their stores while going through the bankruptcy process. Christopher and Banks was located across from Burton's. China Max located in the food court of the Shoppes at Buckland Hills Mall closed. The Chinese restaurant was located next door to Sbarro Pizzeria. Elements of Design has closed their salon at Evergreen Walk. The salon was once home to Green Tangerine Salon before becoming Elements of Design. The salon was located across from Ted's Montana Grille. Collectibles and Cards has closed one of their two locations at Buckland Hills Mall. The store still has a location on the first level next to Forever 21. Check out our Vernon news: https://www.themanchesterscoop.com/all-posts/vernon-business-brief-february-2021 Check out our Manchester news: https://www.themanchesterscoop.com/all-posts/manchester-business-brief-february-2021
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Opening:
Primitive Renditions has relocated from their former location near Spare Time to a much larger in The Shops at 30! The primitive decor store opened two years ago in a former Metlife Insurance office near Sparetime. Home Sense in Vernon is NOW OPEN! Go take a look at Vernon’s newest home goods store! The store is located at Tri City Plaza next door to Shoprite. Vivo Chiropractor will open a new office in Vernon! The chiropractor currently operates a location at 27 Hartford Turnpike, but will open a new office at Vernon Commons! The office will take the place of the former Keller Showroom before they moved onto Talcottville Road. Pro-health Vernon Family Practice has opened their new practice at 206 Talcottville Road! The practice is the anchor of the once-vacant Talcottville Plaza built in 2018. The shopping plaza has sat empty since a liquor store failed to open in the space. Square Peg Pizza will open a location in Vernon in the former Little Mark's Big BBQ space on Talcottville Road. The restaurant is planning massive renovations to the space including adding a drive thru, and major facade renovations. McDonalds (Rockville) will receive a much needed renovation including renovations to the entire outside of the building, an added drive thru, and an interior renovation of the space. Lucky Taco will open a location in Vernon! The Manchester-based taco-fusion restaurant will open in the former Nature's Grocer location in Rockville this spring. Economy Oil Change has been sold! The local chain of 10-Minute Oil Change shops has been sold to Full Speed Automotive, a franchisor of oil change facilities around the U.S. including Greese Monkey, Speedee, and Chevron Havoline. Stumpy's Hatchet House has opened their axe throwing facility in Manchester! The new entertainment destination is located at 8 Progress Drive Suite 2, in the Parker Street area! The facility offers a party room, and is BYOB (Bring Your Own Beer or Wine). Check out this new Manchester business! Aldi in South Windsor, Manchester line, will open their door on March 11th according to a sign posted outside the nearly finished grocery store! The discount grocery is part of a new development called 'The Gateway.' This should hopefully calm the Vernon store down, the store is usually very busy during peak hours with cars parked up and down the entrance road. Ray Page Plumbing has moved their headquarters from 500 Talcottville Road to 400 Talcottville Road! The plumbing company is now located behind The Beauty Mark, near Tractor Supply. They have expanded their offering to include sale of plumbing fixtures and parts. John Thomas Treasures has moved their store from Courthouse Plaza in Rockville to a vacant space at 500 Talcottville Road. The space was last home to a martial arts studio. Carter Chevy is now Vernon Chevy! The dealership is located on Talcottville Road next door to Vernon Volkswagen. The dealership is owned by Clear Automotive Group, owner of Manchester Honda and Manchester Mazda. Golf Land is now under construction for the revamped version! The new golf land will features an arcade, bumper cars, mini golf, food, ice cream and much more when it opens! Smoke & Vape is preparing to open their location in the former Metro PCS location at the Vernon Circle. The shop joins Cut to the Chase and D'angelo's in the building. APH Salon Suites has started construction on their new home on Talcottville Road. The salon suites will open in a long empty salon building near Larry's Automotive. The site is on the corner of Alan Drive and Talcottville Road. The building will receive an extensive facelift. Closings: Pet Valu has closed their locations including their Vernon and Glastonbury locations. The pet store was an anchor of the plaza on Kelly Road, still home to Good Year Tire and Music & Arts. The entire chain of stores closed, leaving the parents company with only their Pet Supermarket Chain. People's United Bank announced two weeks ago that the majority of their bank branches in Stop & Shop locations would close over the next year as leases run out. That news was followed by the news that People's United Bank would be purchased by a Buffalo-based bank named M&T. The combined bank will be headquartered in Connecticut and would become the largest regional bank in the North East. AT&T has closed their Vernon location next door to Starbucks. This store was not a corporate AT&T store, but was only a franchised location operated by a third party. This is Vernon's second AT&T store that has closed, the company had a location at the Vernon Circle, now home to Smoke & Vape. Prestige Cleaners has closed the Vernon dry cleaners shop. The store was located at 154 Talcottville Road. The dry cleaners was once a part of Battiston's Cleaners, before moving to accommodate American Family Care (AFC) Urgent Care. Spark Virtual Reality in Vernon has permanently closed their virtual reality arcade. The arcade featured VR games, racing simulators, as well as a bar. The VR arcade was located in The Shops at Eastview (Planet Fitness Plaza.) Opening:
Foran Nutrition will open a smoothie shop at 699 Main Street. The smoothie shop will open next door to Mexico Lido Restaurant. Machu Picchu Restaurant has opened at 846 Main Street. The new Peruvian restaurant opened in the space formerly occupied by Teriyaki Box before they moved two doors down. Connecti-Cuts Barber Shop has opened at 970 Main Street! The barber shop is located next door to Manchester Chinese Cuisine. 360 Juteuse Fruit Bar has opened at 360 Main Street! The juice bar features a variety of smoothies and other fruit based offerings. The shop is located near the hospital. Dime Bank opened in Manchester! The Connecticut-based bank opened their newest branch in the former Farmington Bank on W Middle Turnpike. Geico has opened a local office in Manchester! The insurance giant opened a location in the former Payless space at the Manchester Parkade. Searching Serendipity (Formerly Details Salon) has opened their new location at the Manchester Parkade. The store moved from a space next to Rainbow into the former Statefarm office space. Moran Restaurant has opened in Manchester! The Hispanic restaurant opened in the former Rositas' location on Middle Turnpike. Stumpy's Hatchet House has opened their axe throwing facility in Manchester! The new entertainment destination is located at 8 Progress Drive Suite 2, in the Parker Street area! The facility offers a party room, and is BYOB (Bring Your Own Beer or Wine). Check out this new Manchester business! Dollar General could be preparing to announce their third Manchester location on Spencer Street in Manchester. The discount chain will open a store across from Flight Fit & Fun, on a long vacant empty lot. The floor plans released to the public during a planning and zoning meeting match the store's new prototype locations. A new Used car dealership will open on Spencer Street. The former Lynch Buick dealership on the corner of Hartford Road and Spencer Street recently sold, and plans for the building include using it as a used car lot. Aldi in South Windsor, Manchester line, will open their door on March 11th according to a sign posted outside the nearly finished grocery store! The discount grocery is part of a new development called 'The Gateway.' Craftmen's Gallery has opened within the Manchester Mall on Main Street! The store sells antiques & collectibles! Check it out next time you are near by! Natural Selection has opened in the Manchester Mall on Main Street! The store sells vintage clothing and other cool and fun items! Manchester Cheesecake Company has opened in the Manchester Mall! The bake shop sells cheesecake and other local baked goods Big Tree opened in the Manchester Mall! The small store sells CBD lotions, butters, oils, ect. Downtown Roots will open on March 1st in the Manchester Mall, it will sell houseplants, home made items including, hot sauce, dried seasonings & crocheted goods. The shop will also host a variety of paint/craft nights. Economy Oil Change has been sold! The local chain of 10-Minute Oil Change shops has been sold to Full Speed Automotive, a franchisor of oil change facilities around the U.S. including Greese Monkey, Speedee, and Chevron Havoline. Manchester Country Club Restaurant is now under renovation for a new concept by Geno Auriemma! The famed Basketball coach owns local restaurant, Cafe Aura, as well as a number of restaurants at Mohegan Sun. Manchester Mazda has completed their new look at their Manchester showroom! The car dealership embarked on a large scale renovation and expansion of their building on Oakland Street in Manchester! A Go Carting Track will open in the former Holiday Lanes space on Spencer Street. The building was home to one of the last duckpin bowling alleys in the State of Connecticut, no word yet on an opening date for the track. Closings: Foodies and Baskets, a new wine bar and gift basket facility planned for the Parkade, appears to on hold for the moment. The restaurant and Italian market is under investigation by Department of Consumer Protection, Department of Revenue Services, Department of Public Health, and the Department of Labor according to The Bristol Press. Foodies and Baskets both shuttered their locations in Bristol, as well as deleted websites and Facebook accounts. Tangles & Bangles Salon on Main Street has shuttered their location. The salon was located next to The Center Perk. Key Bank has closed a few branches in Manchester. The bank closed their location on the corner of East Center Street and Lenox Street last week. The bank also closed their location on North Main Street in the CVS plaza. The closures were part of a consolidation effort by the bank chain. People's United Bank announced two weeks ago that the majority of their bank branches in Stop & Shop locations would close over the next year as leases run out. That news was followed by the news that People's United Bank would be purchased by a Buffalo-based bank named M&T. The combined bank will be headquartered in Connecticut and would become the largest regional bank in the North East. The Steam Co. is Manchester has closed. The vape shop was located on East Center Street under Orange Hall. The store still has a location in New Haven. Happy New Year everyone! Exciting things to come this year! I appreciate your continued readership and support for the past 3+ year, having some hiccups along the way. I am excited for some plans for the future of the site and look forward to providing my readers with news for years to come! Closings:
