"Farmington Avenue looks much better," Eli Hawli told We-Ha in mid-September. Hawli co-owns Market Hospitality Group with Sam DeVellis. He wasn't talking about sidewalks for their own sake. His company has spent more than a year trying to turn the 1930s building at 976–978 Farmington Avenue into two restaurants with five apartments above them. Most of that delay came from the road work directly in front of the building.
The building needed new water, sewer, and electric connections, and those couldn't be finished until the Farmington Avenue reconstruction reached its frontage. That work is done now. Hawli expects the steel to go up within weeks and hopes to open one restaurant by the end of December.
Those two facts explain most of what happens in West Hartford Center over the next few months. The order of openings follows the construction crews' route.
Where the Crews Are Now
The West Hartford Center Infrastructure Master Plan was about 85% complete as of late September. That figure comes from Director of Community Development Duane Martin's report to the Town Council's Community Planning and Economic Development Committee. The Town's project page lists November 20, 2026, as the tentative completion date. Gerber Construction holds the contract, valued at $9,547,008.25 and paid for with American Rescue Plan Act funds.
The project moved through the Center in order. LaSalle Road came first, with work starting March 31, 2025. Farmington Avenue followed this year. In the last week of September, LaSalle got its final coat of pavement and more benches, and bike hitches are coming next. On Farmington Avenue, crews were still working in front of the former CVS building, and the sidewalk and curb work in front of Sparrow, J.McLaughlin, and Bliss Matcha & Beyond had moved well along. The stretch between bartaco and Mecha looks like the last section.
That sequence lines up closely with which storefronts are opening and which are still waiting.
LaSalle Finished First, and Its Restaurant Is Closest
LaSalle Road is the street with a finished surface, and it also has the new restaurant nearest to opening. Blu Olive, the sister restaurant to Harvest, is serving Mediterranean food with an Italian focus at 60 LaSalle Road. Its sign went up by mid-September. When We-Ha's Ronni Newton asked at Harvest next door on September 18, staff told her Blu Olive was "just a few weeks" from opening.
Jared Cohen, who owns Le Mazet, is also working on a new concept with a former partner from Republic, planned for the former Cookshop Plus space. He told We-Ha it will be a few months before he shares details.
Farmington Avenue Has Been Opening Around the Work
Farmington Avenue still has active work zones, and its storefront changes this year happened alongside them. The Town's September project updates describe sidewalk, curb, and utility work with temporary pedestrian routes, plus ongoing efforts to keep business entrances open.
Here is how that block has changed since midsummer:
| Address | Business | Status, per We-Ha |
|---|---|---|
| 981 Farmington Ave. | Bliss Matcha & Beyond | Soft-opened Aug. 1 |
| 990 Farmington Ave. | Lil Hope | Moved here from 18 LaSalle Road in late August |
| 844 to 846 Farmington Ave. | Gveenah | Planning a move within its building to add seating and use the existing bar; no date set |
| 976–978 Farmington Ave. | Mercato and Blu Pointe | Steel expected within weeks; one restaurant targeted by end of December |
| 932 Farmington Ave. | Gong Cha | Closed permanently by early August |
| 993 Farmington Ave. | Crêpes Choupette | Closed in early September |
Of everything on that list, the Market Hospitality Group project is the one to watch. Mercato is a scratch kitchen serving pasta, pizza, salads, and Italian dishes, and its Cheshire location opened in early September. Blu Pointe serves seasonal steak and seafood, including sushi, and the West Hartford location will be the first in Connecticut. Hawli said the two will open back to back.
"All the materials have been picked, the teams are ready, the furniture is ordered. Once the steel is up, our teams are ready to build. Full speed ahead."
He also said people are already asking to book events, and the group isn't ready to commit to dates yet. Every date for these two restaurants is still a target.
Just off the main stretch, The Brownstone at 7 South Main Street soft-opened July 28 and held its Chamber ribbon-cutting August 27.
