Takeout in one place: New food court coming to Farmington
A takeout-focused food court will be built in a mixed-use office building in Farmington, after the plan and zoning commission approved the proposal at its Feb. 13 meeting.
The owner of the building at 17 Talcott Notch Road, Sheila Reiner of Sarjac Partners LLC, said she hopes the food court will open by summer. It would be open to the public, not just to employees and clients of that plaza.
Reiner said several fast-casual restaurants in that area have gone out of business in the last few years, leaving local families and workers few convenient meal options.
“Anybody working in our neck of the woods complains that it has become a food desert. There’s nowhere to go and grab something quick and easy,” Reiner said. “If you want to just run in and out in five minutes to get something to eat, you don’t have that luxury in our area.”
Town economic development director Rose Ponte agrees.
“A few years back, the old Loehmann’s plaza had a Dunkin’, a pizza place, an Italian place, a Chinese place. They have closed,” Ponte said. “The largest employer in that area is UConn Health, but there are many other employers. There is a need for more food services.”
The food court would take up about 3,300 square feet in the 34,000-square-foot-plus complex, which houses medical, accounting and therapist offices, a nail salon, a printing company and other businesses.
In addition to the weekday businesses, a 50- to 60-member church group meets in the building on Sundays.
Twenty-four seats will be provided for indoor dining, but the six to eight vendors would be takeout-focused. Six parking spaces would be set aside at the rear of the building for food-court patrons.
Approved hours are 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. seven days a week. Some vendors would serve breakfast and others would open later for lunch and dinner.
At the planning meeting, no members of the public spoke in favor of or opposed to the project. It was approved unanimously.
Ponte said opening a food court in an office building is a good example of how building owners are adjusting their traditional models to make their buildings more useful.
“The office market as a whole in the country is going through an evolution, a transition, with so many people working remotely. How can they make empty office space more attractive? What amenities should they offer?,” Ponte said. “This [project] is a little bit of a mirror into what is being done to use office space in today’s world.”
Reiner said before submitting the proposal, Sarjac sought advice on the project from Carlos Mouta, who developed Parkville Market into a successful food hub in Hartford.
Susan Dunne can be reached at sdunne@courant.com.