Hartford Restaurant Group owners pay $150K for Farmington land near Wood-n-Tap location

The owners of Hartford Restaurant Group — which operates the popular Wood-n-Tap restaurant chain — have purchased a half-acre property near their Farmington eatery that could be used for extra parking or future commercial development.

Philip Barnett and Michael Hamlin in May completed the purchase of 1432 Farmington Ave., for $150,000, property records show. 

The commercially-zoned land is currently vacant, but used to be home to a commercial building, Barnett told the Hartford Business Journal on Thursday. 

The property is located about 0.6 miles down the street from Hartford Restaurant Group’s Wood-n-Tap location at 1593 Farmington Ave., which has become a popular spot in town with outdoor dining views of the Farmington River. 

Barnett said plans for the newly-acquired property haven’t been fully fleshed out, or shared with the town, but they could include using the land as parking for Wood-n-Tap employees. The partners could also develop a small commercial office building on the site, Barnett said. 

The partners will use the next few months to figure out the best use of the property, which has already been cleared of brush and overgrown weeds, Barnett said.

The property was sold by Copvaitic Properties LLC, which is controlled by Kenneth and Michael Fishman, state records show.

Hartford Restaurant Group owns nine Wood-n-Tap locations in Connecticut and is planning to open a 10th location in Springfield, Mass., by the end of this year. The group also owns Que Whiskey Kitchen in Southington.