In mid-October, Sparrow put a few tables back outside on Farmington Avenue. Only a very small piece of sidewalk in front of it was still blocked off, and the corner of Farmington and South Main was almost fully complete, according to We-Ha's October 12 Business Buzz. The tables came back quickly because of a Town rule. Outdoor dining is allowed in previously approved sidewalk areas, and it can typically be set up ten days after the new concrete is poured and cured, according to the Town of West Hartford's project guidance.
That short wait between pouring concrete and putting out chairs shows how the Center has worked all year. The construction crew's calendar has decided a lot about the restaurant calendar. The biggest restaurant project in the Center has been tied to the street work in front of its door, and the last weeks of construction will finish just before the holiday season.
What the Rebuild Leaves on the Street
The West Hartford Center Infrastructure Master Plan covers LaSalle Road from Farmington Avenue to Ellsworth Road. It also covers Farmington Avenue from North and South Main Street to Walden Street, according to the Town's project page. The finished street includes:
- Resurfaced roadway with new granite curbs
- Widened concrete sidewalks, which the Town's design summary puts at 15 to 20 feet on LaSalle Road
- Raised crosswalks and bump-outs, with narrower travel lanes on LaSalle
- Expanded outdoor dining areas on both streets
- Decorative lighting, signal changes, and engineered tree pits for more street trees
- Landscaping and site amenities, including the benches that started returning to LaSalle Road in September
Gerber Construction holds the contract, valued at $9,547,008.25, and the Town says American Rescue Plan Act funds are paying for construction. A separate project will connect to it. The Town lists a separated bike lane on Farmington Avenue from Trout Brook Drive to North Main Street, funded by a $384,552 Community Connectivity Grant. That lane will link to the bike infrastructure going in through the Center, including covered bike parking, e-bike charging, and a connection to the Brace Road lot, according to the Town's engineering projects page.
The work has moved through the Center in phases. LaSalle Road started on March 31, 2025. The Town stopped all work during the holiday season from November 22, 2025 to January 4, 2026, then started Farmington Avenue this year. Its listed tentative completion date is November 20, 2026, two days earlier on the calendar than last year's holiday stop began.
The Final Stretch, Week by Week
The Town's two-week look-ahead for October 19 to 30 shows the work that remains. As of this week, here is what affects a trip into the Center:
| When | Where | What changes |
|---|---|---|
| Monday, Oct. 26 | Farmington Avenue, Main Street to Walden Street | Milling, with the section closed to vehicles and a detour provided |
| Week of Oct. 26 | Various spots, Walden Street to Main Street | Roadwork, with alternating one-way traffic where possible |
| Oct. 27 to Nov. 2, tentative | Farmington Avenue entrance to the parking lot near Mecha | Driveway closed to all vehicles around the clock. Enter the lot from LaSalle Road. A temporary loading zone is on Farmington Avenue |
| Ongoing, Phase 8 | Farmington Avenue | Streetlight foundations, utility access boxes, and soil cells for street trees, followed by granite curb |
| Pending | Phase 6B | Sidewalk construction waiting on fiber relocation |
| Nov. 20, tentative | Full project | Listed completion date |
Traffic signal mast arms are also tentatively planned for that week. The Town notes that all activities depend on weather and may change. The current project schedule was revised October 5 and calls its dates tentative, depending on weather and field conditions. The Town says it will keep pedestrian and cyclist access open throughout, with temporary detours where needed.
The Block That Waited on the Street
The clearest case of street work setting a business schedule is 976-978 Farmington Avenue. It's a 1930s building that once housed CVS and Max Zeller Furs. Market Hospitality Group, run by co-owners Eli Hawli and Sam DeVellis, is turning it into a mixed-use building. Mercato and Blu Pointe will be on the ground floor, with a new second story holding five apartments.
Hawli told We-Ha's Ronni Newton in September that construction had been held up by the roadwork in front of the building. The new building needed its water, sewer, and electric service connected and upgraded, and that work is now done. Steel was expected to go up within a few weeks, and the apartments will be built at the same time as the restaurants. He also described the target:
"We hope one restaurant will be open by the end of December," Hawli said, with the second opening fairly soon after.
