40+ new businesses coming to Connecticut in 2023 (and beyond)

The Granola Bar

Location: New Haven and Darien

Expected: 2023

The Granola Bar opened its first Fairfield County location in Westport in 2013. The local chain, which focuses on healthier breakfast alternatives, has grown to include five locations in Westport, Fairfield, Stamford, Greenwich and Rye, N.Y, as well as the Old Mill Grocery & Deli, which is run by The Granola Bar operators, TGB Hospitality Group. Both of the new restaurants will feature an all-day menu as well as a full bar that serves alcohol. 

- Andrew DaRosa

Chipotle

Location: Danbury

Expected: Early 2023

A spokesperson with Chipotle confirmed a new restaurant with a “Chipotlane digital drive thru pickup lane” is scheduled to open in Danbury at some point next year.

- Julia Perkins

Panera Bread

Location: Stamford

Expected: Early 2023

Fast-casual café chain Panera Bread will open its first Stamford store along High Ridge Road.

- Verónica Del Valle

Puerto Vallarta

Location: Stamford

Expected: TBD

The new restaurant at 230 Tresser Blvd., will mark the eighth and largest Puerto Vallarta in the state, complementing locations in Avon, Danbury, Fairfield, Middletown, Newington, Orange and Southington.

- Paul Schott 

Fresh&co

Location: Stamford

Expected: 2023

Fresh&co’s website cites the business’ partnerships with local farmers and a Fresh&co farm in Long Island, N.Y., “where we grow produce with the goal of providing hyper-local seasonal fruits and veggies to all of our NYC restaurants.”

- Paul Schott

Dave's Hot Chicken

Location: New Haven and Fairfield counties

Expected: 2023

The Los Angeles-based, fast-casual hot chicken brand has signed a deal with franchise owner Chris Johnson to open eight locations in Connecticut, specifically in the New Haven and Fairfield areas. Johnson is an experienced franchise restaurateur, having opened and operated nearly 70 Burger King stores across seven different states.

- Leeanne Griffin

Tacombi

Location: Westport

Expected: 2023

This will be the first Connecticut outpost for the fast-casual restaurant, which has multiple locations throughout New York City (including Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens) and in Miami and Arlington, Va. Tacombi features a laid-back menu of tacos, quesadillas, burritos, cocktails and beers.

- Leeanne Griffin

Sushi by Bou

Location: Foxwoods

Expected: 2023

Foxwoods will welcome a Sushi by Bou restaurant to its concourse, offering omakase-style dining where the courses are chosen by sushi chefs. This will be the first in Connecticut for the restaurant group, which has locations in New York, Jersey City, Chicago and Fort Lauderdale.

- Leeanne Griffin

Wahlburgers

Location: Foxwoods

Expected: Summer 2023

The celebrity-founded restaurant and bar chain, focusing on burgers, previously had a location at the Westfield Trumbull mall, which closed in 2020 after three years in business.

- Leeanne Griffin

Riko's Pizza

Location: Fairfield

Expected: 2023

The Stamford-based pizza chain specializes in thin-crust pizza, which is a slight departure from the famous coal-fired New Haven apizza that the state is famous for. Riko's prides itself as the "home of the hot oil pizza" while offering a variety of thin-crusted pizzas such as clam, meat lovers and Hawaiian pies. If you're looking for a healthier option, Riko's also makes 10 varieties of salad pizzas.

- Andrew DaRosa

Tiesto’s Restaurant

Location: Danbury

Expected: 2023

The owner of a live music venue in the city’s once-thriving downtown entertainment district wants to open a quiet Colombian-style restaurant on Main Street for family outings. The proposed restaurant, which shows 62 seats and full bar on its blueprints, would be in the same building as La Canchita, but in a space with a Main Street entrance, where a former Mexican restaurant and bakery was located.

- Rob Reyser

Two Roads Food Hall and Bar

Expected: Early 2023

Location: Stratford

The food hall will feature Industry Schnitzel Bar, a German-themed brand with schnitzel, sausages and pretzels; Roost House, focusing on fried chicken sandwiches and chicken salads, and Skull City Taquitos, a Mexican-inspired brand specializing in the crunchy rolled tacos. All three concepts will offer salads and plant-based items. 

- Leeanne Griffin

Haven Hot Chicken

Location: North Haven

Expected: Early 2023

The menu features crispy fried chicken and fried cauliflower in five different spice levels, ranging from no-heat "country" to "Haven" ("for the hot head"). Items include sandwiches, tenders, sliders and chicken and waffles, and sides and snacks like fries, creamy vinegar slaw, garlic-dill pickles, mac and cheese and banana pudding.

- Leeanne Griffin

Miller's Famous Sandwiches

Location: Bridgeport, New Haven, Stamford and Hartford

Expected: 2023-2024

Miller’s plans to open two or three local restaurants over the next few years, with other targeted growth markets including Hartford, New Haven and Stamford, according to a news release. Each restaurant will be approximately 1,500 to 2,200 square feet and employ 20 to 25 full- and part-time workers. 

- Leeanne Griffin

Todd English Food Hall

Location: Stamford

Expected: Early 2024

The food hall and art exhibition — featuring digital projections with changing themes — will be coming to the mall space by early 2024, with the restaurants located on the first floor. Todd English said the hall will feature seven different rotating cuisines, with options like Italian, French, Mediterranean, Greek, Asian fusion and upscale American-style fare with burgers and pizza. 

