New Haven Register (New Haven, CT)
Two new eatery concepts in Wethersfield, Newington
The DORO Restaurant Group is adding new southern Italian and Mexican restaurants to its portfolio over the next year, expanding its roster of eateries around Hartford County.
The restaurant group, led by CEO Dorjan Puka and Chief Operating Officer
Scott Miller, has plans to open two new concepts later this year.
Casadoro, with what Miller calls an approachable southern Italian menu with pizzas and pastas, is projected to open this fall in Newington, and a still-unnamed Mexican restaurant is slated for Wethersfield, taking over the former Pasta Vita space on Silas Deane Highway.
Casadoro will take over a former Bertucci’s space at 2929 Berlin Turnpike, Miller said. Its menu will be different from the DORO Group’s Treva in West Hartford Center, which is inspired more by the central and northern regions of Italy — and has become more of an upscale date night or business lunch location, he said.
“We just see the Newington property being a lot more family-focused,” Miller said, noting that Puka is more open to a menu of favorites like chicken parmigiana, meatballs and fried mozzarella. “We’re going to put our own spin on it.”
The Casadoro renovation is a “complete makeover” of the building, Miller said, with seating for about 400 guests and ample outdoor seating.
“We love the location,” Miller said. “We love the proximity to a variety of different areas, easy on and off from (Interstate) 91.”
The Mexican restaurant in Wethersfield will open in late summer or early fall, Miller said, with tacos on housemade tortillas, authentic dishes like mole and a “great tequila list.”
The project will be led by chef Ryan Van Grouw, who is currently the executive chef at Àvert Brasserie, DORO’s French restaurant in West Hartford Center.
Van Grouw spent time working at restaurants in Tulum, and fell in love with the food there, Miller said. Between his expertise, and the DORO partners’ interest in exploring a different type of cuisine, the Mexican menu seemed like the right fit.
“We feel like there’s a little bit of a void for a chefdriven concept around Mexican food (in the area),” Miller said. “Ryan’s expertise and experience with the food is different than any other chef in Connecticut right now.”
The large space in the Silas Deane shopping center, which includes the former BevMax liquor store, will also be home to DORO Catering & Events commercial kitchen and its commissary bakery, where bread, croissants and desserts will be baked to serve the group’s three DORO Marketplace locations.
The European-style cafes are currently in West Hartford, Wethersfield and Windsor Locks, and Miller said the restaurant group is hoping to have 10 to 12 units in Connecticut eventually.
The next DORO Marketplace is earmarked for Glastonbury, where it will be positioned next to a second location of Zohara, DORO’s popular upscale Mediterranean restaurant in West Hartford Center.
They’ll be taking space in a commercial building that currently houses bicycle shop Cycling Concepts at 2343 Main St., Miller said, noting that the Glastonbury Zohara will have a floor plan and design similar to the original.
“We’ve talked about moving to Glastonbury for years, and we just haven’t found the right real estate, but we feel really, really confident in Zohara as a concept going to Glastonbury,” he said.
“The space was too big to just do one restaurant, so we looked at dividing the building.”
“We’re trying to fast-track the concept of DORO Marketplace,” he continued. “We feel it’s a home run to (open) two restaurants and introduce the DORO Restaurant Group to the town with two concepts at once.”
The group also owns Artisanal Burger Co. in Manchester, a casual burger and craft beer spot that is also undergoing its own renovation, to be completed in May, Miller said.