Celebrity chef-entrepreneur Rob Maffucci is preparing to debut his new downtown Hartford restaurant concept just blocks from his former Vito’s By The Park eatery.
Celebrity chef-entrepreneur Rob Maffucci is preparing to debut his new downtown Hartford restaurant concept just blocks from his former Vito's By The Park eatery.
V's Trattoria is set to open May 15 at 3 p.m. in 3,800 square feet on the ground floor of One Commercial Plaza, 280 Trumbull St., where Vito's To Go Cafe — a quick-service eatery — has been operating since late last year. Grunberg Realty is landlord.
For two decades, Maffuci's Vito's By The Park restaurant, which closed in November, anchored 6,500 square feet in the Essex Building, the 26 Trumbull St./15 Lewis St. headquarters for LAZ Parking and Hartford Business Journal.
Maffucci says V's is convenient for theater-goers to Hartford Stage, Yard Goats baseball fans as well as XL Center concertgoers, and supporters of UConn men's and women's basketball and Wolf Pack hockey. V's will employ some 30 workers, with another 10 in the cafe.
V's menu will include brick oven pizza, fresh pasta, along with farm-to-table Italian-style dishes, and craft cocktails. Smaller than Maffucci's other restaurants in Wethersfield, Windsor and South Windsor, V's will seat 68 in the dining room and 40 in the bar-lounge.
Fewer seats, Maffucci said, will allow a more tailored gourmet dining experience for customers. Dining hours are Monday-Thursday, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.; Fri. and Sat., 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.; Sun., 11 a.m.- 9 p.m.
“Having a blank canvas to work from is really an exciting thing,” Maffucci said of his new space.
– Gregory Seay
