🔒The Place 2 Be restaurant plotting ambitious expansion in downtown Hartford, Blue Back Square

Gina Luari has coveted the modern design of downtown Hartford’s Spectra Wired Cafe since it opened in 2017, so when the space became available earlier this year she didn’t waste time getting her South End restaurant’s expansion plans in order.

Within a day of reading about the cafe’s closure in February, Luari, principal of The Place 2 Be, said she called the landlord and inquired about the space at 5 Constitution Plaza, which sits on the ground floor of the Spectra Boutique Apartments.

“I admired the architecture that went into that space, and it fits the vibe we are going for in our brand,” she said.

After nearly leasing downtown’s shuttered Sarah’s Coffee House space on Asylum Street last year, Luari recently inked a deal to occupy Spectra Wired’s former 4,500-square-foot space for The Place 2 Be’s second location.

The breakfast/lunch eatery is investing $250,000 to renovate and upgrade the interior, exterior and kitchen at the 170-seat space before it debuts with a fast-casual concept in early July, she said.

With help from a loan, the restaurant is also investing $500,000 to renovate and open a third location this September in West Hartford’s posh Blue Black Square, in space formerly occupied by The Cook & The Bear restaurant.

The simultaneous expansion marks a major growth effort by the 25-employee Franklin Avenue business that was closed before Luari’s family, owners of Town Line Diner in Rocky Hill, acquired and rebranded it in 2016. The expansion will also fill two empty and well-known restaurant spaces in downtown Hartford and Blue Back Square as the retail and restaurant industries face many COVID-19-related challenges.

“This was all set to go back in March, and we tabled everything because there was huge uncertainty as to what was going to happen during the pandemic,” said Luari, the former executive director of the Rocky Hill Chamber of Commerce. “In the last week of May, I just said ‘we need to go for it.’ ”

According to Luari, The Place 2 Be’s downtown location will employ an additional 25 full- and part-time workers and serve as a testing ground for a fast-casual concept where customers place orders at kiosks and seat themselves. An automated text message will notify guests when their food and beverages are ready to be retrieved at renovated bars and counters. There won’t be any servers, but staff will be available for those choosing to order in-person.

The business will also offer online order delivery to all 193 units in the Spectra Boutique Apartments at Constitution Plaza. Luari said she hopes that will stir immediate interest from nearby Millennial residents who may also be interested in ordering from its full bar and brunch menus.

The Place 2 Be’s long-term goal of expanding to a fast-casual model downtown was always part of the plan, though the COVID-19 outbreak emphasized the need for outdoor seating and to limit employee-customer interactions, Luari said.

She is also adding outdoor yard games, a non-functioning bathtub outside the bathroom and other photo-designated areas for guests looking to snap a photo to share on Instagram.

“Our goal is to service the apartments and the downtown office market as well,” she said of the restaurant recently upgrading and expanding its online ordering and delivery systems. “This space always fit us because it’s a coffee shop but it has a bar. It will be more of a Millennial hangout destination.”

Expanding outside Hartford

In West Hartford, The Place 2 Be in the coming weeks is set to begin renovating the former The Cook & The Bear space that closed about a year ago after just two years in operation.

Luari said she plans to use the 50 Memorial Road, 3,000-square-foot restaurant as a full sit-down eatery with 100 seats and a large bar area. The location, which faces the New York Sports Clubs and Delamar hotel, sits at a prominent intersection within the Blue Back Square retail and dining corridor.

The Place 2 Be is hiring another 25 employees for that location by the time it opens in September, she estimated. The new locations in West Hartford and Hartford will also feature the restaurant’s top-selling brunch items, including chicken and waffles, as well as bottomless bellini, sangria and mimosa cocktails.

“Each space you will still get the same quality of food, they may differ just a little bit on the menu,” she said.

The Place 2 Be, open for curbside-only sales since the pandemic started in March, reopened for limited indoor dining on Franklin Avenue during Connecticut’s second-phase reopening, June 17.

Its takeout business has been doing better than expected, but Luari said sales fluctuate greatly week-to-week, creating challenges to cover payroll and rent. A $40,000 federal Paycheck Protection Program loan, however, has been crucial for The Place 2 Be to keep many of its workers employed amid indoor dining shutdowns.

The company also recently hired a consultant to implement new training and safety protocols for workers and guests.

“There were a lot of ups and downs and uncertainty, and the PPP loan helped us keep people working during that time,” she said.

Joe Cooper is HBJ’s web editor and real estate writer. He pens “The Real Deal” column about commercial real estate.