- Leeanne Griffin

 

Whole Foods

Location: Stamford, Old Saybrook and South Windsor

Expected: 2023

According to their website, Whole Foods prefers stand-alone areas with easy access from roadways and “excellent visibility.” The Whole Foods website stipulates that locations should serve “200,000 people or more in a 20-minute drive time,” be about “25,000 to 50,000 square feet” and have “abundant parking available for its exclusive use.”

- Verónica Del Valle

Wegmans

Location: Norwalk

Expected: 2024

Wegmans, the upscale grocery store chain, announced in late August that it has been given the greenlight to open its first Connecticut store off Connecticut Avenue. The Rochester-based company, which announced plans in March to build a store in Norwalk, has said the supermarket will likely open its doors to customers sometime in 2024.

- Richard Chumney

Big Y

Location: Middletown

Expected: Late 2023

Downtown Middletown, especially the North End, has been widely characterized as a food desert, with officials saying there is inadequate access to affordable, nutritious food. The Big Y would be located just over 2 miles from the area.

- Cassandra Day 

Amazon Fresh

Location: Brookfield and Westport

Expected: Spring 2023

The Westport store will also be one of the first in the region when it opens. Brookfield will be home to another Amazon Fresh facility. Depending on the timing, it could be the first in New England to open. In June, the company announced that it started its hiring process. 

- Kayla Mutchler

Indian Market

Location: Danbury

Expected: TBD

The mixed-use building where the Indian market will open is across Crosby Street from developer Dan Bertram’s Brookview Commons apartment complex, which is completing a 150-unit addition with a Main Street address.

- Rob Ryser

BookSmiths Shoppe 

Location: Danbury

Expected: Mid-January 2023

The BookSmiths Shoppe will have an inventory of about 25,000 volumes purchased through Ingram Content Group — mostly new but with a small percentage of used books.

- Alexander Soule

Arisu Anime

Location: Mystic

Expected: Spring 2023

Arisu Anime aims to offer visitors of Old Mistick Village an "immersive experience" based on anime and manga.

- Joseph Tucci

Expansion of Darien Commons

Location: Darien 

Expected: 2023 and beyond

Darien Commons plans to expand its plaza with retail stores like (Choice Pet and Warby Parker), gyms (like Solidcore and Equinox) and medical services like OVME and One Medical), according to its website. 

- Alexander Soule

Amazon distribution center

Location: Naugatuck

Expected: 2023 

A Philadelphia-based company is looking to build an Amazon distribution center in Naugatuck that could employ as many as 1,000 people, officials said.

- Luther Turmelle

Target

Location: Danbury

Expected: TBA 

Plans by Target to take over two levels of the Sears store that closed at the Danbury Fair mall during the coronavirus pandemic in 2020 are in the works.

- Rob Ryser

Jordan's Furniture

Location: Farmington

Expected: The first quarter of 2024

The Westfarms store, which will be the eighth Jordan's location, will have a furniture and mattress showroom of over 120,000 square feet in the Westfarms Mall. 

- Luther Turmelle

Retail recreational cannabis dispensaries

Location: All across the state

Expected: Early January

Several established cannabis-themed dispensaries have been given the green light to begin selling recreational pot to all adults 21 and older as soon as 10 a.m. on Jan. 10.

The following dispensaries have completed the steps necessary to begin sales:

• Affinity, New Haven
• Bluepoint Wellness of Connecticut, Branford
• Still River Wellness, Torrington
• Fine Fettle Dispensary, Newington
• Fine Fettle Dispensary, Stamford
• Fine Fettle Dispensary, Willimantic
• The Botanist, Danbury
• The Botanist, Montville
• Willow Brook Wellness, Meriden

- Daniel Figueroa IV

Revolution

Location: Danbury

Expected: TBA

Revolution is a 70-seat café that will include a dance floor, DJ booth, stage, and 22-seat bar along with a liquor room, a beer cooler and an office plans to open on Mill Plain Road. The project has been pitched. 

- Kendra Baker

Gregory's Coffee

Location: Darien

Expected: TBA

Gregory's Coffee has announced a new location will be "coming soon" to the Darien Commons shopping center. 

- Leeanne Griffin

New York Comedy Club

Location: Stamford

Expected: December 2022 or January 2023

Taking a 4,500-square-foot space with a full-service bar formerly occupied by a Plan B Burger Bar, the new club at Stamford Town Center will seat approximately 150 to 200 guests per show. 

- Paul Schott

New 'finance lab' at Wakeman Boys & Girls Club

Location: Bridgeport 

Expected: 2023 

The new initiative aims to help students served by Wakeman gain skills needed for “economic empowerment and financial success,” according to a news release.

- Paul Schott

Ivy Biomedical Systems

Location: Branford

Expected: TBA 

Ivy Biomedical Systems, a privately-held Branford medical device manufacturer, has received approval to build a research and corporate headquarters building near the town's border with Guilford and North Branford. 

- Luther Turmelle

Norwalk Residence Inn by Marriott to expand 

Location: Norwalk

Expected: TBA 

Norwalk's newest hotel is planning a new wing with nearly 50 additional rooms in the heart of SoNo. 

- Alexander Soule

Yale New Haven Health

Location: Meriden

Expected: TBA

The Yale New Haven Health System has purchased the space of a former anchor store in the Meriden Mall to create a “comprehensive ambulatory center,” according to health system officials.

- Luther Turmelle

Hartford Healthcare

Location: 12 locations throughout Fairfield County 

Expected: TBA 

Hartford Healthcare is making a major push into southwestern Connecticut, adding a dozen new medical facilities in Fairfield County over the next 18 months, according to an executive with the company that will be handling the construction work.

- Luther Turmelle