West Hartford Business Buzz: Openings, Closings and Other News

It's the new year, and time for a new column. Welcome to 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, like the plans for Pepe's Pizza to open in Elmwood.

Sometimes we don't have enough news to write an entire story, but 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:

• Camille Bridal is closing. Signs are in the window offering up to 80 percent off at the couture bridal shop on LaSalle Rd.
• The former It's a Grind space in Blue Back Square is still vacant. Any word on what's going in there, or ideas of what you would like to see?
• The Cheesecake Factory is donating 100 percent of tips earned on Wednesday to "My Sandy Hook Family Fund."
• Stop and Shop and Panera Bread recently made significant donations to West Hartford non-profits.
• The West Hartford Chamber of Commerce will host its next "Business After Hours" on Thursday, Jan. 10, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at Pompanoosuc Mills Corp., 21 Brace Rd.