Sadly after Christmas is the time when a lot of stores will close, and this year is no different. The pandemic hit retailers hard this year, some not even able to reopen their stores as a result of being closed for months on end. Hollister has unfortunately closed their store at The Shoppes at Buckland Hills. Hollister was located on the first level near Forever 21. The store has been located in the mall for as long as I can remember, and was the last Abercrombie owned store at the mall (Abercrombie and Abercrombie Kids closed years ago.) American Eagle has also closed their store at The Shoppes at Buckland Hills. The store was located next to the recently closed Hollister store on the first level. The store has been a mall stable for years. The Body Shop has closed their store located on the second level of The Shoppes at Buckland Hills. The store sold body lotions, soaps, and many other personal care items. The Goofy Turtle appears to have closed at The Shoppes at Buckland Hills. The toy store opened nearly two years ago in the former FYE space near Macy's. The toy store never reopened from lockdown, and the windows have been blacked out by mall management. Supreme Clientele Barber Shop appears to be another casualty of the pandemic. The barber shop never reopened after lockdown. The barber shop was located on the first level near Barnes & Noble. Clark shoes has/is closing their store location at Evergreen Walk. The shoe store opened with Evergreen Walk in 2008. The store was running a clearance sale, but as of January 7th, the store is nearly empty. Brooks Brothers has closed their South Windsor location. The men's and women's clothing stores occupied a junior anchor space at Evergreen Walk near The Green. Brooks Brothers was recently purchased by Brookfield Properties and Simon Properties, major mall owners. Go Calendar & Games will close their temporary locations at both Evergreen Walk and Buckland Hills Mall. Christopher & Banks will be closing their stores, including their location at Evergreen Walk. The clothing store is located next door to J. Jill. Consignment Originals has closed their Manchester store. The store opened years a go, in a space formerly housing I-Party before they moved and subsequently rebranded to Party City. The consignment store was located next door to the recently closed Smashburger. Sears has just days left before they close their Manchester store. Its unclear what the plan is for the empty anchor building after they close. The building is still owned by Sears parent company, Transform Holdco. Lane Bryant has closed their Manchester location. The store was located next door to Total Wine. Game Stop has closed their store at the mall. The video game store was located next door to Cinnabon. Opening: Poke Don is coming soon to the recently closed BurgerIM location on Deming Street! The poke restaurant has started to build out and renovate the space. Crab Du Jour is getting close to opening their Manchester location at Buckland Hills Mall. The cajun restaurant is taking over the closed Panera Bread, along with an adjacent vacant space. My Wife Didn't Cook is coming soon to the Buckland Hills Mall. The restaurant is gearing up to open in the mall's food court. PM Pediatrics has opened their Manchester urgent care center at The Plaza at Buckland Hills. Chosen 1 Seafood is coming soon to The Plaza at Buckland Hills. The cajun restaurant will open in the former Bonchon space. Goldfish Swim School is still coming soon to Burr Corners! The swim school will be opening in Fall 2021. Cambria Hotel and Restaurant at Evergreen Walk is nearing completion with a Spring 2021 opening date! The hotel recently moved their information office from a storefront in Evergreen into the main hotel building. Gineva Murano Glass has opened at Evergreen Walk. The jewelry store took the space of David's Tea, which close all their location last year. The Learning Experience is nearing completion at Evergreen Walk! The daycare center will be located next door to Cambria Hotel and Restaurant. Aldi is preparing to open. The new store will open this spring behind M&R liquors on Buckland Road. Chase Bank is also preparing to open this spring! The bank will be located in from of Aldi. Costco construction should begin in a month or two, the construction will take roughly 9 month to be completed, with a rough opening date given as November 2021. Evergreen Walk has been sold by Poag, their longtime owner, and big changes are planned for the future. Charter Realty, the new owner, shows that the former Johnny Rockets building could be combined to create a junior anchor spot. The plans also shows the Old Navy side of the center as a new development zone. Its unclear what this means at the moment. Rumors: Urban Air Trampoline Park has yet to reopen following their COVID-19 closure. The space occupied by Urban Air is now up for lease along with the former Marshalls space next door. Katz & Associates is the leasing company, neither them nor Urban Air responded to message inquiring about the status. Urban Air has only been open for roughly 3 months when they were forced closed. Closing:
Brooks Brothers at Evergreen Walk has closed. The store opened with the outdoor mall, and recently filed for bankruptcy and was bought out by a partnership between Brookfield Properties and Simon Malls. Sears has started a Going-Out-Of-Business sale at their Manchester store. The Manchester location is the last remaining Sears/Transform Holdco store in Connecticut. Sears closed their Vernon Kmart store two years ago. BurgerIm has closed their Manchester restaurant after less than two years. The burger chain debuted as part of a national expansion of Hallah burger restaurants and closed amid the pandemic. Smashburger has closed their Manchester location as well. The chain opened in the Best Buy plaza a few short years ago. Lane Bryant has closed their Manchester location at The Plaza at Buckland Hills. The Woman's undergarment store was originally located at The Shoppes at Buckland Hills, but moved to the Plaza to take over the former EMS space. Friendly's has sadly closed their last Manchester location near the mall. The restaurant was located next door to Chili's. China Max has closed their restaurant at Buckland Hills. The Chinese food spot was located in the food court at the mall. Opening: Go Calendars & Games has opened both of their seasonal locations! Go has set up holiday stores at both Evergreen Walk, in the former Coldwater Creek space, and The Shoppes at Buckland Hills, former Rue 21 space. Collectables & Cards has opened a second location at The Shoppes at Buckland Hills. The sports memorabilia store took over the former Payless Shoesource store on the second level near Macy's, and operates another store on the first level near Forever 21. My Wife Didn't Cook is coming soon to The Shoppes at Buckland Hills. The soul food restaurant will take over a food court space last occupied by 'My Way.' The restaurant will be next to the recently closed China Max. Crab Du Jour is well under construction, the cajun seafood restaurant is aiming for a December/Wintertime opening date. The restaurant will be located in the former Panera Bread space, as well as an adjoining vacant space at The Shoppes at Buckland Hills. Gineva Murano Jewelry has opened a jewelry store at The Promenade Shops at Evergreen Walk! The new store is located in the former DavidsTea space near The Green. Aldi construction has started! The store appears to be well under construction with the majority of the structure in place! The store will be located next to M&R liquors. The grocery store is part of the first phase of The Gateway, a new development to include Red Lobster, 110 Grille, along with Chase Bank. Chase Bank is nearing completion! The bank will be located next to M&R liquors. The bank has been under construction since early this year, and appears to be nearing opening! Costco has been approved for South Windsor! The new 160,000+ square foot building should begin construction early next year with a tentative November 2021 opening date! LabCorp has begun a build-out of a new lab in South Windsor! The lab will be located in Evergreen Run, a shopping plaza across from Evergreen. The lab will take over a space vacated last year by Subway. PM Pediatrics has opened their newest office in Manchester! The pediatric walk in clinic opened in the former Avenue location at The Plaza at Buckland Hills! Chick Fil A is coming to Manchester! The restaurant will demolish Boston Market and the former Starbucks. A new building will be erected in the space for Chick Fil A. Custom Hub will open a new customizing store at Buckland Hills. The store will open in the kiosk last occupied by Brick Swap USA. Chosen 1 Seafood has started their build out in the former Bonchon space at The Plaza at Buckland Hills! This will be the restaurant third location! Rumors have been circulating this past week that Geno Auriemma would be taking over the Waterview Cafe at Manchester Country Club. In a first (and definitely not last!) collaboration with The Scoop Glastonbury, we now have confirmation that Auriemma will renovate and reopen the storied restaurant.
