Hartford restaurant group Place 2 Be faces two evictions
A Hartford-based restaurant group known for its Instagram-worthy dishes faces evictions related to unpaid rents at two locations, according to recent court filings.
The Place 2 Be’s location at 5 Constitution Plaza in downtown Hartford was served with an eviction notice on March 26 in Hartford housing court.
The New York-based landlord, referred to as “5CP Master Tenant” in court documents, filed the “notice to quit” citing failure to pay rent for 5,429 feet of commercial space, the eatery’s sprawling location on the ground floor along Kinsley Street.
The Place 2 Be signed a lease at 5 Constitution Plaza on Oct. 1, 2020 but was notified by the landlord of unpaid rent on Nov. 8, 2023. An initial eviction notice was sent on Feb. 27 of this year but was ignored, according to court documents.
The Place 2 Be’s downtown Hartford location was open on Monday and the manager said the eatery had no plans to close, but declined additional comment. A “help wanted” sign was posted on the door.
Gina Luari, the youthful founder of the Place 2 Be and its parent company, the Statement Group, did not respond to repeated requests for comment.
Luari told the Hartford Business Journal in January that the rent dispute at 5 Constitution Plaza was based on the landlord’s failure to file insurance claims for flooding in the building.
The Statement Group’s planned bakery in West Hartford’s Blue Back Square also faces eviction, according to court filings.
An eatery to be called The Bakery by P2B was planned for 3,000 square feet at 69 Memorial Road in West Hartford, with lease payments due starting Oct. 1 of last year.
The bakery never opened and rent was not paid, resulting in the lease being terminated on Jan. 19. The tenant has refused to leave the space, according to a filing dated March 7.
Visits to three Place 2 Be locations on Monday found all of the restaurants open and managers confident their eateries would remain in business. In New Haven, diners filled the first floor of the restaurant and the manager said business was booming on weekends.
The first location of the Place 2 Be, at 615 Franklin Ave. in Hartford’s South End, was quiet in mid-morning, but manager Elvira Hajdarevic said business was good.
Luari has gained regional attention for her innovative “brunch all day” concept and ambitious expansion plans, which so far have included five Place 2 Be locations in two states.
The Statement Group’s most recent planned eatery was announced in November:
A Mediterranean restaurant called PITA set to open this spring in the Somerset Square shopping center at 140 Glastonbury Blvd. in Glastonbury.
Luari’s entrepreneurial skills were highlighted last month by the Board of Boys & Girls Clubs of Hartford, which named her to its Board of Trustees on March 27.