Three restaurants opened in downtown Waterbury this month, with a fourth anticipated soon, following the recent sale of an East Main Street building.
A local HVAC technician apprentice recently paid $650,000 for a four-story, brick building blending office space, apartments and a first-floor restaurant space on the outskirts of Waterbury’s downtown.
Carlos Chimbo is principal of the limited liability company that bought the 10,008-square-foot building at 234 East Main St., in a sale logged by the city on June 23. He said the building has four apartments rented to hospital staff on the third and fourth floors, an occupied second-floor office space and a vacant first-floor restaurant space he plans to activate in a few months.
Chimbo’s wife, Carmen Once, is partnered in the effort. She is an optician who runs the Waterbury Vision Center on Frost Road in the city.
The 85-year-old building is located almost directly across from Waterbury’s police headquarters, and had previously housed the City Hall Café. Chimbo said he is working with a longtime friend to refine a restaurant concept for the property.
His initial thought is for a quick grab-and-go restaurant offering high-quality sandwiches and other quick fare. He hopes to cater to police officers, staff from nearby St. Mary’s Hospital and students from the nearby University of Connecticut branch campus.
Chimbo said it will be several months before he opens a restaurant, giving him time to get things right. He has experience as a sous chef in a fine Italian restaurant.
Chimbo’s purchase comes at a time when Waterbury is seeing a resurgence in downtown restaurant activity.
The former Shamrock Pub & Grill property at 210 Meadow St., which sold for $310,000 last September, has just reopened as The Patio Bar & Cafe, a restaurant specializing in Central and South American cuisine, with a heavy focus on dancing and entertainment on weekend nights.
Juan Maposito, of Waterbury, is principal of the LLC that bought the 5,596-square-foot Meadow Street building. He funded the purchase and about $200,000 in renovations using money saved from work in construction and as a promoter of Ecuadorian and Colombian music events.
“He wanted to have a permanent location where everybody could come in Waterbury,” said Jose Carchi, Maposito’s nephew and co-owner of The Patio. “The vision is to have Latin dishes available to everybody, along with some classics like burgers. We notice there is a growing community of Latins here, so we would like to make sure their cuisine is available to them.”
The Patio had a “soft” opening on July 8 and 9. It opens today, July 13, with regular hours, and Carchi plans to hold a grand opening celebration on July 21.
Maposito’s wife, Miriam Urgiles, is head chef. Carhchi said his family put in a lot of the work renovating the restaurant, including sanding, painting and more. The building has been upgraded with a new sound system as well.
“It’s been eight long months,” Carchi said of the work. “We tried to make sure it has the presence we want for the customers coming in, making sure they feel welcome in a type of environment where they can relax and socialize.”
A short distance away, another Latin-inspired restaurant – Via Al Paraiso Bar & Grill – has just opened in the former Art of Yum space at 146 Grand St. Owner and head chef Arel Adames said the menu blends Italian, American and Spanish offerings in an upscale, but affordable setting. Adames, 31, has 15 years cooking experience, including seven in his family’s restaurant – which runs under the same name – nearby on West Main Street.
The West Main Street restaurant, which operates as a buffet, has been so well-received, Adames said, that he decided to open the Grand Street location. The new restaurant launched last Friday after about $130,000 in renovations over five months, including a new bar, bathroom, ceiling, lighting and more, he said.
Adames said he plans to offer karaoke, live music and other fun events to help draw evening crowds.
“We have good food at a good price in a good atmosphere,” Adames said. “We are going to bring people downtown little by little.”
Not far away, at 231 Bank St., the upscale Italian eatery Diorio Restaurant and Bar – a longtime Waterbury favorite – reopened on July 10, following three years of closure. The restaurant closed shortly after the COVID business restrictions were partially lifted following a flood caused by a burst pipe.
The long closure of the nearly 100-year-old upscale eatery had caused much speculation about its fate, even as the restaurant insisted on social media it would reopen following renovations.
The venue reopened with new wallpaper, paint, flooring, fixtures and the addition of two huge, 300-pound chandeliers that brighten its interior.
“What did it take? A lot of work,” said owner Mario Grasso. He said the restaurant’s reopening has seen “a good response.”
“There are other restaurants, and they are all good, but we have been here a long time,” Grasso said.