Geno Auriemma, a Manchester resident, will take over the Waterview Cafe with a new concept restaurant. Auriemma currently owned Geno Restaurant Group, which has restaurants at Mohegan Sun, and Cafe Aura in Manchester. Auriemma opened Cafe Aura in late 2019, right before COVID-19, Cafe Aura took over and beautifully renovated the legendary Cavey's restaurant on East Center Street. Auriemma's other restaurants in Storrs and Southington have both closed permanently in the past years. We will keep you updated as more details about the restaurant come available. Buckland News: Closings: Smashburger has closed their Manchester location. The burger spot was located in the Best Buy plaza, and was owned by the Mohegan Tribe. Smashburger has also closed their Enfield location after sitting empty during the pandemic. BurgerIm has closed their Manchester location. The burger spot was located in the Walgreens Plaza near Verizon Wireless on Deming Street. The chain was only open for two years before closing. Sprint has closed one of their Buckland locations after their merger with T-Mobile. The Sprint in the Walgreens Plaza has closed, the neighboring T-Mobile will remain open. The Sprint location at The Shoppes at Buckland Hills will be converted into a T-Mobile store, T-Mobile already has a location in the mall. Justice has closed their Buckland Hills store after a Going-Out-Of-Business sale at their mall location. Ascena, Justice's Parent Company, filed for bankruptcy earlier this summer with plans to move Justice to a primarily online brand. New York & Company has closed their Buckland Hills location after a short Going-Out-Of-Business sale. Their parent company filed for bankruptcy earlier this summer as well. Jos. A Banks has closed their South Windsor location at Evergreen Walk. The store was located next door to Burton's. DAVIDsTea has closed their location at Evergreen Walk, along with all their U.S. locations. Bonchon BBQ closed their location at The Plaza at Buckland Hills. The restaurant was the site of a deadly shooting between a manager and an employee a few years ago. Openings: Chosen 1 Seafood will be opening their third location in Manchester! Chosen 1 will open in the former Bonchon BBQ location at The Plaza at Buckland Hills. Chosen 1 has locations in Bloomfield and Hartford. PM Pediatrics will be opening their new Manchester location soon! The doctor's office will open in the former Avenue space in The Plaza at Buckland Hills. CosmoProf has reopened their Manchester store, the store moved from their location at Burr Corners into a larger space, just three spaces down! Goldfish Swim School will open in Burr Corners. The 9,000 square foot swim school will take over four storefronts, two of which we previously vacant. Go Calendar & Games has opened their seasonal location at The Shoppes at Buckland Hills! The calendar store will take their usual space on the second level in the former Rue 21, the space was partially downsized last year to accommodate an expanded Bath & Body Works. Go Calendar & Games is coming soon to Evergreen Walk, the calendar store will take their usual seasonal space in the former Coldwater Creek. Chick Fil A has finally got approved for Manchester! The space is at The Plaza at Buckland Hills and is currently home to Boston Market. Chick Fil A has tried unsuccessfully to open a Manchester location twice, one near Walgreens on Deming Street, and the second in the same spot of the new proposed location. Chick Fil A was recently turned down because of the dumpster location. Chase Bank is nearing completion on their new branch in South Windsor. The bank will be located across from Panera Bread. The bank is part of the expansive new development called 'The Gateway' which will supposedly be home to Aldi, Red Lobster, 110 Grille, and Tropical Smoothie Cafe according to marketing material released in a public meeting. Crab Du Jour has finally started their build out of the former Panera space at The Shoppes at Buckland Hills. The restaurant chain's Manchester location was first announced over a year ago. The restaurant will be located on the first floor, taking over the former Panera, and an adjoining long vacant space. My Wife Didn't Cook will open their second location! The New Britain-born restaurant will open in the former My Way space (closest space to the Carousel) in the food court. Rumors: La-Z-Boy will either closed or relocate their Manchester store later this year. The stores space in their Plaza at the top of the hills is up for lease. The nearly 20,000 square foot space is marketed by Northeast Retail. A round-up of Manchester Business News including new restaurants, banks, and bakeries! Closings:
Mustangs Unlimited has closed their auto shop in Manchester. The shop specialized in mustangs and sold mustang parts on Adams Street. Royal Buffet has closed their Manchester buffet at the Parkade. The restaurant was replaced by a new restaurant. See Below! Statefarm has closed their insurance branch at the Parkade. The office was located next door to Little Caesars. Holiday Lanes on Spencer Street has closed. One of the last Duck Pin bowling alleys in CT closed in anticipation of turning the space into an indoor go cart track. Openings: Foodies, an Italian Restaurant and Market, will open their second Connecticut location in the former Sam's Bargain Mart space at the Parkade! Foodies opened their first location in Bristol, CT in late September 2020. Owners of the new restaurant hope to share an opening date soon! Sunset Bakery will open a bakery in the former Little Caesars location at the Manchester Parkade. The bakery is currently renovating the space. Teriyaki Box on Main Street will be moving to a new space! They will not be moving far, just two space to the right, into the former Walia Ethiopian space. The space is currently under renovations. Family Appliance has opened an appliance store on Main Street in Manchester, the space was previously home to a T-shirt company before sitting vacant. First Line Dental has reopened their Manchester office! The office is located in Big Y Plaza on Tolland Turnpike. The Office closed because of the pandemic, but recently reopened. They are currently offering a $79 New Patient special, check out their website for more details. Hazelton's Wine has opened in Big Y Plaza, the liquor store opened in Wine Merchants spot. The store is very elegant on the inside, giving a very upscale vibe, with competitive prices. Crab Catcher has opened their restaurant in the former Royal Buffet space at the Parkade. The restaurant features a seafood menu with buy-the-pound prices. Dunkin Donuts on West Middle Turnpike will soon be converted into the new Dunkin Concept. The new format features a redesigned exterior and interior. The Center Scoop has opened on Main Street, I know I'm a tad late to the party, The local ice cream shop has been on many Manchester resident's wishlist for years. The shop is located next door to The Center Perk. Dime Bank is seeking to open a Manchester branch of their bank. The bank would be located in the former Farmington Bank on West Middle Turnpike. The Farmington Bank closed after merging with People's United Bank. A redevelopment of Broad Street Parkade has been approved by the town, the development includes a hotel, commercial, retail, and residential space. The development will be eco-friendly, operating on a micro-grid. The former Save A Lot space might be receiving a new tenant. The space was previously marketed as for lease, but recently changed to preleasing for a Save A Lot on Northeast Retail's listing on Loopnet before being deleted. Could Save A Lot return to the space? The location is currently listed on their website, despite the store closing a year and a half ago. I'll keep you updated with more news as it comes out. Opening:
Cinnabon & Carvel should open their Buckland Hills location next month! The combination store will occupy the former Icy Sweetz location. Charlotte Russe has reopened their Manchester store! The chain closed all their store earlier this year. The owner of Mandee bought the intellectual assets and reopened stores across the country. Marshalls has opened their new location at The Plaza at Buckland Hills! The store opened in the former Toys R Us on October 24th. The chain features a treasure-hunt style of shopping, where clothing is heavily discounted. The chain recently launched their online store. K&G Fashion Superstore has opened in The Plaza at Buckland Hills! The store opened early this month in a portion of Toys R Us. The chain sells a variety of clothing and shoes from Men and Women. The store specializes in Men's formal wear. Go Calendars is preparing to open their seasonal location in both The Shoppes at Buckland Hills and The Promenade Shops at Evergreen Walk. The store will open in the former Rue21 and in the former Cold Water Creek. The stores will operate through the holiday season. Bath & Body Work is preparing to reopen their expanded location at The Shoppes at Buckland Hills. The store will include a White Barn Candle Company. the store should be open in the next two weeks. The temporary location is near Macy's on the second floor. Starbucks will begin construction on their future home in the former Panchero's location. The coffee shop will move from their current location near Boston Market. The chain has applied for sign permit for the building in the Plaza at Buckland Hills. Closing: A.C. Moore will close their Buckland Hills location. The arts & crafts store will close because of a lack of foot traffic according to an employee at the store. The store will close at the end of the year. Everything in the store is at least 25% off. Holiday goods are 60% off. Marshalls has closed their Hale Road location. The chain moved to The Plaza at Buckland Hills. Mint Rags closed their location at The Shoppes at Buckland Hills. The store solid urban clothing on the second level near the food court. The store was open for nearly a year. My Way, a fast-casual eatery, has closed their location at The Shoppes at Buckland Hills. The food court restaurant only operated for 2 months. Destination Maternity has announced their liquidation of the Evergreen location. The store is currently 25-40% off. The closest store is now at Westfarms, or Macy's at Buckland carries their in-store brands. DressBarn will begin liquidation of their Plaza at Buckland Hills store next week. The store announced earlier this year that they would wind down their operations. The chain's sister store, Roz & Ali, is included in the store closings. Avenue has closed all their locations. The chain ran a short liquidation of their Plaza at Buckland Hills location. Apologies for the delay in posting, as mentioned in past articles, a work a full-time job and go to school full-time. I run this site at my own expense for the hosting fees. To support this page and its continued success, you can donate or purchase merchandise from our store. If you are interest in becoming a contributor to this page, email us at Buckland.Business.Brief@gmail.com Opening:
Pasta Vita will open a new location in South Windsor! Pasta Vita will open in a portion of the new Hannoush Jeweler building! The built out has started and should be complete by this winter! Cinnabon and Carvel have started building out their new restaurant at The Shoppes at Buckland Hills! The combination shop will take over the former IcySweetz location on the second floor near Gamestop. The store should open this fall. Hannoush Jewelers will move from their current location in the mall to their new location in their standalone plaza near Evergreen Walk, the shop will hopefully move in this fall. A new store build out is underway on the first floor! The unidentified tenant will take over the space of 90s Nails; which closed last week. Construction walls have been installed around the store front. Bath & Body Works is continuing their work on their expanded store located on the second floor near Macy's. The store should be open by November and feature a White Barn Candle Company. Starbucks has filed for sign permits for the former Panchero's Mexican Grill location. Starbucks already has a location within The Plaza at Buckland Hills, next door to Boston Market, this store will close once the new shop opens. Bounce! has opened an inflatable park inside the mall's food court! The park charges admission to play, Bounce! has a location in Springfield, Ma. Aldi has applied for permits to construct a new store across from Evergreen Walk! The store will occupy the land next door to M&R Liquors, and will share the space with Chase Bank. The Green has opened at Evergreen Walk! The reinvented outdoor plaza in front of Ben & Jerry's will host yoga classes, musicians, among other public events. Revolution Basketball Lab will open in the former Final Markdown! location! The space has been vacant since Final Markdown closed over three years ago. The space has been transformed from a warehouse space to indoor basketball training spaces! Check it out when they open next week! The Academy of Marital Arts has opened in their new home in the retail portion of the Final Markdown! The Academy offers after school martial arts classes. The new space is much larger than their previous location. Closing: Avenue is currently liquidating their stores, including their location at The Plaza at Buckland Hills. Everything in the store is on sale. 90s Nails has closed their nail studio at The Shoppes at Buckland Hills. The studio will be replaced by a new yet-to-be-announced tenant. Mediterranean Grill has closed their Buckland Hills restaurant. The restaurant opened in the long vacant Asian Bistro location of the second floor. Other Buckland News: Work is quickly progressing on Frontera Tacos & Tequila in the former Plaza Azteca location. The restaurant should be open in the next month or two. A recent change has been made to the Crab Du Jour website indicting the restaurant, slated for the former Hometown Buffet, will be opening in the mall instead. Though we haven't been able to verify this through Brookfield or Crab Du Jour, the address given is now 194 Buckland Hills Drive. Opening:
-Titanium Strength has opened their new gym located in the former home of Mill Street Auto. Titanium Strength has taken over the vacant space that was once home to Harry's Fine Wine and Liquors. -B Sharp Barbershop has opened on Route 30. The barbershop took over the space formerly occupied by Nixon Auto Plus. -Dollar Tree has opened their new location in Vernon! The store is located next door to Family Dollar. -Rockville Pharmacy will soon open their relocated store next door to Dollar Tree. The store is currently being outfitted with fixtures, the new signs have been installed. -Work is progressing on the third phase of construction of the development around Taco Bell. The new building, currently under construction, will be occupied by Verizon Wireless and another yet-to-be-announced tenant. Closing: -Hyun Spa has closed their location on Talcottville Road, their Nail Studio is still open two door to the right at 575 Talcottville Road. Other Vernon News: -Congratulations to the Strong Foundation on their purchase of the former Sacred Heart Church site! They have moved their operations there. The Strong Foundation provides services to those with Autism. -Minuteman Press has moved back to their location at 352 Hartford Turnpike! The store was ravished by a fire last year. The printing company temporarily moved down to The Shops at 30 while their damaged location was renovated. -Work has started on the new facades/entrances for Shoprite and Homesense! The stores will occupy the former home of Price Chopper. Both stores should be open in November. Rumors: Working on confirming a rumor, Ollies Bargain Outlet will, supposedly, take over a portion of the former Kmart. I stress this is just a rumor until I can get confirmation through the town or through Ollies. Opening:
Cinnabon and Carvel will open a location at the Buckland Hills mall! The restaurant will open in the former Icy Sweet/Froyo World location near the food court. The bakery previously had a location at the mall in the same space that closed in 2006. The Manchester Scoop first reported on this opening in March of 2018. Exciting news! Bath & Body Works will be expanding! The store will expand into the former Gymboree store space, as well as part of the former Rue 21 space! The store will greatly increase in size. White Barn will open a location at The Shoppes at Buckland Hills! The store will be located in a conjoined store with Bath & Body Works! The store should be open in early November for the Christmas season! Bath & Body Works has opened their temporary location in the former Payless Shoesource space on the second floor near Macy's. AVA has opened their new boutique on the first floor of The Shoppes at Buckland Hills! The women's clothing store opened in the former Crazy 8's store space. Tranquil Mind has opened beauty product kiosk in the former Sweet U space! The kiosk is located on the first floor near Dick's. Collectibles & Cards has opened their store on the first floor near H&M. The store sells a variety of sports memorabilia. Bloodlines Tattooing has opened in the former C&C Unisex Salon space on the second level near Macy's. Seventh Sense Botanical Therapy has opened on the first level near JC Penney. BJ's Brewhouse has opened their first Connecticut restaurant outside the Buckland Hills mall! The restaurant opened near door to Red Robin near the main entrance of the mall. PokeMoto will open a location in Manchester! The location has not been released. A few locations of Spirit Halloween have popped up! Spirit Halloween will take residence in the former Dalene Carpet One location near Petco. Spirit Halloween will also open an outpost in the former Office Max space next door to Edge Fitness. Closing: Charming Charlies has started their liquidation. The store is quickly emptying out, as the entire store is on sale. The store will permanently close later this month or early next month. Current sales are 25-50% off. Avenue has announced the liquidation of all their locations. The Manchester store at The Plaza at Buckland Hills has begun their liquidation as of Wednesday night. The store is currently 30-50% off. Garage has closed their clothing store at The Shoppes at Buckland Hills. The store did not have a store closing sale. Other Buckland News: Michael's Jewelers, a chain of 10 jewelry stores, has been sold to the Hannoush Family! The Hannoush Family owns Hannoush Jewelers, as well as the remain Giftology stores. Michael's will close one location, but will keep their Manchester location open and will retain their name. Congrats! 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! Manchester's second Dollar General will open in the former Rite Aid Pharmacy on Broad Street! Dollar General will take over the vacant pharmacy later this summer according to signs posted outside the building late Monday.
