Wholesale food distribution, retail center pitched in Wethersfield

A 78,000-square-foot commercial building on the busy Silas Deane Highway in Wethersfield could become a grocery retail and wholesale distribution center.

Wanlong He is proposing a Ken Foods retail and wholesale operation at 1000 Silas Deane Highway.

He is proposing to use 17,748 square feet of space for retail operations and about 65,900 square feet for wholesale operations, according to the project application. There is no further information available about the planned business. 

He is seeking a special permit from the Wethersfield Planning and Zoning Commission for the operations because retail and wholesale operations are allowed when wholesaling is an accessory use, but the the Ken Foods proposal would have a significantly larger wholesale component, roughly 78%, than the planned retail area, according to the application.

The commission will review further plans at its next meeting in early May.

The property in 2021 was sold for $1.6 million to KCH Trading Inc., which is controlled by Tianxian Zhang, who has a Roosevelt, New York business address, state and local records show. The project application lists Ken Zhang as the property owner. 

The building was formerly the site of a Weight Watchers frozen food factory, but has sat vacant for years.