A new restaurant serving contemporary American seasonal cuisine with a “breathtaking” view of Hartford will soon open in the former On20 Restaurant space on the 20th floor of Hartford Steam Boiler’s downtown Hartford office building.
HSB will own “The Foundry Restaurant,” and has brought in former On20 Executive Chef Jeffrey Lizotte to run the roughly 200-seat venue.
“Our mission is to raise the bar on dining in Hartford and beyond,” reads a quote attributed to Lizotte on The Foundry’s website. “The combination of The Foundry’s innovative American seasonal cuisine, topflight people, industrial-chic ambiance, and panoramic view of the city will make every meal unparalleled, every visit indelible.”
HSB’s 24-story tower at One State Street features 500,000 square feet of office space housing the company and various tenants.
On20 closed in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The space has been gutted for a full rehab with all new equipment. When finished, it will have three dining rooms and a large bar overlooking Constitution Plaza. The Foundry will also feature an open European-style stove so patrons can witness chefs in action, Lizotte said.
“It’s very much a stage,” Lizotte said.
Lizotte, 42, has worked in restaurants since the age of 15. He spent a decade with On20 before leaving in 2016 to open his own restaurant, Present Company, in the Tariffville section of Simsbury. Present Company is remaining open. The new Hartford restaurant will open opportunities for existing and former staff, he said.
“What HSB is providing the community is an exceptional restaurant and, through that, incredible opportunities for the young, aspiring professionals in this business already,” Lizotte said.
Lizotte formed The Foundry Hospitality LLC in July to act as an operations company for HSB’s restaurant investment. Lizotte said he remained friendly with HSB management from his time at On20, leading to his appointment as “executive chef and director of operations” for the company’s new restaurant.
The Foundry’s Instagram page, which already has more than 2,000 followers, says the restaurant will open this fall.
Lizotte said the exact opening date has not yet been set. He expects The Foundry to open to the public for lunch and dinner Tuesdays through Saturdays. Hours of operation could be adjusted to suit demand, he said.
Downtown Hartford restaurants have been battered by the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent flight of office workers that were the backbone of the area’s customer base. The broader restaurant industry was dealt another blow by soaring inflation that curbed the public’s spending power as it raised the cost of ingredients.
On the bright side, many workers have begun returning to downtown Hartford offices, but vacancies in downtown office spaces remain stubbornly high. The latest market analysis by the brokerage firm CBRE puts the office vacancy rate in Hartford’s central business district at 21.7%.
Still, Lizotte has faith, given the downtown’s traditionally strong professional services base, as well as its fast-growing number of new apartments.
“There is a resiliency that Connecticut has with its diversified and modernized economy,” Lizotte said. “I think Hartford is at the center of that. Hartford deserves to have a restaurant of this caliber, and it certainly needs to have a restaurant that is going to provide a different experience than the typical steakhouse model that has persisted in downtown for decades.”
