A boutique meal prep company will pitch its plan to open a retail grab-and-go market at the former Newington Meat Center property on Main Street when it goes before the Town Plan and Zoning Commission next week.
Blade & Bloom Meal Prep Co. is scheduled for a pre-application discussion of its proposal for 847 Main St. at the commission’s July 22 meeting, set for 7 p.m. at Town Hall. The company said it is seeking the commission’s feedback before filing a formal application.
The property was home for six decades to Newington Meat Center, a family-owned butcher shop founded in 1964. In 2025, the owner announced plans to retire and the business has closed.
The property is currently owned by Paul Lattarulo, town records show.
According to its presentation to the commission, Blade & Bloom plans to sell fresh prepared meals, frozen family meals, grab-and-go lunches, prepared salads, protein snacks and yogurt parfaits, with catering available by pre-order. The company currently operates in Tolland as a meal prep delivery service, with orders typically placed through its Instagram page.
According to a filing with the Secretary of the State, the owner is Caragh Bushey.
The presentation emphasizes that Blade & Bloom is not a restaurant. Most customers would pre-order online and stop in briefly to pick up their meals, with the average visit expected to last less than five minutes.
The business would have no indoor or outdoor seating, no alcohol sales and would not use third-party delivery services such as DoorDash, Uber Eats or Grubhub.
Blade & Bloom proposes operating Tuesday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., with extended hours until 7 p.m. on Thursdays, and Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The store would be closed Sundays and Mondays.
The business would initially be staffed by the owner, her husband and son, with a part-time register associate possible in the future.
No changes to the building’s footprint are proposed. Improvements would be limited to cosmetic exterior work and new storefront signage, with existing parking and utilities remaining in place. Food would be prepared indoors with code-compliant ventilation, according to the presentation.
The company says the project is compatible with the surrounding neighborhood, citing short customer visits that would minimize parking demand and traffic, no outdoor music or amplified sound, and regular trash and recycling pickup.
