Sprawling Hartford Food Hall To Bring Restaurants, Shops

HARTFORD, CT — Parkville Market is expected to open in early 2020 and bring hundreds of jobs to the area. Described as Connecticut's first food hall, it will be housed in the Capitol City Lumber Co. building at 1400 Park St.

The project will include 19 restaurants, more than 20 retailers, as well as bars, event spaces, and outdoor dining. Some of the restaurants to be included will be Disco Forno Pizza Napoletana, Ceviche Bowls, and Portly Pic.

Lucky Taco, which started as a food truck in Hartford then expanded to a brick-and-mortar restaurant in Manchester in 2014, will also have a location.

The market is expected to create up to 200 jobs. It's being touted as part of a revitalization project with new housing and a brewery opening nearby, according to WTNH.

State Rep. Matt Ritter (D-Hartford) wrote in a social media post: "The @ParkvilleMarket is the kind of development that attracts additional investment and growth. The Hartford Delegation really came together to ensure this project had the state support it needed. Thank you Carlos and Chelsea Mouta for the tour and celebration!"

The redevelopment project is slated to cost $4.4 million. Developer Carlos Mouta has developed over 1 million square feet in the Parkville neighborhood, where he moved when he immigrated to the U.S. from Mozambique in 1979, according to NBC CT.

Mouta said his goal is to make the 20,000-square-foot market a reflection of the vibrant and diverse community it will be a part of. He partnered with the Capital Region Development Authority to get a $3.5 million construction loan to make the project happen, NBC CT reported.

Though he's currently a Glastonbury resident, most of Mouta's holdings are in the Parkville neighborhood. In 2010 he refurbished and expanded a former shopping plaza at 1200 Park St. into Pope Common, which currently houses food, auto parts, and furniture stores, The Hartford Business Journal reported.

He's also responsible for the renovation of Adrian Apartments at 360 N. Main St., which includes the city's first "micro-units," smaller and more affordable apartments.