Dollar General will open in the former Rite Aid Pharmacy, a building that has remained vacant since Walgreens closed the store last year. The store was a Rite Aid, but was purchased by Walgreens in a deal that saw the majority of Rite Aid stores sold. Some of the acquired stores were converted into Walgreens pharmacy, while others were closed. The Broad Street store was announced to become a Walgreens after the deal was completed. The store's pharmacy was briefly operated as a Walgreens Pharmacy for a few months leading up to the closure. Walgreens sought to buy out Rite Aid last year; but the merger failed due to Anti-Trust concerns along with a planned sale of remaining assets to smaller-chain Fred's Drug. Fred's Drug would nearly triple their store count after the deal. Instead Walgreens bought nearly 2,000 Rite Aid locations from the company after a failed merger last year; almost 600 of these stores would be closed due to their proximity to a competing Walgreens. Recently Albertson's announced that they would acquire the remaining Rite Aid company with the much smaller footprint after the Walgreens sale. Rite Aid had two Manchester locations, the location at 335 Center Street, and a location at 232 Tolland Turnpike (now a Goodwill.) The new Dollar General will be Manchester's second, the first location is on East Center Street. The first location was once a professional building with doctor's offices before being converted to the ever-growing chain of variety stores. The store should open later this summer; construction on the interior is underway. Three new restaurants are planned for Manchester! On the heels of the opening of BJ's Brewhouse next week near the mall, and the opening of Toro Azteca last month inside the mall, the Buckland area will welcome three new restraurants. One restaurant will be themed to Cajun seafood, and another to a Mexican theme, and the third to a microbrewery.
Crab Du Jour Announced earlier today, Crab Du Jour will take over the former Hometown Buffet location at 196 Slater Street in Manchester, CT. The restaurant, themed with a Cajun Flair and Southern Charm, says that the restaurant should take 3-4 months to build-out and open. Other locations listed as coming soon on their website include a location inside Westfarms in West Hartford, CT. Crab Du Jour is an up and coming chain of seafood restaurants; with restaurant coming soon in Connecticut, North Carolina, Virginia, Alabama, Pennsylvania, Ohio, New Jersey, and Georgia. Hometown Buffet closed in January of 2019; the chain had occupied the 10,000 square foot space for nearly 15 years leading up to the closure. The restaurant had been the last remaining Hometown Buffet in Connecticut. Other locations in CT included West Hartford, Wethersfield, Orange, Enfield, and Waterbury; all of which closed during their 2012 bankruptcy. The restaurant has sat vacant since its closure. Frontera Tacos & Tequila A chain of Mexican themed restaurants will open their first location in Connecticut! Frontera Tacos & Tequila, a New York-based chain, will open in recently-vacant Plaza Azteca location near Best Buy! The restaurant is currently under renovation, but as Plaza Azteca sported a very similar theme as Frontera, the renovations should be minimal. The coming soon banner popped up on the building two weeks ago, roughly a month after Plaza Azteca moved into the mall as Toro Azteca. the restaurant should be open later this summer/early fall. The site of Frontera has been home to a few restaurants in the past, originally home to Romano's Macaroni Grille, an Italian themed chain. Plaza Azteca took over the vacant space after Romano's closed; and operated fo nearly a decade before moving to the former Bertucci's space at the mall. The space is slated to become yet another restaurant by the end of the summer. Elicit Brewing Company A new brewery/restaurant concept will open in the former Adams Mill location at 165 Adams Street! The restaurant will be operated by Eli's Restaurant Group, the owners of Eli's Restaurants throughout Connecticut as well as Roost, a fast casual chicken restaurant. The new restaurant will serve pizza, wings, pretzels, and sandwiches. The restaurant will have retro arcades games, giant jenga, a wine bar, beer garden, as well as on site brewing. The Adams Mill closed earlier this year after 37 years of business. The space was previously home to a mill that had caught fire and was mostly abandoned before the owners of a Glastonbury restaurant bought the space and opened The Adams Mill. Elicit should open later this year. Closing:
-Planet Fitness at The Plaza at Burr Corner officially closed their doors on July 10th. The chain consolidated their two Manchester location into the Parkade location. The Parkade location opened earlier this year when Planet Fitness bought out local chain Cardio Express. Members of the gym were transferred to the Parkade location, or had the option to switch to the Vernon location. -Dress Barn / Roz & Ali are currently conducting their 'Last Summer Sale' this is part of the closing of the chain; the chain will close all their remaining location by this winter. -Payless officially closed their Buckland Hills location. The store closed with the rest of the chain. -Charming Charlies will close their remaining 269 location by the end of August. The chain filed for bankruptcy earlier this week, and had filed for bankruptcy last year. -Flooring and Kitchens Today has closed their Hale Street/Slater Street showroom. The showroom was located next door to DSW. -All Star Liquors has officially closed their Deming Street store. The store was located next to AT&T; the store moved to a new location in the former Thiele Chiroprator space on West Center Street. Opening: -Bloodlines Tattooing has opened their new tattooing studio inside of the Buckland Hills Mall. The studio is located in the former C&C Unisex Salon. -Toro Azteca officially opened their location at the mall. The restaurant, formerly known as Plaza Azteca, moved from their Slater Street location. -Frontera Tacos & Tequila will open in the former Plaza Azteca location on Slater Street! The Mexican restaurant has location in Massachusetts and New York. -BJ's Brewhouse will open their new Manchester location on July 22nd! The restaurant was constructed in a vacant parking lot near Red Robin! -Construction is ramping up on the future home of Marshalls and K&G Fashion Superstore! The two stores will occupy the former Toys R Us space at The Plaza at Buckland Hills. The storefronts are now nearing completion, with an aimed opening in October; however they should be completed by late summer, early fall at this rate of construction. -Collectibles and Cards will open their store in the former Abercrombie & Fitch at the Buckland Hills Mall. The store was most recently occupied by Team Spirit. -Seventh Sense Botanical Therapy, a CBD store, has opened a temporary kiosk in the former Sweet U space. A permanent kiosk is under construction in front of JC Penney. -Kids Klubhouse has opened their kids play area inside the Buckland Hills Mall. The store is located in the former Remix space near Sears. South Windsor News: Hammer & Stain, a MUSE Paint Bar-style studio, will open a location in South Windsor this fall. The chain of studios has 32 locations throughout the country. The studio will be located on Sullivan Avenue, the exact location is not being released at this time. -A new distribution center is proposed for 360 Ellington Road. The 420,000 square foot warehouse would be owned by Scannell Properties and would be located across from the new Coca Cola warehouse. The Planet Fitness on Tolland Turnpike In Manchester will close on July 10th! The club has been open for nearly a decade in the Plaza at Burr Corners. The Planet Fitness members will be transferred to the chain’s second club located inside of the Manchester Parkade. The Planet Fitness website announces the closure as occurring on July 10th at 11:00 PM and the Manchester location at the Parkade will reopen on July 15th after a complete renovation of the facility.