Blue Back Square Keeps Its Own Clock
Memorial Road in Blue Back Square is outside the reconstruction zone, and its storefronts are changing at a steady pace, one address at a time. In the 60s through the low 110s alone:
- 63 Memorial Road: Fat Duck Tavern, open by mid-July
- 67 Memorial Road: Chip City, which opened in 2024 and closed for good just before the Burger Bash. All three of the brand's Connecticut locations, including Fairfield and Darien, are no longer listed on its website.
- 87 Memorial Road: Sweatfluence hot yoga, with an announced grand opening on October 10
- 89 Memorial Road: Monmouth Trading Cards, which hopes to open by the end of October
- 91 Memorial Road: Wonder, open since mid-August, with an August 12 ribbon-cutting
- 111 Memorial Road: Nana's Dim Sum & Dumplings, still planned, with no opening date
Nana's has prompted the most questions. Its window wraps went up in the spring. We-Ha has been told the restaurant still plans to open and that the process is simply taking a while. The group has seven locations in Colorado and one in Scarsdale, New York, and West Hartford would be its first in Connecticut.
Blue Back Square also handles a crowd without needing a finished street. The fourth annual Blue Back Burger Bash took over the square on September 24. Fleming's won people's choice and tied Artisan in the judges' vote, which made Fleming's the overall winner. Artisan won best presentation for its French dip burger. Connecticut Foodshare President and CEO Jason Jakubowski said the event usually raises at least $5,000 and that this year's crowd was the biggest yet.
October, Week by Week
October in the Center brings several events, plus a few openings with announced dates:
- Oct. 4, 2 to 5 p.m.: WeHa United in Jazz on Webster Walk in Blue Back Square. The concert is free and features bassist Gerald Veasley, with the Town Hall auditorium as the rain location.
- Oct. 10: Sweatfluence's grand opening at 87 Memorial Road.
- Oct. 22–24 and 29–30: West Hartford Hauntings at Old North Cemetery, 80 North Main Street. Tours leave every 15 minutes from 6 to 8:45 p.m.
- Oct. 25, 5 to 9 p.m.: The Autumn Harvest Dinner at Delamar West Hartford and Artisan, a four-course local-food dinner that benefits the Blue Back Farmers' Market.
- Late October: Monmouth Trading Cards' target opening at 89 Memorial Road.
Up North Main, Bishops Corner Is Starting Smaller
Bishops Corner follows the same pattern on a smaller scale. The renovated Phillips 66 station at 2526 Albany Avenue, now operating as Fresh Route, took over the former mechanic bays to expand its convenience store. The Algoo family runs it. Grumpy Dad Coffee Roasters, whose sales benefit the Lucas Logan Foundation, is already inside. Fresh Monkee, the state's 11th location of the protein-shake franchise, plans a soft opening October 5 and a grand opening October 24.
Down the road, Dime Pizza is moving into the former Salsa Fresca space at 345 North Main Street. It comes from the owners of Camille's Wood Fired Pizza in Tolland and Oakland Pizza in South Windsor, and it will serve Detroit pies and "'roni cups." As of September 28, the owners had no target opening date. The larger state project at the Albany Avenue and North Main Street intersection is still ahead. The Town's engineering page expects construction in 2027.
The December Line
In the Center, the dates line up in order. LaSalle has its final pavement now. Blu Olive is a few weeks out. The Farmington Avenue work has a tentative November 20 finish. Mercato and Blu Pointe are aiming for the end of December and soon after. Blue Back Square will keep adding and losing tenants on its own timeline. On Farmington Avenue, the restaurant that waited longest for the utility work is set to open about a month after the crews leave, if the steel goes up when Hawli expects.
Storefront changes like these affect how buyers see a block and how a listing reads, especially near the Center. If you're thinking about what that means for a home nearby, Kathy Danais and the Danais & Gordon Team can build you a free home valuation and selling plan based on where West Hartford Center is headed this winter.
