Hartford Business Journal

2 Hartford Business Journal | January 11, 2021 | HartfordBusiness.com Museum has been on Trout Brook Drive for six decades, but the listing adds additional pressure to expedite its relocation efforts, which have been ongoing for over four years. CT 3Q GDP surges from pandemic low point A rise in healthcare spending, social assistance and a partial recovery in the manufacturing and hospitality sectors helped Connecticut boost its gross domestic product in the third quarter by nearly 33%, erasing losses incurred in the previous quarter. The state's GDP for the third quarter was $283.6 billion, up from $262.7 billion in the second quarter, according to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. The growth here was the 32nd highest in the U.S. Despite the rebound, Connecticut's economy still remains down by about 1.7% from a year ago, when third-quarter GDP was $288.5 billion. Restaurants push back on COVID-19 cluster report The state's restaurant industry pushed back against a recent report linking restaurants to a signifi cant proportion of identifi ed COVID-19 clusters even as Gov. Ned Lamont reiterated his commitment to keep restaurants open for indoor dining. A Department of Public Health report on 84 recent clusters of virus cases in Connecticut traced 21 of them to restaurants, although almost all of the cases were found in back- of-the-house workers like cooks. "Closing down indoor dining doesn't address the issue of the kitchens," Lamont said. He added that he had no immediate plans to add further pandemic restrictions to restaurant service. Scott Dolch, executive director of the Connecticut Restaurant Association, pushed back against the report saying, "While there is clearly community spread, there is also demonstrable proof that restaurants operating with indoor service did not cause the type of spreads you would see if restaurants accounted for nearly a quarter of clusters, as DPH's report seems to suggest." Simsbury's Millwrights suspends indoor dining Celebrity chef Tyler Anderson announced his signature Simsbury restaurant, Millwrights, will suspend indoor dining until Feb. 11. Wadsworth attendance hits post-pandemic high Hartford's Wadsworth Atheneum museum hosted more visitors during New Year's weekend than it had since the start of the COVID-19 crisis, even beating attendance numbers for the same (pre-pandemic) weekend last year. "We were very pleased," said Kim Hugo, director of marketing for the downtown institution. The attendance surge during the Jan. 2 weekend came as the museum maintains strict social-distancing protocols, requiring timed admissions, one-way traffi c through galleries and limited capacity in the 60,000-square-foot space. The Wadsworth is one of many Hartford cultural institutions that hopes to benefi t from the Save Our Stages pandemic relief package, which is set to provide $15 billion in funds to keep pandemic-hit venues operating. Dime Bank cuts ribbon on Hartford-area branches Norwich lender Dime Bank recently debuted its fi rst two Hartford area branches in Manchester and Biz Briefs Farmington's CT Spring & Stamping expanding to Southington A Farmington-based precision manufacturer of metal springs, stamping and components has acquired a Southington property as it aims to expand capacity to meet the growing needs of a major medical customer. Connecticut Spring & Stamping (CSS) purchased 85 Robert Porter Road in Southington on Dec. 17 for $1.65 million, according to property records. CSS has 470 employees based out of two properties totaling 200,000 square feet in Farmington, where the company has been headquartered since 1960, and it has no plans to leave town, CSS President Steve Dicke said. "It's just further expansion for us," Dicke said. "Our business has been pretty strong." CSS plans to relocate some of its Farmington equipment and workforce to the 32,000-square-foot building that sits on 2.5 acres and is also investing in new machines and hires. PHOTOS | CONTRIBUTED SUBSCRIPTIONS Annual subscriptions are $96.00. To subscribe, visit HartfordBusiness.com, email hartfordbusiness@cambeywest. com, or call (845) 267-3008. ADVERTISING For advertising information, please call (860) 236-9998.Please address all correspondence to: Hartford Business Journal, 15 Lewis Street, Suite 200, Hart ford CT 06103. 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Peter Stanton | CEO, pstanton@nebusinessmedia.com Tom Curtin | President, ext. 124, tcurtin@hartfordbusiness.com Mary Rogers | COO/CFO, mrogers@nebusinessmedia.com EDITORIAL Greg Bordonaro | Editor, ext. 139, gbordonaro@hartfordbusiness.com Matt Pilon | News Editor, ext. 143, mpilon@hartfordbusiness.com Beats: Real Estate/Economic Development, Energy, Startups & Entrepreneurs, Banking & Finance, and Government Liese Klein | Web Editor, ext. 127, lklein@hartfordbusiness.com Beats: Health Care and Bioscience Sean Teehan | Staff Writer, ext. 145, steehan@hartfordbusiness.com Beats: Manufacturing, Law, Technology, Higher Education, and Transportation Tim Doyle | Lead Researcher Heide Martin | Research Assistant Steve Laschever | Photographer BUSINESS Tom Curtin | Publisher, ext. 124, tcurtin@hartfordbusiness.com Christina Zuraw | Events Coordinator, ext. 134, czuraw@hartfordbusiness.com David Hartley | Senior Accounts Manager, ext. 130, dhartley@HartfordBusiness.com Zac Macinnes | Senior Accounts Manager, ext. 133, zmacinnes@HartfordBusiness.com Daniel Schilke | Senior Accounts Manager, ext. 135, dschilke@HartfordBusiness.com Valerie Clark | Director of Audience Development, ext. 332 Jill Coran | Human Resources Manager Megan Mason | Operations Assistant, mmason@hartfordbusiness.com PRODUCTION Christie Novotny | Production Director, cnovotny@hartfordbusiness.com Joe Zwiebel | Founding Publisher Glastonbury. The new branches, at 299 W. Middle Turnpike in Manchester and 1009 Hebron Ave. in Glastonbury, opened to the public late last month. The pandemic has shaped restrictions on occupancy, but Dime Bank does offer in-person banking by appointment in the new branches and allows limited walk-ins. Dime Bank currently operates 13 branches in Connecticut and Rhode Island and holds about $1 billion in assets, said CEO Nick Caplanson. The Hartford area's relatively dense population and a void in the banking marketplace helped prompt Dime Bank's expansion, Caplanson said. West Hartford private school aims to sell Children's Museum property The longtime West Hartford home of the Children's Museum is for sale. Offi cials at the adjacent Kingswood Oxford School, which bought 950 Trout Brook Drive from the museum in 2003 and have been leasing the property back to the institution since, announced their intention to sell the property in a recent letter to neighbors. Colliers International is handling the listing, which contains no asking price. The listing describes the 3.4-acre property as "a once in a generation opportunity to develop the only remaining three acre or larger parcel within the dense West Hartford Center core." Potential development options include luxury apartments, medical, offi ce or retail. The Children's Steve Dicke is president of Connecticut Spring & Stamping Corp. PHOTOS | CONTRIBUTED Dime Bank's ribbon-cutting in Glastonbury on Dec. 21. HBJ PHOTO | BILL MORGAN Chef Tyler Anderson at Millwrights in Simsbury.

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