Hartford Business Journal

www.HartfordBusiness.com November 14, 2016 • Hartford Business Journal 5 REPORTER'S NOTEBOOK Hartford's Vito's by the Park leaving 20-year home Restaurateur Rob Maffucci is preparing to vacate the downtown Hartford location of his second-oldest eatery, Vito's by the Park, opting to move a third of a mile up the road to the Prudential building at 280 Trumbull St. The longtime chef said the 20-year-old restaurant's move was driven in part by the longer-than-expected construction related to Hartford's ongoing $25 million Intermo- dal Triangle Project, which began in 2014 and has been widening sidewalks and promenades and realigning Gold Street. Originally slated for a late 2015 comple- tion, work was delayed after nearby condo residents sued the city over the project, which is now slated for "substantial comple- tion" by Dec. 30, according to Michael Loo- ney, the city's director of projects. Maffucci said he's lost an estimated $400,000 in revenue since the beginning of the project, which has reduced parking in the area. Vito's current location, leased from Alan Lazowski, CEO of Laz Parking, will close after Nov. 23. The new restaurant — to be called V's Trattoria, located in the ground- floor space formerly occupied by TD Bank — will open in about four months, Maffucci said, and be centered around a brick oven surrounded by a bar. The 3,800-square-foot space, which will have lower rent and a captive audience of nearly 3,000 people plus the potential for additional business from Hartford Stage, located directly across the street, is sig- nificantly smaller than Maffucci's current location, which is about 6,800 square feet. He said the overhead costs of running a relatively large space, as well as rising food prices and narrowing margins, are also fac- tors in his decision to move. His new landlord, Grunberg Realty, is also paying for a major renovation, which will include a new commercial kitchen. "We're an amenity for their building," he said. Meanwhile, Maffucci's adjacent Vito's to Go takeout restaurant is expected to be open by month's end in a separate space in the 280 Trumbull lobby. He said some of his 25 employees will transfer to the new Vito's to Go location, while most of the others will work at his Windsor establishment, Vito's by the Water. Several have left but he expects to have 30 employed at 280 Trumbull when everything is open. Maffucci, who owns restaurants and catering businesses in Windsor, South Windsor and Wethersfield, sees the new Hartford location as a chance to start from scratch. He predicts a revamped menu, giving him the ability to compete with some of the newer restaurants in the Front Street district. "Having a blank canvass to work from is really an exciting thing," he said last week at his longtime 26 Trumbull St. location. – Matt Pilon Quality Construction + Butler Manufacturing = Repeat Customers www.borghesibuilding.com © 2011 BlueScope Buildings North America, Inc. All rights reserved. Butler Manufacturing™ is a division of BlueScope Buildings North America, Inc. 2155 East Main Street • Torrington, Connecticut 06790 Goodwill Brookfield | 2007 | 13,050 sq. ft. Goodwill Westport 2011 | 9,960 sq. ft. Goodwill Torrington 2002 | 14,690 sq. ft. Contact us at 1-855-BUILD-86 or visit us on the web. Business Loans & Lines of Credit Checking & Savings Solutions • Cash Management Services When you have the right bank for your business, you'll never have to grow alone. Visit chelseagroton.com/growthatbusiness to learn how we can grow that business of yours together. 273 Hebron Avenue, Glastonbury, CT and locations throughout New London County Donors buy Winterfest another year Many crowdfunding campaigns fall short, but not Winterfest's. Offering several months of free ice skat- ing and other holiday events in Bushnell Park, Winterfest's future was uncertain following the loss of approximately $150,000 in city aid. But the crowd responded, donating $221,000 as of last week on the CrowdRise. com campaign site. Last week, as workers from Champion Skating Center were wrapping up their work setting up the rink, Jackie Mandcyk, managing director of the iQuilt Partner- ship, called the result extraordinary and said it shows that area residents, companies and foundations value the event. The money will allow Winterfest to run from Nov. 25 through Jan. 8 — approximate- ly two weeks shorter than in previous years. Winterfest organizers are planning a press conference Nov. 15 to announce this year's schedule and other information. One change is that the opening ceremonies, typi- cally held on Nov. 25, will take place Dec. 3. Despite the fundraising success, Winter- fest will likely face the same funding chal- lenge next year, so Mandcyk said the fund- raising campaign will remain open through the end of the festival. IQuilt organizers will likely sock some money away for next year, though it's pos- sible they will extend the event beyond Jan. 8, depending on any further dona- tions received. "We will cross that bridge when we get to it," Mandcyk said. "We would love addi- tional funds." Winterfest will also be launching its own website for the first time, winterfest- hartford.com. The site was expected to be live by Monday. — Matt Pilon Long-term construction near Vito's by the Park is forcing owner Rob Maffucci to move his 20-year-old restaurant elsewhere downtown. H B J P H O T O | G R E G B O R D O N A R O

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