Downtown Middletown is full of people.
And they’re doing things: eating, working, shopping, drinking, walking, going to the movies, staying the night, playing laser tag.
This phenomenon isn’t at a certain time of day or day of the week; it’s all the time.
Downtown Middletown is bustling.
It is a successful office/retail destination. And as such, it’s a pathfinder for every Connecticut municipality revitalization plan, community task force, business district redevelopment report and special charter commission on economic development.
And the city isn’t resting on its laurels; it’s pushing for more economic growth.
“Middletown does ‘Do it right,’” said Diane Gervais, manager of Amato’s Toy and Hobby, downtown’s 71-year-old business. “Middletown has worked very hard to protect its downtown and realize it’s the front door of its community.”
The latest iteration of downtown Middletown started in the 1990s when the city, Wesleyan University, aerospace manufacturer Pratt & Whitney, Liberty Bank, Middlesex Hospital and financial firm Middlesex Mutual (now Middle Oak) kicked in $10,000 annually for a downtown improvement district.
Those efforts turned into the Downtown Business District, a self-taxing district formed in 2001 designed to promote the area, recruit businesses and keep the street looking presentable.
A key aspect of keeping the downtown busy, Mayor Sebastian Guiliano said, was the decision by the city’s planning and zoning officials to make all downtown buildings put retail or restaurants on their first floors. This kept the ground floor from flooding with office space.
“When you do that, you just lose the life of your downtown,” Guiliano said.
When Middletown Police Station was built in 1999, the first floor was set aside for private use; and the gourmet Italian restaurant First & Last Tavern opened in the space.
“It might be the only police station in the world where you can walk down to the ground floor and have a beer,” said Michael Bellobuono, general manager of the First & Last in Middletown.
When First & Last arrived with an already solid reputation from its original location in Hartford, that signaled to other New England restaurateurs that Middletown could be home to upscale dining. Now the district is home to restaurants such as Luce Fine Dining & Bar, Esca Wine Bar, Mikado Sushi Bar & Grille, Iguana Ramas, Thai Gardens, Amici Italian Grill, Tuscany Grill and Forbidden City.
The restaurants are important because, unlike shopping, people can’t eat out remotely, Guiliano said. The lunch and dinner crowds keep people flowing up and down Main Street, feeding other businesses.
“We really depend on the restaurants around us,” said Roberto Lucheme, owner of Middletown dessert shop Tschudin Chocolates. “We are like the little fish that feeds off the sharks.”
Because the businesses along Main Street are within a few blocks of one another, each gets the benefit of foot traffic while offering customers the convenience of a variety of offerings.
“Once you park your car, you don’t need it for the rest of your stay,” said Gary Nagler, general manager of the Inn at Middletown hotel. “You have everything within walking distance.”
The busy ground floor of downtown makes the district attractive to the professional businesses that fill the upper floors of Main Street office buildings, said Rick Kearney, the city’s economic development specialist.
“It has become a desirable place to have your office,” Kearney said.
These businesses are typically smaller — 10-20 employees — and some of the newer occupants include a branch of Hartford law firm Updike, Kelly & Spellacy, P.C.; publisher Choice Reviewers; medical provider Davita Dialysis; and advisory service Asterisk Financial Group, Inc.
Businesses have filled up so many Middletown offices that the 261,000 square feet of Class A commercial space is at 100 percent occupancy in downtown, and the overall 609,110 square feet of commercial space has a 94.8 percent occupancy rate, according to Middletown-based Trevor Davis Commercial Real Estate, LLC.
Four new buildings are under development in Middletown to meet the growing demand, Kearney said.
While the business crowd keeps Main Street bustling during the day, downtown at night and on the weekend turns into a destination for diners frequenting the restaurants and niche shops; families going out to eat and hitting up businesses such Amato’s Toy and Hobby and New World Laser Tag; and students from Wesleyan University two blocks away heading to Joe Riff’s Music, bicycle shop Pedal Power, and the district’s many bars.
“It is just so close and accessible,” said Peter Belmonte, a Wesleyan graduate student seeking his master of arts in liberal studies.
The diverse crowds help Middletown avoid the fate of other downtown improvement district that are either focused on professional businesses and become ghost towns at night, or focus on the nightlife and are barren during the day.
“In the 1960s, Friday night everybody was downtown,” Guiliano said. “That one night, high-level activity, you don’t have anymore; but it is a lot more active the other days.”
The businesses do their part to keep the crowds coming out. The restaurants vary and improve their offerings, such as First & Last executive chef Carl Ciarcia experimenting with various specials for customers and Lucheme training with chocolatiers from around the world to provide gourmet chocolates at Tschudin.
Many of the businesses along Main Street own their property, such as Amato’s Toys, which gives them a vested interest in keeping downtown vibrant, Gervais said. “It’s not just another strip that could be in any town,” Gervais said. “It is unique to Middletown.”
While the city set the businesses up to succeed, it is important to keep the area inviting to outsiders.
“You get a very good mix of customers. Our customers are very loyal,” Bellobuono said of First & Last. “It is like waiting for your friends to come in and you get to hang out with them. Work comes secondary.”
