West Hartford Business Buzz April 21: Openings, Closings and Other News

Welcome to this week's installment of West Hartford Business Buzz!

People in West Hartford love to be "in the know" about happenings in town, especially the openings — and closings — of local businesses. We hear things all the time, and some of them turn into big stories. But sometimes we don't have enough news to write an entire story, even though the information is definitely newsworthy. For a while we ran a "Visions for Vacancies" feature on Sundays, but it was getting to be difficult to find vacancies every week.

Every Sunday we'll highlight the business stories you may have missed during the past week, and give you the scoop on the other news you may not have heard about. And if you have tips about businesses opening or closing, please include them in the comments or send an email to ronni.newton@patch.com.

• A long-vacant Raymond Road property is being spruced up and will soon have a new occupancy. Petals and Paws will soon open in the former Wizard of Paws location at 22 Raymond Rd. The shop, specializing in natural products and specialty for pets and other animals, will be run by Chris Mathes, son of Dana Mathes who runs the Canton location.
• West Hartford resident Stuart Shoflick recently opened a new dental practice in town. Barnett & Shoflick Family Dentistry is located at 61 South Main Street, Suite 311, West Hartford, CT 06107, 860-233-9829.
• The West Hartford Chamber of Commerce has started blogging on Patch! This week they posted news about a ribbon-cutting at the Microsoft store at Westfarms and the Business After Hours at Planet Bark.
• Sev Shak moved from Avon to 981C Farmington Ave. in West Hartford not quite three weeks ago, and owner Sevanne Ngamariju is already thrilled with the new location. "The dynamic here is different ... more savvy shoppers that what I've experienced before," she said. She compared the West Hartford Center to Manhattan or Newport, and said she has been selling "a little bit of everything." The women's clothing and accessories store carries many unique pieces – "what people are looking for and have a hard time finding," Ngamariju said.
• Have you had a chance to visit the new Elements Destination Day Spa in West Hartford? It's home to the only Himalayan Salt Cave in the state. If you tried to read the story about it that was posted on West Hartford Patch a few weeks ago but found a dead link, we apologize. The story got caught in limbo when we transitioned to the new platform, but it's accessible again by clicking here.