Opening Announced For Initial Tenant In Vernon Strip Plaza, Ending Long Saga

VERNON, CT — The first tenant of a finally finished strip plaza in Vernon has set an opening date.

And it's no April Fool's joke, but the end of a lengthy saga.

Toor Wine & Liquor has been targeted for an April 1 opening, its owner said Monday.

In May of last year, the foundation for the 20,000-square-foot plaza was put down — about a year-and-a-half after it was first proposed.

The plaza sits along the 200 block of Talcottville Road in Vernon. It takes up two parcels that used to house the Lazy Liquor package store and the Pancho Loco Southwest-themed restaurant. It can accommodate stores measuring between 2,000 square feet and 14,000 square feet.

The property is owned by South Windsor-based entrepreneur Jagdev Toor, who owns several parcels along that stretch of Talcottville Road, also known as state Route 83.

Pancho became reduced to rubble in the fall of 2023, and then project became mired in a paperwork nightmare that took until the following fall to resolve. For about six years, town officials thought the entire parcel sat in a strictly commercial zone, but, it turns out, that was a mistake created on the town land records when they were converted over to the current electronic system.

A bit of research after a protest by an abutting property owner uncovered two separate zones that put the front two-thirds in a commercial zone and the back end of the property in a special residential zone, Vernon Development Director Shaun Gately said.

The courts decided the most practical thing to do was to re-visit the regulatory process, since it was advertised erroneously, he added.

The plans were thus approved with some buffer added to the rear of the parcel. A special permit was been issued for the project as well as the zone change to commercial, Gately said.

The small, single-family house behind the Lazy Liquor building was then taken down in late winter after the shop itself was razed.