Curt Cameron’s coffee shop and deli may occupy about one-six hundredth of the Colt Gateway complex in Hartford, but a ribbon-cutting following a roughly $50,000 refurbishment drew some of the city’s top leaders to a ceremony Monday.
Mayor Arunan Arulampalam praised the Thomas Hooker Café as an addition to an “ecosystem” that has created “such an incredible vibe” in the Coltsville neighborhood.
The mayor also used the opportunity to praise the work of Larry Dooley, head of CG Management Co., which partnered with Chevron in the redevelopment of the 600,000-square-foot former Colt Armory complex.
“Turning around a neighborhood takes incredible vision on the part of a developer like Larry Dooley,” Arulampalam said.
CG Management Co. shared the cost of the renovation of the café with Cameron. Dooley touted the café and the associated Thomas Hooker Brewing Co. as key amenities for the complex.
“It’s a great place and Curt has done such a great job,” Dooley said. “We have a great partnership.”
About 60% of the former Colt Armory complex is occupied by 255 apartments, the rest by commercial space.
Insurance software-services vendor Insurity Inc. withdrew from a 61,000-square-foot space in February, but maintains a 12,000-square-foot presence elsewhere in the complex. Dooley said another commercial user might soon occupy the space left by Insurity.
“We’ve had a lot of interest in the building, and I think we are close to a resolution for that,” Dooley said.
U.S. Rep. John Larson (D-1st District) on Monday touted progress on the long-anticipated designation of the factory complex and surrounding neighborhood into a functioning national historic district. As part of that effort, the National Park Service is expected to transform two neglected brownstone factory buildings into exhibition spaces.
“While it’s taken longer than we would like, I’m told a ribbon cutting is not that far away,” Larson said.
The Thomas Hooker Café renovation brought in new décor and kitchen equipment, along with several tables for diners, who previously only had a lunch counter for a seating option.
“This place got a little bit tired,” Cameron said. “Larry came to me and said: ‘Let’s partner up to bring it back to life. We are really excited about offering this facility to the tenants.”
