Shopping,
Dining, Business Districts
West Hartford boasts a strong retail and service business network. There is a wealth of shopping and dining opportunities, from neighborhood restaurants to regional shopping destinations
West Hartford Center is a traditional New England town center with over 140 outstanding retailers all within easy walking distance to one another. The Center has fine specialty shops, restaurants, coffee shops and one-of-a-kind boutiques, gift shops, interior furnishings, bath shop, as well as banks, real estate agencies, the post office, public library and town hall. Many events area held here throughout the year including the Chamber’s antique auto show “Cruising the Center,” Dancing under the Stars, and the Holiday Stroll. The unique flavor of West Hartford Center makes shopping a pleasant, fun experience. (Exit 43 off I-84. Turn left onto Park Road, right onto South Main Street and left onto Farmington Avenue.)
Westfarms is an upscale mall with 160 specialty shops, clothing stores and restaurants. Forty percent of the stores are unique to the market including Connecticut’s only Nordstrom’s and Rain Forest Café. There is plenty of parking around the major store entrances and 1200 spaces in a covered parking garage. (Exit 40 off I-84)
Blue Back Square is a redevelopment of a 20-acre parcel just east of the town's thriving West Hartford Center, will include an art cinema, upscale shops, restaurants and luxury condominiums, business and medical offices and a fitness center. Construction began in August 2005 and is expected to be completed by the fall of 2007. Three major leases have been signed including Connecticut’s first Crate and Barrel, Bow Tie Theaters and Hartford Hospital’s medical offices and Healthtrax fitness center.
Corbin's Corner is located across from Westfarms on New Britain Avenue with over 20 stores, including Sears, Best Buy, Toys R Us, Pier 1 Imports, Eastern Mountain Sports, Old Navy, the Olive Garden restaurant and Trader Joe's.
New Park Avenue has been transformed over the past ten years with new specialty businesses arriving to complement national stores such as the Home Depot, BJ's Club, and Raymour & Flannigan. The Home Design District has over 20 independent member businesses located in one square mile on New Park Avenue who are dedicated to helping you connect all the pieces of your project. Whether it is a bathroom or kitchen remodeling project, or creating a whole new exterior look for the home with doors, windows, siding, or roofing, the Home Design District has knowledge, helpful professionals who will guide you through the process. Businesses in the District also specialize in finishing touches and will help you choose the right flooring, wallpaper, window treatments, framed work and artwork, and furniture, to complete your project.
Park Road is a diverse shopping area with ethnic markets, restaurants, hair salons, clothing and tailoring, paint stores, garden centers, jewelry stores and printing services. The community theater, the Park Road Playhouse, opened its doors for its first performance in April 2001. This business district, with brick sidewalks and turn-of-the-century street lamps, runs from Trout Brook Drive east to Prospect Avenue. The Park Road Association hosts an annual parade each year in the fall. In 2007, Park-to-Park was created by the members of the Parkville Business Association and the Park Road Association to promote Park Road, West Hartford, and Park Street, Hartford, to visitors as a “seamless street” that offers diverse cultures in dining, entertainment and shopping. (Exit 43 off I-84. Turn right onto Park Road. Travel east for about 1 mile.)
Elmwood Center is neighborhood shopping area which runs along New Britain Avenue in the southern section of town. A variety of businesses are interspersed throughout the area including restaurants, florists, cleaners, pharmacies and a health club. There are a lot of exciting changes that are happening in Elmwood. New housing is under construction at the former Talcott Junior High School, a Walgreens store will replace the former Elm Theater and façade improvements and additions are planned for several plazas. About $8.5 million in road enhancements are planned for New Britain Avenue from Colonial Street to New Park Avenue, making this street improvement project the largest in the town’s history. (Exit 41 off I-84. Follow South Main Street to New Britain Avenue, turn left. Travel east for about 2 miles.)
Bishops Corner, in the northern part of town, is both a neighborhood and regional destination featuring a variety of businesses on all four corners. Some of the anchor stores include Staples, Waldbaum’s Foodmart, Wild Oats Market, Walgreens, Macaroni Grill, Barnes & Noble, Marshall’s, and the St. Francis Care medical offices. (Exit 43 off I-84. Turn left onto Park Road and right onto South Main Street for about 3 miles. South Main Street becomes North Main Street.)
To see a listing of restaurants and stores in each business district, visit www.west-hartfordct.net
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updated 9/23/02