The Manchester club at the Parkade opened earlier this year when Planet Fitness bought out locally owned and operated chain, Cardio Express. Planet Fitness took over clubs in Manchester, Vernon, East Hartford, and Southington. While clubs in Mansfield, Tolland, and two in Wethersfield closed. Cardio Express was once a franchisee of Planet Fitness, with the original clubs being located in Vernon (now KidZone) and in Manchester at the Parkade. The Burr Corner location was far smaller than the Parkade location; the Burr Corner location was 18,000 square feet in size while the Parkade is nearly 25,000 square feet with a vacant 10,000 square foot space for future expansion. The rent of the Parkade space is probably far cheaper, while Burr Corners is located in the retail center of Manchester. The Planet Fitness located at 346 Middle Turnpike (Parkade) is currently closed for renovations, but will be reopen to welcome the new members. Members are currently being diverted to the Vernon location and the soon-to-be closed Burr Corners location. The Vernon location reopened in early June after receiving a complete renovation of the space, including new equipment, signage, and a refreshed interior design. Openings: -Spa Express has opened their salon in the Planet Express plaza, also known as The Shops at Eastview. -Planet Fitness has reopened after a complete remodel of their gym in Vernon. Planet Fitness took over Cardio Express in May. -Dollar Tree has opened their new Vernon Rockville location in the Family Dollar Plaza. The Grand Opening was today! The store relocated from Big Y Plaza in Ellington. -Rockville Pharmacy will soon occupy the space next door to Dollar Tree. The store is moving in fixtures. -Homesense will open in a portion of the former Price Chopper space along with the space formerly occupied by New Alliance/First Niagara Bank. The interior walls are currently being constructed to separate the space. -Shoprite will occupy the remaining 75,000 square feet of space in the former Price Chopper. Shoprite will be owned by The Cohen Family, the owners and operators of the Shoprite stores in Manchester and East Hartford. The store will be open in late fall/early winter. -L&S Equipment has moved from East Hartford to Vernon! The scissor lift rental company moved to 101 Industrial Park Road (Suite L). -Top Taekwondo Academy has opened their studio in Vernon! The studio opened in the former Wetpets store, which moved to a new location in the plaza. -360 Federal Credit Union has opened their Vernon Branch in the former Cumberland Farms! The store received a complete built out and renovation. -B Sharp Barbershop will open in a portion of the former Nixon Auto Supply store on Route 30. Closings: -Jack & Allie's Children Bookstore has closed their door at Vernon Commons. The owner's blame the expiration of their lease, and an ever growing business for the closure; but they leave the door open for reopening in the future. -Price Chopper has officially closed their Vernon location. The store was located at TriCity Plaza. -Nixon Auto Supply, a Auto Plus store, closed their location across from Vernon Pizza. -A Second Glance Consignment, located near Vernon Pizza, has closed. The store moved to East Windsor to a bigger space. -Kaleidoscope and the Family Affirmation Center for Treatment has closed. Other Vernon News: -Congrats to Primitive Renditions on their two month anniversary of their opening! I'm a little late as it's nearly three months now. Primitive Renditions is located at 309 Talcottville Road. -Trail Run Apartments are now leasing! The housing development is located on Talcottville Road near KidZone. Take a look at the floor plans and amenities at TrailRunVernon.com Ellington News: -Flavors of Nawab will open right across the Ellington line on Route 83! The restaurant will open near the Shifa Clinic. -Dollar Tree has closed their Ellington location. The store closed on June 24th to prepare for their move to Vernon! The store was located in the Big Y Plaza. -Construction has started on a retail development across from Big Y. The development will consist of a Big Y Express gas stations, a drive thru restaurant, as well as a full service restaurant. Another phase of the development includes a retail building. Author Announcements: As most of you know, this site is free to view, we don't charge monthly subscriptions to view our content like Hartford Courant and Journal Inquirer do. The mission of this site is to get information out to the people; while promoting small businesses that many wouldn't otherwise know of. Running this site is expensive though, so to help support our growth and our continued success, we have launched an online site through Teespring that sells branded merchandise! This will guarantee the continued success of this site and a way to show your support of local journalism. Check it out by clicking here or clicking the 'Shop' button in the upper menu! Look for new exciting designs coming soon! There are some new features on this site including the 'Report Business News' on the main menu. This is a way to send in news that you see, whether it is an opening, closing, expansion, anniversary, a major sale. We are also always looking for help or suggestions! If you are interested in writing about news in Vernon, South Windsor, Manchester, or Ellington reach out! Any writing will be unpaid, as this website is community based; but time and energy could be repaid in the form of The Manchester Scoop swag from the online store! Another announcement this month; as some of you may know I am an architecture student at University of Hartford. I am working on potentially opening an architecture gallery on either a permanent or temporary basis. I was reading an article about a new art gallery in Hartford having vacant retail space donated to them until a new tenant is found; and figured I would see if any property owners in Manchester would be interested in a similar partnership? Please email me at Buckland.Business.Brief@gmail.com! Closing:
-Mix Box has closed their Manchester accessories boutique. The shop was located next to Garage on the first floor. -Under $5 has closed their variety store on the second level near Macy's. -Payless will permanently close their Buckland location on June 16th. The entire store is 50-80% off. -Plaza Azteca has closed their Slater Street location; but has rebranded and opened at The Shoppes at Buckland Hills as Toro Azteca. -DressBarn (aka Roz & Ali) will close their Plaza at Buckland Hills store by the end of the year. DressBarn is winding down their operations at all locations. Opening: -Toro Azteca had their official grand opening on Monday, June 10th. The Mexican restaurant is a spinoff restaurant of the Plaza Azteca group. Plaza Azteca's Manchester location rebranded to the Toro Azteca name after moving from their Hale Road/Slater Street location. -The former Plaza Azteca space won't be vacant for long! A new restaurant has leased the former Plaza Azteca space named Fontera Grill according to a leasing brochure released by Brixmor. However we believe this to be a typo with the actual name being Frontera Grill, a Mexican restaurant. Frontera Grill has two locations, one in Chicopee, Mass and one in Springfield, Mass. -Kid's Klubhouse is coming soon to the Buckland Hills Mall! It unknown what Kid's Klubhouse will be, but Fun4All, a trampoline/bungee cord attraction in front of Dick's, has been rebranded under the Kid's Klubhouse name as well! Kid's Klubhouse will open in the space formerly home to Remix, which closed earlier this year. -Bloodlines Tattoos will open a location in the mall, its still unknown at this time where the shop will be located. -Another new tenant coming to the mall is Ava, its listed on the mall's website as coming soon! Its unknown where or what the store will sell. Emails to the mall manager were not returned. -My Way, a new food court restaurant, opened earlier this month. The restaurant serves a variety of sandwiches. The restaurant is located in the last booth near the carousel. -Smoothie Naturale opened their new smoothie bar in the former Dairy Queen/Hardcore Sweetz location. Smoothie Naturale sells a variety of smoothies, shakes, and other healthy drink alternatives. -Collectibles and Cards is coming soon to the mall! The shop will sell a variety of trading cards, baseball cards, and collectibles! The location for the shop is unknown. -Charlotte Russe will also be making their return to Buckland Hills later this year. They will reopen in their former location in the mall. -Work is progressing on Marshalls and K&G Fashion Superstore, both coming soon to The Plaza at Buckland Hills. The facades are nearly completely framed; while the