West Hartford Welcomes 2 New Restaurants

WEST HARTFORD, CT — The local dining scene has had two major additions in recent days with the opening of an Italian-style eatery last week, as well as a new bar/restaurant that also includes fun games to play late last month.

One is located in Blue Back Square, a prime shopping and dining destination that has been looking to fill some vacancies in its storefronts in recent months.

On Tuesday, May 9, the Gran Gusto of West Hartford restaurant opened for business at Blue Back at 111 Memorial Road in West Hartford.

Officially, the restaurant is called "Gran Gusto Trattoria & Pizzeria" and it specializes in Neopolitan-style pizza and pasta dishes, with everything served being home-made at the restaurant.

Gran Gusto opened in 2007 in Cambridge, Mass., with the restaurant now expanding to West Hartford's Blue Back Square.

Meanwhile, a restaurant called "Halfway" opened late last month at 37 LaSalle Road, West Hartford, in the West Hartford Center part of town.

This eatery features traditional American bar fare and is being seen as a family eatery by day and place for some nightlife long after the sun sets.

It replaces the German-themed "Wurst Haus" restaurant and Halfway is owned by the same restaurant group that owned the prior tenant at Blue Back, making this venture more of a restaurant repurposing than an opening/closing.

Part of the attraction of "Halfway" is the presence of arcade-style games amid the nightlife offerings, which include music and drinks.

This repurposing comes after the West Hartford Town Council in January modified the town's indoor amusement ordinance to allow businesses like "Halfway" to operate as restaurants by day and as bars/adult amusement centers by night, allowing for age restrictions past a certain time.

For more information on "Gran Gusto," click on this link.

For more information on "Halfway," click on this link.

From Jan. 18: 'West Hartford OKs Rules For Indoor Amusement Operations'