Restaurant sets trend on Main Street
David Aliaga, my father, is the business owner of Empire of the Incas, a Peruvian restaurant at 241 Main St. in Danbury (established in 2005). I am writing this message to inform you that we have been the first business approved for Mayor Mark Boughton and the City of Danbury’s Facade Improvement Grant Program in the efforts to revitalize the businesses in the downtown neighborhood.
While working with the city of Danbury and Angela Wong of City Center Danbury to receive this grant it has become apparent that being the first local business to be approved and bring change to Main Street will spark and incentivize other businesses to do the same. We were told that this will be the nicest looking building on Main Street and will encourage other businesses to do the same.
This renovation is important to downtown Danbury, not only to help revitalize Main Street, but also to give the public and other businesses hope that things will get back to normal during the COVID-19 pandemic. This grant (specifically for facades) could not have come at a better time as all businesses are trying to think of ways to get custumers in the door, while the country is in such dire straits. When walking down Main Street or any busy street in general, unless you did research, the phrase “don’t judge a book by its cover,” does not apply to restaurants, it’s quite the opposite.
Because of the quarantine and high infection rate during May, I left Brooklyn for Danbury to work from home at my parent’s house. This gave my sister, who lives in Newtown, and I time to help my father with the restaurant. My father, a first-generation immigrant (who came to New York in the 1980s), was extremely worried about both his restaurants in Danbury and Bethel. So that’s when my sister and I jumped in and helped push this idea to renovate the business in Danbury. (We had been flirting with the façade idea for almost a year, but never acted on it).
The pandemic is one of the most horrible things to happen to the world, but it has given my sister and I the time and opportunity to be closer as a family and work together to help the family business in a big way. Thankfully, while looking into the construction permits required by the city, we came across the Facade Improvement Grant Program website page.
The renovation to the facade includes partial demolition/removal of the current brick facade (and three windows) for an installation of a new five-panel aluminum and glass accordion folding bifold. This will expose the inside of the restaurant to the public sidewalk and cars passing by on Main Street. Furthermore, it will allow additional daylight inside and create a more inviting and productive space for customers and employees.
Construction starts this Monday, and may be ready as early as a week, but nothing is set in stone. The business will still be open during construction.
Community