Connecticut Restaurants That Closed Permanently In 2023

CONNECTICUT — This New Year's Eve, when you raise a glass to remember the family and friends lost over the past year, be sure to save a sip for all the Connecticut restaurants that closed in 2023.

From high-end to hashery, the unsettled economy and post-pandemic malaise took its toll on some of the state's favorite dining destinations.

As "Chef Jenna" McPartland, who slung sprouts at vegan café The Stand in Fairfield before it closed in August told Patch, "business is good," but expenses are "insane."

"People have a misconception about what it costs to run a restaurant. We're expected to compete with the McDonald's and Chipotles of the world, but that's unreasonable."

No one would confuse the upscale Terreno Restaurant and Bar Pina with a Mickey D's, yet that establishment shuttered just this month, the state's most recent culinary casualty. Operating out of the Goodwin Hotel building in Hartford, the eatery served "seasonal Italian cuisine."

Hartford hallmark The Chowder Pot folded in March following a nearly 30-year run. J's Crab Shack, another seafood standby in the state capital, cracked its last claw in January, as did beloved Irish pub The Half Door in Hartford.

The Boss Grill put up a fight more noble than most. Founded in 2015 in Hartford, the popular burger joint moved to Berlin amid the pandemic, scaled back operations, eventually doing just online sales, only to finally give up the ghost in September.

In West Hartford, the award-winning eatery and local vegan hotspot G-Monkey closed for good two weeks ago, but has plans to reemerge as a healthy fast food truck-based operation. Given Connecticut's wacky passion for food trucks, the scheme is well-poised to pay off.

Not every restaurant has a food truck it can fold into. Mohegan Sun unplugged its entire food court in December, and the Boston Market "death spiral" continued in November. A three-eatery "hospitality group" consisting of Cool Hand Duke's, Zaragoza's, and Duke's Tavern formed in New Milford in the spring, only to shutter at the start of the summer. Gargano Pasta in Old Saybrook closed in August after one year, and Il Capriccio in Milford didn't even last that long.

But Oak Haven Table & Bar was entrenched in New Haven, a State Street institution for more than a decade, and it closed its doors in November.

"There's only so much you can do when a steak four years ago cost $7 or $8 a pound (and) now costs $17," co-owner Albert Greenwood told the New Haven Register.

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November also saw the last rounds poured at Roux in Simsbury, one of the state's rare Cajun specialty houses.

Connecticut bakeries took a hit in 2023, as well. Rocco's Bakery in New Haven closed in June, and was joined by Billy's Bakery in Fairfield five months later.

Hot Rod Cafe in New London cited difficulty in recovering from the pandemic for it closing in November. Lucky Taco, which closed sites in Vernon in March and Manchester in May, attributed similar problems to their demise. And give credit to Wall Street Tavern in Norwalk: the establishment opened at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, and soldiered on bravely before succumbing in January.

East Hartford's Rosa's Café and Bakery also opened in late 2020 and quickly garnered a large following, only to pull the plug this year, in September.

Not every Connecticut restaurant that closed in 2023 was killed by COVID or inflation. MacDuff's Public House in downtown Greenwich was unable to renew its lease when it came up in June. Likewise, the owners of The Melting Pot, a favorite of fondue foodies in Darien, told followers of its Facebook page they could not come to terms on a lease renewal when it closed in March. The owners of Hoi An Pho and Grill in Norwalk told their Facebook fans they were closing up shop in June due to "a remarkable opportunity" that came along. Construction for a new apartment building pushed Franco's Pizza out of its prime downtown Milford location in August after three decades, but the owners told fans they had plans to reopen in Devon. And "extenuating personal and financial circumstances" were the only clues the owners of The Painted Lemon gave their Facebook followers for why the popular Sherman eatery and live music venue closed in October.

Another saloon, Derby's Retro Grub and Pub, closed in June after five years.

Other neighborhood fixtures that folded in 2023 include Penney's Diner in Fairfield, closed in January after 40 years on Black Rock Turnpike. The Cookhouse, a New Milford staple for 25 years, closed New Year's Day in 2023. After 26 years, the owners of The Blue Oar Restaurant, located along the Connecticut River in Haddam, decided to close for good in April. Jimmy's Deli, a local sandwich and grocery shop located in East Norwalk, officially closed its doors in June after more than 30 years in business. And there wasn't a dry eye in the house when Salerno's, the oldest of the old school pizzerias in Stratford, closed after 75 years.

Carlo Salerno, whose family owned the restaurant, summed up the situation that led to the shuttering in a post on Facebook: "Let’s face it, the COVID years…. the shortage of qualified workers…. and the current recession has devastated the restaurant business in Connecticut…."

A second Norwalk institution, Pasta Nostra, closed at the end of August after nearly a 40-year run. August also saw the last arepa served at Mosaico, the Venezuelan fusion cucina on Main Street in Branford.

When Que Whiskey Kitchen closed in April, it was the third high-profile restaurant to shutter in Southington. In February, Fireside on Main in the town's Plantsville neighborhood shuttered, as did the Zingarella Ristorante & Pizzeria a couple weeks prior to Fireside's closing.

Finally, five of the six Connecticut locations for Pasta Vita closed for good in 2023. Kitchens for the "Gourmet to Go" chain got up and left locations at the Mohegan Sun casino, and in Avon, Darien, Wethersfield and South Windsor.