interiors are being constructed. South Windsor News: -Hannoush Jewelers is nearing completion on their new location at Buckland Commons! Hannoush will join People's United Bank in their own two-story building. -Chase Bank will construct a bank branch next door to M&R Liquours. The building will have a stone accent and will be the same height as M&R. -Renderings have been released for a redevelopment of Geissler's Plaza. The plan includes apartments, renovated retail, and a lot of green space. -We have received more third party confirmation of Aldi coming to South Windsor! Once Aldi confirms, we will update with a complete story! -Construction has started on a project at the Center Square at Evergreen Walk. The firepit and patio has been removed in front of Ben & Jerry's. According to building permits, the landscaping and hardscape was removed and will be replaced with a stage. More information regarding the project will be released soon according to Nicole Powell of Poag, the manager of Evergreen Walk. -Costco is planning a South Windsor store, the store will require $2-3 million in site work before any construction can start. The store will also feature a gas station for Costco members. -Construction on Cambria Suites is progressing. The exterior is completely framed. Author Announcements: As most of you know, this site is free to view, we don't charge monthly subscriptions to view our content like Hartford Courant and Journal Inquirer do. The mission of this site is to get information out to the people; while promoting small businesses that many wouldn't otherwise know of. Running this site is expensive though, so to help support our growth and our continued success, we have launched an online site through Teespring that sells branded merchandise! This will guarantee the continued success of this site and a way to show your support of local journalism. Check it out by clicking here or clicking the 'Shop' button in the upper menu! Another announcement this month; as some of you may know I am an architecture student at University of Hartford. I am working on potentially opening an architecture gallery on either a permanent or temporary basis. I was reading an article about a new art gallery in Hartford having vacant retail space donated to them until a new tenant is found; and figured I would see if any property owners in Manchester would be interested in a similar partnership? Please email me at Buckland.Business.Brief@gmail.com! Closing:
-Save A Lot on Broad Street has announced their pending closure on June 1st, 2019. The store is located in the former Shaw's Supermarket. The store opened in 2011 after Shaw's closed their Connecticut location. No news yet on whether another store will take over the space or the adjacent vacant spaces. -Payless Shoesource has officially closed their store at the Manchester Parakde. The store closed last month after a short store liquidation. -Sean's Fine Jewelry will close their Main Street store by the end of June. The owners of the store previously owned 41 Closets, which closed last year. -Cavey's has closed their restaurant, the restaurant has been purchased by Geno Auriemma, and he plans on opening another restaurant of his own in the space. Auriemma has been a patron of Cavey's for years leading up to their closure. -The Adams Mill officially closed late last month. That restaurant was purchased by Eli Restaurant Group. Eli Restaurant Group is planning on opening their own restaurant in the space after renovations. -Dress Barn will close their Roz & Ali store located at The Plaza at Buckland Hills later this year. -Parable Brewing Company has closed their Manchester brewery. Their building had been sold; and they were unable to move to a new location at the time. -Soarin' Indoors has closed their Manchester recreational center. They were located next door to Parable. Opening: -Los Sarapes on Main Street has officially changed their name to Mexico Lindo! New signage has been installed. -A new sports bar and restaurant will open in the Parkade. Negril Sports Bar & Restaurant will open in a vacant space in the 'L' of the plaza. -A new brewery, Urban Lodge (formerly White Porch) will open this summer on Purnell Place! -Blue Moon Mediterranean Grille has opened next door to their Hookah bar, Blue Moon Hookah! The restaurant is located in Ollies Plaza on Broad Street. -The owner of Vernon Auto Sales (Hairam Ventures LLC) is attempting to get approval to open a used car dealership at the former Backroads Bar & Grill on Spencer Street. Business News: -The Subway at 288 Center Street has a new owner. The new owner will continue to use Subway branding. -Antonio's Pizza on Main Street will move to a new location! Antonio's has purchased the former Fani's Kitchen near Webster bank. The restaurant is expected to open later this summer. -The owners of Shoprite in Manchester, The Cohen Family/Waverly Markets, will open a new Shoprite in Vernon! The new grocery store will take over the former Price Chopper space later this year with a targeted opening of late fall/early winter. The Pharmacy will remain open during the renovations. -All Star Liquors is moving from their Deming Street location to the former Thiele Chiropractor office on West Center Street! -Work on the new Subway on Spencer Street is progressing, the restaurant is now sporting the new logo and branding for new concept stores. -Members of Planet Fitness/Cardio Express may have noticed more members at both Manchester locations recently; this was due to the temporary closure of the Vernon location. The Vernon location has been receiving a major renovation; and had been closed until the 24th. -Plaza Azteca has officially announced their pending move into The Shoppes at Buckland Hills under the new name Toro Azteca! We recently reported that both Plaza Azteca and Toro Azteca would operate at the same time, and at the time that was the information given to us by Plaza Azteca. Their Hale Street/Slater Street location will close once the new mall location is open. -Kimlar Developers is attempting to build 32 new residential units at 699 Middle Turnpike East, the units would be in 6 separate buildings located in the parking lot of the State's office building. The parking for the State's office would be reconfigured to allow the buildings. The proposed housing is up for approval tomorrow, May 29th, in front of the Planning and Zoning Commission. Author Announcements: As most of you know, this site is free to view, we don't charge monthly subscriptions to view our content like Hartford Courant and Journal Inquirer do. The mission of this site is to get information out to the people; while promoting small businesses that many wouldn't otherwise know of. Running this site is expensive though, so to help support our growth and our continued success, we have launched an online site through Teespring that sells branded merchandise! This will guarantee the continued success of this site and a way to show your support of local journalism. Check it out by clicking here or clicking the 'Shop' button in the upper menu! Another announcement this month; as some of you may know I am an architecture student at University of Hartford. I am working on potentially opening an architecture gallery on either a permanent or temporary basis. I was reading an article about a new art gallery in Hartford having vacant retail space donated to them until a new tenant is found; and figured I would see if any property owners in Manchester would be interested in a similar partnership? Please email me at Buckland.Business.Brief@gmail.com! The Save A Lot Grocery store in Manchester will close next week! The store will close on June 1st according to a sign on the door. The grocery store is located in the former Shaw's Supermarket space on the corner of Broad Street and East Center Street. The Save A Lot store opened in 2011 after Shaw's Supermarket close all of their Connecticut stores. Many stores were sold to Stop & Shop or ShopRite, but the Manchester store closed and was replaced by Shaw's sister company, Save A Lot. Stop & Shop has a location diagonal from Save A Lot; while ShopRite has a location on Spencer Street, 2 miles away from Save A Lot. The grocery stores were owned by SuperValu which acquired 169 Shaw's and Star Market stores, and Save A Lot in 2006 from Albertson's. Save A Lot occupied 21,500 square feet according to marketing information from Northeast Retail, the leasing agent of the property. The two adjacent vacant spaces are 17,400 square feet and 26,200 square feet. The combined store space of the three space (once occupied by Shaw's) is 65,100 square feet. The chain of grocery stores is currently looking to sell itself to another company after