Grants, a fixture in West Hartford center, has closed, restaurateur Billy Grant announced Monday.
In a phone interview Monday afternoon, Grant said he and his brothers were nearing the end of their lease at the restaurant at 977 Farmington Ave., and were unsuccessful in negotiating a new one.
“With the short term left on the lease, we decided we were just going to concentrate on our Bricco brand, and look for opportunity for another Bricco,” he said.
In January, Grants announced changes to the restaurant’s format, including the introduction of new chef de cuisine Ashley Flagg, a new menu and the elimination of lunch service. Grant said Monday that he thought the changes had been received positively.
“There are a lot of restaurants here … margins are tough for the restaurant business right now. I think it’s getting tougher and tougher to do business here, because there are so many restaurants. There’s a lot of seats that have been added to West Hartford in the last five years.”
Billy Grant Restaurant Group also owns and operates Restaurant Bricco around the corner on LaSalle Road, which opened in January 1996, and Bricco Trattoria in Glastonbury, which opened in 2010. Grant says he plans to employ as many Grants staff members as possible at the other two locations, and will help others find jobs with friends in the local restaurant industry.
Grant said business would continue as normal at the Bricco restaurants, with the possible addition of brunch at each. The restaurant group’s catering operation has also been hosting Friday night dinners at South Glastonbury’s Crystal Ridge Winery, and will host an Easter brunch there on April 21.
Grant thanked the town of West Hartford and the restaurant’s customers for their patronage.
“It’s humbling, and I’m very fortunate to have Bricco and have had Grants as long as I did. It’s obviously bittersweet for me.”
Leeanne Griffin can be reached at lgriffin@courant.com.
