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HARTFORDBUSINESS.COM | OCTOBER 19, 2026 13 Reduce operating costs and increase productivity. We make it easy with efficiency measures to lower energy use resulting in savings. Go to BusinessEnergyCT.com to get your no-cost facility assessment. We're your energy efficiency Partner. Unlock significant incentives and energy savings for your business with a no-cost facility assessment. Lower your energy use and improve operating costs. Paid for by a charge on customer energy bills. PROUD SPONSORS OF BROUGHT TO YOU BY FCIK005HBJ develop the additional restaurant concepts and catering operation. He also assisted with the design and outfitting of the event hall's commercial kitchen. Ross has more than 50 years of hospitality experience and most recently worked at The Wayside Inn, a historic inn and events venue in Sudbury, Massachusetts. Ross said he expects to build a full-time cooking and catering staff of 20, including five chefs, supplemented by another 40 workers available for events. "We could handle basically about anything, whether it's an Aetna Christmas party or a wedding," Ross said. "I believe we could handle just about any event with that size staffing and this hall." Ross is developing two restau- rant concepts to open as stalls become available. The first, "Soup-reme Soups, Salads, and More," would offer its namesake dishes along with chili and stuffed baked potatoes. An unnamed deli concept would serve hot and prepared foods as well as sandwiches for customers to take home. Ross said he hopes to have the commercial kitchen ready this month. Mouta said Cooper and Ross could also collaborate on bartending classes, wine and liquor pair- ings, and small dinners featuring surprise menus. Seafood Shack itself is an early example of the new approach. Its menu includes beer-battered cod, shrimp and scallops, along with clam strips, calamari, lobster bisque and clam chowder. Mouta said seafood was a relatively simple concept to execute and filled a gap in the market's food lineup. Operating his own stalls also gives Mouta greater control over promotions during slower periods, he said. Independent vendors may be reluctant to discount food to help boost traffic elsewhere in the market, Mouta said. With his own restaurants, he can offer specials or accept lower food profits if the resulting traffic generates additional beverage sales. "We want to be able to fill that dead time," Mouta said. "If we have our own stalls, we can do specials." Events expansion continues Mouta also plans to renovate another roughly 4,000-square-foot space adjacent to the events venue into a bar and entertainment space with activities such as ax throwing and golf simulators. He expects it to be ready within about three months. The addition would give customers more reasons to stay on the property before or after a meal and expand the activities available to corporate groups and other event customers. Mouta envisions companies holding daylong meetings in the events hall, with attendees heading next door during breaks to use the golf simulators. The new space would have regular hours, primarily later in the day, and could feature live music. The broader aim is to make the Parkville Market campus a place where customers can eat, drink and find entertainment rather than simply arrive for a meal and leave. "I want to bring different excite- ment, to just have something different," Mouta said. Parkville Market food and beverage director Bradley Cooper (left) and executive chef Jeff Ross are helping expand the Hartford food hall's restaurant and catering operations.