Speculation is heating up that The Capital Grille, an upscale steakhouse, is the second tenant that will sign on at downtown Hartford’s Front Street.
For a couple of weeks, there has been buzz on Facebook on a page devoted to the people who live in the city of Hartford. Catch some of the chatter on Dwelling in Downtown-Hartford. (Scroll down to July 7.)
Then, last week, James Abromaitis, executive director of the former Capital City Economic Development Authority, told members of the new Capital Region Development Authority that a second tenant would be announced within a month. (The first tenant, a movie theater, is now outfitting space and is aiming for an early fall opening.)
Sources have told me that the tenant is a publicly-traded steakhouse. The Capital Grille is one of the restaurants operated by the publicly-traded Darden Restaurants, Inc. Darden also runs LongHorn Steakhouse, Olive Garden, Red Lobster, Seasons 52, Bahama Breeze and Eddie V’s.
Today, a source familiar with the space but not directly involved with lease negotiations told my colleague Jenna Carlesso that The Capital Grille is the name being attached the space.
It’s starting to add up.
Anyone out there able to confirm? Front Street’s developer H.B. Nitkin isn’t returning e-mails seeking comment, and The Capital Grille didn’t immediately respond to an e-mail.
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6 Responses to The Capital Grille Steakhouse Second Tenant For Hartford’s Front Street?
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This is a good step forward.
This would be a fantastic addition for both Hartford and the region! I know I would frequent the Capital Grille for special occasions. Keeping my fingers crossed that this rumored development comes to fruition!
Far out! I would love a steak house:9
Thank you Hartford ct Front st has a lot of potential now if we can get a major retailer in there. That would be great it could be the next Mulberry St like New York city.Also downtown Providence Rhode Island.
It is nice to see Hartford beginning to become an evening city. Moved to Providence 35 years ago and while the economy here is still down, downtown Providence still maintains it nightlife and eateries. 4 national steakhouses; Flemings, Ruth Criss, Shula’s and the original Capital Grille within 400 yards of each other. Hartford’s downtown needs to continue to build off its assests such as the convention center and large downtown workforce. New national restaurants will help.
[...] MaryEllen’s post from Sunday here and my blog post from July here reporting that Capital Grille was considering Front [...]