In the same We-Ha piece, Hawli said the design hasn't changed from earlier renderings except for the sidewalk out front. "Farmington Avenue looks much better," he said. Mercato is a scratch Italian kitchen, and the group opened one in Cheshire at the Shops at Stone Bridge this September. Blu Pointe, a steak and seafood concept that includes sushi, will be the first in Connecticut. End of December is a target, not a confirmed opening date.
The storefronts nearby changed during the same months, as reported in We-Ha's weekly Business Buzz column:
- Bliss Matcha & Beyond opened at 981 Farmington Avenue, the former Boost Bowls space. Its soft opening was August 1 and its Chamber ribbon cutting August 7, per We-Ha's August 3 column.
- Lil Hope moved in August from 18 LaSalle Road to 990 Farmington Avenue, according to We-Ha's August 24 column.
- Crêpes Choupette at 993 Farmington Avenue closed its doors in early September and kept its catering business, We-Ha reported.
- Gong Cha at 932 Farmington Avenue has closed permanently, also per We-Ha's August 3 column.
- Gveenah is building out a move within its building, from 844 to 846 Farmington Avenue, with no move date set as of We-Ha's October 5 column.
By mid-September, the sidewalk and curb in front of Sparrow, J.McLaughlin, and Bliss Matcha & Beyond had made good progress, while crews were still working in front of the former CVS building. For about two blocks, new businesses have been opening on a schedule that follows the concrete pours.
LaSalle Road Went First
Most of the LaSalle Road reconstruction happened in the 2025 season, with finishing work carried into this year. By late September, We-Ha reported that LaSalle had its final coat of pavement and more benches, with bike hitches to follow. The same report said the overall project was about 85 percent complete, citing Director of Community Development Duane Martin's update to a Town Council committee. Its storefronts are now changing hands at a normal pace:
- Salt Studio, a nail and esthetics salon, is planned for 18 LaSalle Road in Lil Hope's former space. Permitting was underway in early October, with no opening date announced.
- Blu Olive, a Mediterranean and Italian-leaning restaurant, is coming to 60 LaSalle Road. In September a staff member told We-Ha it might be a few weeks, but no firm date has been reported.
For anyone driving in, the lot behind Mecha can still be reached from LaSalle Road while the Farmington Avenue driveway is closed through November 2.
December 3 Is the First Big Night on the New Street
The 39th annual West Hartford Holiday Stroll is Thursday, December 3, 2026, throughout West Hartford Center and Blue Back Square, according to the West Hartford Chamber of Commerce. The Chamber says the event draws 8,000 to 10,000 people each year. The evening includes Santa, restaurant tastings, a community Menorah Lighting, three stages, Victorian carolers, and the town's fire trucks. The Town of West Hartford, Blue Back Square, the West Hartford Chamber, and the West Hartford Center Business Association organize it together.
If the Town's tentative November 20 completion holds, the Stroll will be the first crowd of that size on the finished Farmington Avenue. The Town hasn't said whether the whole Center will be clear by that night, and the open Phase 6B fiber work could still affect timing.
Several places that weren't there last December have opened along the Stroll route, according to We-Ha's summer coverage:
- The Brownstone, 7 South Main Street, started its soft opening July 28. It has since had its ribbon cutting and expanded to lunch, dinner, happy hour, and late-night service, per We-Ha's August 31 column.
- Fat Duck Tavern, 63 Memorial Road in Blue Back Square, opened quietly in July, as We-Ha's July 13 column reported.
- Wonder, 91 Memorial Road, held its grand opening August 13, according to We-Ha's August 17 column.
Blue Back Square has turnover of its own. Chip City at 67 Memorial Road has closed after the company closed all of its locations, We-Ha reported in early October. Demolition was underway by mid-October at 111 Memorial Road for Nana's Dim Sum & Dumplings, which hasn't announced an opening date.
The road rebuild is the main thing setting the dates now. The Town's tentative finish is November 20, the Stroll is December 3, and Market Hospitality Group hopes to open one restaurant at 976-978 Farmington Avenue by the end of December. For more on how the Center fits into the rest of the year, see our West Hartford summer week guide and the West Hartford neighborhood page.
The team at Jacek Mikolajczyk tracks projects like the Farmington Avenue rebuild because they shape how a block looks and how its storefronts fill up. If you own near West Hartford Center and want to talk about what the finished streetscape could mean for your property, Let's Connect.