the company was sold to Onex from SuperValu/Albertson's in 2012. The chain recently began the search for a buyer to buy the struggling company. The Broad Street building that Save A Lot was located was sold earlier this year, the owners Overland Manchester sold the property to MTM Development for nearly $10 million. There has not been a formal announcement as to the future plans for the site. Dress Barn, a subsidiary of Ascena Retail Group, announced today that they will wind-down their operation this year. The move will close over 650 stores covering the Dress Barn brand. The announcement was made of May 20th, with the online store and physical store remain open at the moment while liquidation is planned. Dress Barn will close all remaining store this year, and appears to include the Dress Barn spin-off Roz & Ali. Roz & Ali was started in 2017 when Dress Barn began to renovate stores under the new marque; the store is named after Dress Barn founders Roslyn and Elliot Jaffe. We will update this story when the closure of Roz & Ali is confirmed. Dress Barn was founded in 1962 in Stamford, Connecticut; the founders sold low-cost woman's apparel when women were beginning to enter the workforce; they sold clothes out of an old barn-style building. The company continued to expand; acquiring companies like Catherine, Maurices, Cacique, Lou & Grey, and Lane Bryant. Dress Barn acquired Tween Brands, the parent company of Justice and Limited Too (formerly L Brands.) The purchase of the company closed in 2009, with Limited Too converting all their stores to the Justice brand by the end of that year. The company accepted an offer to acquire ANN inc; the parent company to Ann Taylor and Loft; eventually closing on the purchase in 2015. In 2019, Dress Barn, now know as Ascena Retail Group, announced their sale of the struggling Maurices brand to a private equity firm. Ascena announced the closure of their flagship brand on May 20th. Dress Barn has area locations Willimantic, at the Eastbrook Mall, and another location in Enfield at Brookside Plaza. Roz & Ali has area locations in Manchester, Connecticut at the Plaza at Buckland Hills, a location at Westbrook Outlets in Westbrook, CT, and another location at Corbin's Corner in West Hartford, Connecticut. The Roz & Ali locations still sport signs with their designated name, but interior signage has been transitioned back to Dress Barn branding. The Roz & Ali website now directs back to Dress Barn's home site. Charlotte Russe will reopen their Manchester location! The announcement was made on the mall's website with the retailer listed as coming soon! The retailer closed their location last month after a very short liquidation period. Charlotte Russe will reopen their Manchester location at The Shoppes at Buckland Hills. The store was/will be located on the second level of the mall across from Victoria Secret. The store is nearly one of the mall's larger clothing stores remaining behind the anchor tenants. The woman's clothing chain was owned by Advent International, who purchased the chain is 2009 for nearly $300 million. The chain began to struggle with high debt to equity, and filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy earlier this year, and changed to Chapter 7 bankruptcy a month later. The chain began liquidation in March; with the last day to use giftcards being March 21st. The chain was purchased at auction by liquidator SB360 before liquidation started. The chain had almost 9,000 employees at the time of liquidation. The intellectual property was sold to YM INC, a Toronto-based retail group, who plan to reopen 100 Charlotte Russe stores in the coming months. The Shoppes at Buckland Hills is one of the first to be announced. Charlotte Russe first opened in San Diego in the mid 1970s, before expanding to their large size in the late 1990s and early 2000s while other mall retailers expanded into woman's and men's clothing. Closing: -Hannoush Jewelers will close their Buckland Hills location once their new location in South Windsor is completed. -Under $5 will close their Buckland Hills store. The store was located on the second floor near Macy's. The store is currently 10-20% off. -It appears that Mix Box, an accessory store in the mall, will be closing their doors. The store has liquidation banners and is selling their fixtures. -Payless is still in the process of closing their Buckland Hills store. -Regis has closed their salon inside the Buckland Hills Mall. The salon was located on the first level near Macy's. The salon's sister company, Master Cuts, still has a salon near Sears. Opening: -Charlotte Russe will reopen their location at the mall. The chain closed all their stores when they filed for bankruptcy earlier this year. The chain has new owners who plan on reopening 100 stores including the Buckland Hills location! -A new tattoo studio will open at the Buckland Hills Mall. The location is unknown at this time; but we have reached out to Mall Management for more information. -Smoothie Naturale will open in the former Dairy Queen/Hardcore Sweets location on the second level of the mall! The space was previously supposed to be the home to Juicy J Juice Bar, who cancelled their Manchester location last year. -MyWay, a fast food restaurant, will open in the food court of the Buckland Hills Mall. The new restaurant will serve a variety of fast foods. -Toro Azteca, a Plaza Azteca restaurant. will open in the former Bertucci's space later this year. The space is now well under renovation with the interior being transformed from Italian style to Spanish. -Seventh Sense Botanical Therapy, a CBD Retailer, will open a location at the mall. The location is shown as the former Sweet U kiosk, though this is not confirmed. -BJ's Brewhouse is ramping up their construction near the mall; the exterior of the building is done, construction will now move to the interior. -Carnival Craze has opened their kiosk at the Buckland Hills Mall! The kiosk is located at the center court near Rainbow. -Marshall's will move from their current location in the PC Richard's plaza into The Plaza at Buckland Hills. Marshall's will take over the former Toys R Us space. -K&G Fashion Superstore will also occupy a portion of the former Toys R Us space! The store is currently well under construction! -Costco is planning a store at Evergreen Walk! The store, which is currently proposed, would be built behind LA Fitness. Other Buckland News: -Nail Studio located on the first floor near Sears has changed their name to Style Nail & Spa. -Work has been started for the adventure park, Urban Air, which will be replacing the former Bob's Store in the PC Richard's Plaza. New air conditioner units have been installed. -The Verizon store on Deming Street are reopened after getting a facelift! -According to people familiar with the matter, two new national tenants are planning Manchester stores at the mall, and soon the former Crazy 8s space will be filled with a current tenant of the mall! The tenant is still unknown, but we will update when more information is available. -There are rumors swirling about Aldi planning a store near Evergreen Walk, as part of a current development underway; once I get the complete scoop, I will update you. -All Star Liquors, located on Deming Street, will move from their current location to 200 West Center Street in Manchester! The store is currently located next door to AT&T; the new location will be the former Thiele Chiropractor. The Price Chopper in Vernon will close! The Price Chopper located at Tri-City Plaza in Vernon will close on May 28th. An email to employees announced the closure today at 2pm. The store is located in the former Ames space, and before that WT Grants. Price Chopper will close the decade old store, but will be replaced by another chain store, Shoprite. The Shoprite will be operated by Waverly Markets, owners of both the Manchester and East Hartford Shoprite locations. Employees of Price Chopper are being offered jobs at their sister locations in Newington, Storrs, and Windsor. Waverly Markets will work with employees of Price Chopper to place them at the Vernon store. In a statement to the press Mona Golub states “It’s never easy to close a store, but imperative to make business decisions that support the company’s continued health and growth." No other Price Chopper location will be affected at this time. The former store will be subdivided to accommodate another retailer as well. TJX Companies' Homesense will open in a nearly 28,000 square foot portion of the store. This will be Homesense's second Connecticut location, behind their future location in Enfield in the former Bob's Store. |
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