In Derby, optimism despite dwindling dining options
“I do think Derby is going to be a fantastic location as development goes through and they start to do all that downtown Main Street stuff, but unfortunately, I had gotten in a little earlier than everything started.”
Andrew Baklik, chief of staff for Derby
In a matter of months, the number of Derby’s downtown restaurants has dwindled to almost nothing following a pair of closings less than amile from each other.
Both Bar None at 87 Elizabeth St. and Sherman’s Taphouse at 181 Main St. were shuttered, leaving only Archie Moore’s and Twisted Vine in place until replacement businesses can occupy the spaces.
“I wish I could’ve held out a little longer, but unfortunately I could not,” said Sean Sherman, owner of Sherman’s Taphouse.
The Burlington resident opened the downtown taphouse a year ago, offering a menu of American classic and southern comfort foods with a list of craft beers from area breweries. The family-owned restaurant opened in the space that was for- merly occupied by 500 Degrees Restaurant and prior to that, Fratelli’s
While he had built a base of regulars, Sherman said it wasn’t enough to keep the business going. He is planning to relocate the taphouse to Southington in March, at 25 Center St.
“Realistically, the business didn’t pick up to a point of sustainability,” he said.
For years, Bar None had served as a local watering hole along Elizabeth Street. The downtown sports bar had previously been the longtime location of Connie’s Restaurant.
Over the years, the space had switched hands following several closures in 2010.. The most recent owners, Matt Kruger and Ed Platt, reopened the bar and restaurant in 2011.
Neither could be reached for comment on the closure, but city officials suggested that low foot traffic may also have played a role.
Despite the recent loss of the two restaurants, public officials said they aren’t concerned as they look toward the future of the spaces and the business scene at large.
“Both locations are going to be reopened under new ownership sooner than later, so I am not necessarily pulling the alarm and panicking that we are losing businesses left and right,” Andrew Baklik, chief of staff for Derby, said.
Though he declined to name the prospective tenants, Baklik said both the former Taphouse and Bar None properties are expected to be filled with new restaurants in coming months.
While businesses on the outskirts of the city have continued to attract customers, officials have been trying to get the downtown area more lively, with several planned and prospective projects they said they believe will bolster activity.
“Part of the economics over the past 15 years here in Derby has not moved forward. Fortunately, this administration has things moving in the right direction,” said Carmen DiCenso, the economic consultant for Derby
The city is still waiting on expansion of the Route 36 — Main Street — corridor where Sherman’s was located. The state-funded project stands to make the river-facing street viable for future development plans.
On the other side of Main Street, the city is weighing ideas for redevelopment projects on a large parcel facing the Housatonic River. Officials put out a request for quotations with a deadline at the end of the month.
Among the ideas for the river property, according to Baklik, is a new mixed-use development that would add residential units and storefronts to help create needed foot traffic and new business.
“Hopefully, with development across the street, we are going to have 600 to 800 new residential units there which will help restaurants in the area,” Baklik said.
Though he said he wouldn’t mind returning to the Valley city, Sherman said he wants to wait on proposed redevelopment that stands to revamp the downtown scene.
“I do think Derby is going to be a fantastic location as development goes through and they start to do all that downtown Main Street stuff, but unfortunately, I had gotten in a little earlier than everything started.”