Restaurant coming to ‘Factory’ site
STAMFORD — The downtown site of the former Factory Bar & Grill appears to be preparing to roll out another restaurant.
A sign in the front window of 261 Main St. advertises the “coming soon” of Clark + Main. The posting does not give more details about the planned establishment, but the recent painting-over of Factory’s signage on the brick building’s front exterior indicates improvements are underway for a new eatery.
The announcement follows one posted recently for a new pizzeria, Piezano’s, a couple of doors down at 245 Main St.
“Hopefully, these two new additions will bring some much-needed buzz to Main Street,” said Michael Marchetti, owner of Columbus Park Trattoria, 205 Main St., and president of the Stamford Tables downtown restaurant association.
Factory closed last October, after only four months in business at 261 Main St. Before Factory, a similar establishment, McFadden’s, had operated in the same space for a few years until its 2017 closing.
At 245 Main St., Teena’s Apizza closed last November, after only five months in business. It succeeded a Layla’s Falafel location, which closed about a year ago.
The neighborhood around Columbus Park has seen a number of changes in the past couple of years. But the planned arrivals of Clark + Main and Piezano’s, as well as the opening last month of La Perle at 15 Bank St. suggest the neighborhood is rebounding from those setbacks.
“We are excited to see what comes of the new businesses and hope that they can succeed,” Victor Mathieu, co-owner of Fiesta on Main at 249 Main St., said earlier this month. “We believe that all it takes is the right brand and a commitment to excellent service.”
Among other recent arrivals in the neighborhood, Indian restaurant Adyar Ananda Bhavan debuted two months ago at 1033 Washington Blvd. It succeeded an Italian restaurant, Aria.
Around the park, there are still a couple of vacant storefronts that were formerly occupied by restaurants. Nearly two years after the closing of Bobby Valentine’s Sports Gallery Café — which was replaced by a Bobby V’s Restaurant and Sports Bar at 268 Atlantic St. — the space at 225 Main St. is still empty.
Restaurant turnover continues elsewhere in the downtown. Other newcomers include Hudson Social at 128 Bedford St. and Blackstones Steakhouse at 1 Broad St.