West Hartford Business Buzz for Jan. 12: Openings, Closings and Other News

For the record, I do not write the column under the influence of alcohol. It’s Business Buzz, not Business Buzzed, people. Plus, this is a family site. Keep it clean.

More details have emerged on the Microsoft retail store, which will open at Westfarms on March 1. The Grand Opening ceremony, which will include a special musical performance, will begin at 10:30 a.m. According to an announcement from a Microsoft spokeswoman, the store will make software donations to local organizations during the ribbon cutting ceremony. Among the products and services available at the store are the following:

• A curated assortment of products, including Surface, Windows 8 PCs, Windows Phones, Xbox One, Office products, and more.

The ownership group of McLadden’s Irish Publick House in West Hartford announced that it is opening its fourth restaurant at the former Iron Frog Tavern location in Simsbury. According to a press release, renovations and infrastructure improvements have begun at the former Iron Frog Tavern location on Wilcox Street. An expected opening date has been targeted for February 2014.

Julie Stagis of The Hartford Courant reported this week that the rates for street parking in West Hartford Center and Blue Back Square would increase from $1 to $1.50 per hour. Town garages currently cost $1.50 per hour and raising the rates for on-street parking, which is the first choice for most people to park, would have an “equalizing effect,” the Courant quoted Department of Public Works Director John Phillips. The businesses in the Center would benefit, according to Phillips, through added turnover on the street. Nothing is etched in stone, however, and officials will continue to examine the issue.

It’s not quite West Hartford, but pretty close. The Tavern at the Exchange in Farmington recently opened in the location formerly occupied by Murphy & Scarletti’s. "We want to be the Grand Central Station of nightlife," Dan Delpret, The Tavern's director of operations, said. Jessie “The Kid” Sawyer reported that “[t]he restaurant offers American fare ranging from tavern options like burgers, nachos and bacon cheeseburger macaroni and cheese to dishes with a flair of upscale dining like a duck club.”