BGR: The Burger Joint on Farmington Avenue Is Closed

Less than a year after opening, BGR: The Burger Joint at 983 Farmington Avenue in West Hartford Center is closed for business with brown paper covering its windows.

Messages left at the company's corporate offices in Virginia were not returned, but the restaurant does not appear to be undergoing renovations. Employees next door at Luluemon said they noticed the restaurant had closed about a week ago and were surprised by it.

The company, which launched in 2008, has expanded rapidly in the last several years. Twenty-three restaurants in 10 states and the District of Columbia are listed on its website and more are slated to open this year. West Hartford's location was the only one in Connecticut and the first in New England.

When the restaurant opened last October, franchise owner James Grieder told Patch that The Burger Joint stood out in the crowded gourmet hamburger field for several reasons.

“We only use prime dry-aged beef; never frozen, everything is flown in fresh daily," he said. "Our buns are made fresh daily, the ingredients are produced fresh daily, and we cook to temperature. Everything is cooked to order.” 

 The restaurant also served Yukon Gold thick cut fries, thin cut Sweet Potato fries, and beer battered sweet Vidalia onion rings. Milkshakes were another popular item, as was the create-your-own soda machine.

West Hartford has seen a proliferation of high-end hamburger restaurants in the last few years, including , , Max Burger, and .