West Hartford Business Buzz for Dec. 22: Openings, Closings and Other News

(Ed. note: no one’s data was breached or stolen during the compilation of this week’s Business Buzz)

Looking for something different to drink in the Center? Tea Break, located at 994 Farmington Ave., offers 60 flavors of tea and “bubble tea,” which is a cool sweet tea, mixed with fruit or milk and ice.  Tea Break had it’s soft opening on Friday and is scheduled to have its grand opening on Sunday, Dec. 22.

West Hartford Patch caught up with Blue Plate Kitchen partner and general manager Anthony Sousa, who said that the restaurant will open in Bishops Corner in mid-January. The highly anticipated eatery, which is owned by the people who run Hartford’s City Steam, will feature American comfort food for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Another restaurant scheduled to open in mid-January is the Hearty Kitchen at 280 Park Road. Justin Lovelace, who co-owns the restaurant with his wife Linda, said that Hearty Kitchen will feature Southern fried chicken (hormone-free, free-range, pasture-raised chickens), country stews, comfort soups, gluten-free items, fresh juices, and a “long list” of traditional comfort food made from family recipes passed down from generations. All of the ingredients will be locally produced from sustainable sources, with an eye toward the Lovelaces growing everything themselves.

The Iron Frog in Simsbury is being sold to a West Hartford business owner, Simsbury Patch editor John Fitts reported. The Frog (as the kids call it) is a popular restaurant and nighttime destination. The sale won’t be completed until the end of the month.

The Hartford Courant reported Thursday that the town’s design review committee reviewed plans for the Delmar Hotel West Hartford, which is to be constructed near Blue Back Square. The Courant reported that the draft plans revealed a six-story building with an Old World flare.

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. 

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 ted.glanzer@patch.com.