Cuban restaurant Azucar, a fixture on Franklin Avenue in Hartford’s South End, has closed and the property is scheduled to be sold in a foreclosure auction Saturday.
The Azucar restaurant property is scheduled for a foreclosure sale. Photo by Kenneth R. Gosselin/kgosselin@courant.com.
Salvatore and Hilda Pirrotta, of Glastonbury, operated the restaurant, according to state business records, but patrons and past news reports have identified the co-owner as Iris Pirrotta. Salvatore Pirrotta is the president of the real estate holding company, Realty Holdings Corvo LLC, which owns the property at 492-494 Franklin Ave., according to property records.
The Pirrottas did not return a call to their home Wednesday and the restaurant property was dark on two visits Wednesday and Thursday. Their attorney, Ronald Chorches of Wethersfield, declined comment today.
According to court records, Community Realty Investors Inc. filed foreclosure papers in February, 2011 and a judgment of foreclosure by sale was handed down in June, 2011. The sale was delayed once.
In 2005, former Courant Food Editor Linda Guica wrote about the Pirrottas and how they were making the transition from an Italian restaurant to one with a Cuban-inspired menu:
For those who want a more varied taste of Cuban cuisine, Franklin Avenue is home to Azucar restaurant, owned by Iris Pirrotta, who was born in Cuba, and her husband, Sal, a Sicilian-born chef. The restaurant, previously named Corvo and known almost 20 years for its primarily Italian menu, changed its name last year to reflect the growing Cuban offerings on its menu.
The restaurant had seen its share of tough times through the years, however.
In 1997, The Courant reported:
The struggling Corvo Restaurant on Franklin Avenue got a boost Friday by tapping into a $6 million loan pool that had been tied up for three years.
Owner Salvatore Pirrotta received a $375,000 loan. He said it will help him restructure his mortgage and stay in Hartford for the long haul.
“Without the loan, we’d be struggling,” Pirrotta said. “Now I can die of old age and not a heart attack.”
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10 Responses to Restaurant In Hartford’s South End Closes Before Foreclosure Sale
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Hartford’s such a depressed city
Herman- you think restaurants don’t close in other cities? Corvo/Azucar had a nice run for over 20 years which is an eternity in this business. What planet are you on….???
Azucar was very popular for some time but burned out rather quickly after it became a nightclub.
I’m 99.9% positive that Chorches is a bank attorney. It would not surprise me in the least if they file for bankruptcy today which would stop tomorrow’s foreclosure sale. And yeah, restaurants close all over the place. A really good Asian restaurant in Canton recently closed.
nice post with good infortmation
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I agree, it is a very good post. The restaurant business is well-known for its extremely high failure rate. Even restaurants that have seen great success fade and end up changing hands or going out of business. Even the large chain restaurants are not immune. People do not stay loyal to any one particular restaurant and move one. Just the way it is.
Chorches is a bankruptcy attorney.
I think it failed because they made the obvious mistake of thinking alot of Cubans lived in that neighborhood. wrong island. besides, that neighborhood has been declining ever since the entitled class moved in. Park street is very vibrant, YEAH, of course it is when you have tons from the state that you didn’t have to work for.
These cities are putting small businesses out of business, property taxes, water and sewer charges. Forget about all the intrusive laws etc…..
You don’t have be cuban to eat at a cuban restaurant just like you don’t have to be italian or mexican to eat at their restaurants.