Hartford Business Journal

4 HARTFORDBUSINESS.COM | JANUARY 3, 2022 Deal Watch By Michael Puffer mpuffer@hartfordbusiness.com H artford Mayor Luke Bronin's offer of up to $150,000 in grants to prepare and outfit vacant ground- floor retail spaces for new businesses has drawn dozens of applicants. Eighteen days after the Dec. 2 announcement of the program, 25 property owners had filed applications with the Hartford Chamber of Commerce, with 38 more beginning the process, according to Julio Concepcion, the chamber's executive director. The city is funding the program with $6 million of its $112 million American Rescue Plan Act allocation. "I'm a little surprised and I'm really excited to see the number of people actually filling out these applications," Concepcion said. "We are excited to see those numbers and we are continuing to push marketing of the program." Concepcion said the chamber is working to help applicants complete paperwork, and to match prospective businesses with landlords. Interested businesses include a bridal shop, restaurants, barber shops, candle maker, live entertainment venue and dog groomer, among others, according to more in various stages of design and development. City boosters aim to add at least 1,500 additional apartments. Getting to 5,000 units, they say, will create a critical mass of downtown dwellers who can support more restaurants and other merchants. A different company culture Luari credits her restaurant's vibrant and welcoming vibe to her staff's energy, creativity and caring. Employees at her downtown and West Hartford restaurants start at $12 per hour and share tips. This results in an average salary of $25 hourly, even for dishwashers, Luari said. There's no competition for tables or tips, allowing staff to focus on customers and mutual support, Luari said. Smart use of social media, especially Instagram, has been essential to Luari's success. Luari said she spends about $200,000 yearly on marketing, branding and outreach. She has one part-timer keeping track of the restaurants' social media presence, and another who's whole job is to create content for platforms like TikTok. "Timing is everything, having a vision and being willing to take a risk," said 36-year-old Andrea Jewell, Luari's full-time director of culture and experience. Jewell circulates among guests, keeping tabs on their experience. She also stays in constant touch with staff. "How we feel as a unit directly impacts our guest experience," Jewell said. "If you have an environment that is vibrant and high- energy, that's what people feel when they come through the door." Jewell said the restaurant is on an endless marketing campaign, adapting with the times and ensuring word is out on relevant channels. Most customers are first-time visitors, she said. They come from as far away as Maryland, New Jersey and Philadelphia "because they saw us on TikTok," Jewell said. Jewell said Luari continued to push resources into marketing throughout the pandemic, even as many advised her to trim the expense. "It was the smartest thing we could do because now we have lines out the door," Jewell said. "Every Saturday and Sunday we have lines out the door." Hartford's economic development officials say Luari's restaurants have been a real shot in the arm during a tough period. "It's wonderful to have someone who seems to be a Houdini in being able to draw people to a facility," Don Chapman, Hartford's director of community and small business development, said of the downtown location. "I cannot believe the number of people who will come and stand in line over there." An immigrant origin Luari works on the edge of modern American culture, but her work ethic and roots in the restaurant industry stretch more than 4,000 miles across the Atlantic to Albania. Luari's family fled the small Balkan nation to join her maternal grandfather in East Hartford in 1998. She was 6. At the time, the country was disintegrating into lawlessness after a massive Ponzi scheme crashed the economy. Ordinary citizens raided government armories, making off with automatic rifles, grenades and other weapons. Luari's parents, Marjana and Ylli, sold the family restaurant and most of their possessions one day without telling anyone. They feared, with good reason, they would be kidnapped and robbed. "We had to leave at 3 a.m.," Luari said. "We had to sell our restaurant eight hours before we boarded a plane." The day after the family arrived in East Hartford, Ylli Luari began washing dishes at the Town Line Diner in Rocky Hill. He worked his way up to cook and, a decade later, bought the diner. Gina and her siblings grew up around the diner. As a young teen, Gina Luari was regularly helping her parents fill out business forms. She redesigned the menu and launched a website. At 17, she drew up conceptual plans for an $80,000 renovation. At 19, Luari joined the Rocky Hill Chamber of Commerce, looking for ways to advance the diner. "Our parents never let us forget how grateful we should be for these opportunities," Luari said. "So, we definitely don't let any of them pass us by." Luari was so active with the chamber that, at age 23, she was hired as its director. It was on her commute from her Hartford apartment that she spotted a closed breakfast spot on Franklin Avenue. She hunted down the property owners and arranged a lease. "There were so many Millennials moving into downtown," Luari said. "I was like: 'Where are all these people going to go?' … When I opened The Place 2 Be, everyone else was leaving. I knew there was a need." Luari took out a $26,000 credit line and, with elbow grease volunteered by friends and family, remodeled the space into something that would appeal to her as a customer. "Going out to eat is a sensory experience," Luari said. "We just kind of created that. It led to being an Instagrammable space. So many people were taking pictures." Patrons frolic in clawfoot bathtub at The Place 2 Be in downtown Hartford. HBJ PHOTO | STEVE LASCHEVER HBJ PHOTO | STEVE LASCHEVER Grant program to outfit vacant Hartford retail/restaurant space draws immediate interest Alexandra Pilon, co-owner of the Bloom Bake Shop, serves up treats at a pop-up sale in a Pratt Street storefront the weekend before Christmas.

• Cover