The Hartford Baking Co. recently celebrated the grand opening of its newest location, in South Windsor.
The bakery and café quietly opened at 150 Sullivan Ave. in January. It offers a selection of artisan breads, pastries, coffee and beverages, along with breakfast and lunch offerings. Patrons can take advantage of a drive-through, or sit down in the venue’s spacious interior or patio dining area.
“The feedback we are receiving is awesome,” Hartford Baking Co. President Scott Kluger said. “It has been relatively slow, but the feedback has been excellent. People are excited about the space, the menu and the quality.”
The South Windsor location brings the Hartford Baking Co.’s roster back to four retail locations. Kluger closed a location on New Park Avenue in West Hartford in 2021 as sales trailed off following the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Hartford Baking Co. has its busiest location in West Hartford Center. It also has retail outlets in Glastonbury and Farmington. It operates a centralized Bloomfield commissary, where pastries, breads, soups, sausages and salad dressings are made from scratch, then distributed to retail locations and wholesale clients.
The retail outlets make cookies and scones on site.
Kluger said South Windsor has long been on his short list of potential locations. He sees it as an area with a good consumer base and little competition.
Hartford Baking Co. invested about $350,000 to build out, equip, furnish and decorate its roughly 3,000-square-foot South Windsor location, which is leased in a newly built retail complex. Kluger acted as designer and general contractor. The location opened with a dozen employees.
Hartford Baking Co., which launched in 2010, employs about 60 people in total.
Kluger, 42, said he doesn’t plan to expand further anytime soon, preferring to focus on the existing locations, branding, marketing and striving for the highest possible levels of quality. That will include a more frequent offering of new products at retail locations, and possibly new product types, such as pizza dough or cookie dough that can be baked at home, he said.
“We want to focus on the quality of the experience for the customers,” Kluger said. “I feel we can have significant growth at the cafés we have.”
