The Place 2 Be reopened its downtown Hartford restaurant Friday following a fire five months ago that caused significant smoke and water damage.
The Place 2 Be is a hip string of “brunch-all-day” restaurants anchored in Hartford, fueled by social media and a fun, progressive atmosphere.
Its location at 5 Constitution Plaza was forced to close after a fire blamed on a carelessly disposed cigarette engulfed a garbage area and spread to the restaurant, setting off sprinklers that destroyed equipment and furnishings.
“We are just happy to be back,” said Gina Luari, founder of The Place 2 Be.
The location is expanding hours to match other locations, and now will be open 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily.
Luari opened her first eatery in 2016 at the age of 24. The Place 2 Be now has two Hartford restaurants, in addition to locations at Blue Back Square in West Hartford and one more at the Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Massachusetts.
Luari estimates reopening costs of well over $300,000, including the need to upgrade to new building codes. Work is still ongoing to restore a patio area.
Luari said the extended closure and repairs complicated efforts to open a string of new restaurants. Work is proceeding and Luari said she’s happy to be able to return her full focus to those projects. A new Place 2 Be location near Yale University in New Haven will open in mid to late September, Luari said.
Raw, a raw bar seafood restaurant at 280 Trumbull St. in Hartford will open in October, Luari said. She expects to shortly begin renovations to a restaurant space at 900 Main St., making room for La Cantina, a restaurant featuring Central and South American cuisine.
Luari plans to open a brick-oven pizzeria in a former city fire house on Pearl Street. The bulk of that building is being renovated into 40 apartments, with the availability of the restaurant space uncertain as of yet.
“We are really happy to be getting it (the downtown location) open so we can focus on getting back on track with the other buildings,” Luari said.
