West Hartford Business Buzz Feb. 24: 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.

Here's this week's round-up:

• Moe's Southwest Grill will reopen on Tuesday! A burst pipe in the Blue Back Square restaurant's HVAC system damaged the restaurant, but after a thorough clean-up and a "refresh" of the interior, Moe's co-owner Matt Rusconi said he is "excited to get open again" and will be celebrating the restaurant's 5th anniversary (which was Valentine's Day) at the same time as the grand reopening.
• MOOYAH Burger, which opened last March in Bishops Corner, held its official ribbon-cutting Thursday night. Like Moe's, MOOYAH is also co-owned by Matt Rusconi and David Vorchheimer. "We never got a chance to do the ribbon-cutting when we opened," said Rusconi. They celebrated with the University of Hartford women's basketball and soccer teams, the University of Hartford men's lacrosse team, and some YMCA basketball teams. Howie the Hawk was also in attendance. "It added a little activity to a cold Thursday," Rusconi said of the celebration.
• Yogurt City will hold its grand opening on Saturday in Elmwood, in the Stop & Shop plaza. Owner Armando Roman – a busy guy who has also become a father to a baby daughter – is excited to bring his self-service yogurt shop to another West Hartford neighborhood.
• Dr. Robin Tucker Lapidus, Licensed Professional Counselor and Certified School Psychologist, has launched a private therapy practice to address the growing mental health needs of children, adolescents, and families in the greater Hartford area. Her new practice is located at 776 Farmington Ave. West Hartford, CT  06119 She can be reached at 860-490-6531 or rtlapidus@gmail.com. For more information visit www.drrobintuckerlapidus.com
• Sweet Nest, the tween home decor and accessories store on Farmington Ave., is closing its doors. The store, which opened in Oct. 2011, is holding a going-out-of-business sale.
• In case you missed the story earlier this week, Neighborhood Market by Walmart opened on Wednesday in Bishops Corner.