Carbone’s Ristorante, whose roots in Hartford stretch back to 1938, will officially open Sept. 1 in a newly renovated, roughly 11,000-square-foot space in downtown Hartford, bringing back a family business that for generations was a fixture of the city’s dining, business and political scenes.
The new restaurant in the former Apple Cinemas location at 39 Front St. will be larger and more ambitious than its former South End location, with seating for about 275, a lounge, expanded banquet facilities and an eventual workforce that could reach 65 to 70 people.
For third-generation owner Vincent “Vinny” Carbone, 65, the opening represents both an effort to carry forward an 88-year family legacy and a bet on Hartford’s resurgence.
“I feel like the city was in an identity crisis for years, but I think it’s finally getting comfortable in its own skin,” Carbone said. “And there’s been a tremendous amount of private investment as well as public with Hartford HealthCare, Lexington Partners, Alan Lazowski, to name just a few. And we saw the efforts being put in and we wanted to be part of it.”
Thousands of new apartments have been added to the downtown in recent years, with more under construction and in planning. The University of Connecticut is opening a new downtown dorm, and the state has helped fund a $145 million renovation of the downtown PeoplesBank Arena.
Carbone’s operated out of a 6,120-square-foot, 1950-vintage brick building at 588 Franklin Ave. before closing in March 2020 amid the COVID-19 pandemic, which devastated many restaurants. The Carbone family ultimately decided not to reopen the restaurant there.
Carbone said the pandemic accelerated a decision that had been building as the surrounding neighborhood and restaurant industry changed.
“The business climate changed and we were fortunate to maintain being the first restaurant on Franklin Avenue and then one of the last ones of the Italian cuisine,” Carbone said. “So I think it just kind of fast-forwarded things for us. And that’s why we decided to kind of relocate after the pandemic.”
But the family never lost its connection to Hartford.
Carbone said former Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin approached him as the city emerged from the initial phase of the pandemic and asked whether he would consider relocating downtown.
The family eventually settled on the former Spotlight Theatres (later Apple Cinemas) space along Front Street, close to the Connecticut Convention Center, Hartford Marriott Downtown and Interstate 91.
“The key for us was where to go to in Hartford,” Carbone said. “And we felt one of the best spots that was available was the former Spotlight Theater location.”
A bigger bet on Hartford
Carbone said his larger footprint allows the restaurant to pursue several concepts under one roof.
There will be a traditional dining room focused on the old-school Italian dining experience for which Carbone’s is known, a more casual lounge with its own menu, and flexible banquet and event space.
The restaurant will have capacity for about 275 people, compared with roughly 200 at the former location. Its banquet space can accommodate about 125 people for a seated dinner or 180 to 200 for a standing event.
The event space at the Franklin Avenue location had capacity for events of roughly 50 people, Carbone said.
He sees the expanded event space filling a niche between a typical restaurant private room and Hartford’s much larger convention venues.
The main dining experience, meanwhile, will deliberately reach back to the restaurant’s Franklin Avenue roots.
Carbone plans to revive tableside Caesar salad preparations, along with some desserts and entrees prepared tableside. Homemade pasta and multi-course meals designed for sharing will also be part of the experience in the main dining room.
“We want to make that special,” Carbone said. “And that’ll be our thread to Franklin Avenue.”
A bet on downtown Hartford
The roughly $3.75 million effort to redevelop 39 Front St. and reopen Carbone’s is funded in part with a $1.7 million low-interest loan through the Capital Region Development Authority, a $500,000 loan from the Connecticut Small Business Boost Fund and $1.55 million in private equity.
City officials believe Carbone’s return will provide an important boost to their wide-reaching downtown revitalization efforts.
Carbone’s was a vital piece of Hartford’s heydays, remembered as a spot where mayors and governors mingled with regular patrons, Hartford Mayor Arunan Arulampalam recalled. He expects the new location to be a key contributor to the city’s progress.
“I think what Vinnie Carbone sees, as I do as well, is a city that is on the rise, a city that continues to build its vibrancy,” Arulampalam said. “So, we are excited to have Carbone’s back. It is a signal about how members of the business community are viewing the resurgence of our city.”
Easing into the return
Carbone’s will launch with a “soft opening” next Friday (Aug. 28), Saturday and Sunday, for about 100 invitation-only guests each day, including longtime customers, supporters and family members, along with prominent politicians and members of the business community.
Carbone said he plans to ramp up service gradually to give staff time to acclimate and provide a consistent, high level of service.
The restaurant will initially operate seven days a week from happy hour through dinner. Carbone plans to eventually add lunch service in the lounge and expects to begin booking banquets after the restaurant has been operating for about a month. A Sept. 1 ribbon cutting will mark the first day the restaurant is fully open for reservations.
“We’re just trying to do things in stages so we can execute correctly with our team,” Carbone said.
Carbone expects to launch with roughly 50 employees and increase staffing as lunch and banquet operations are added, ramping up to as many as 70 by December. The former Franklin Avenue restaurant employed about 35 to 40 people, he said.
From service station to Hartford institution
The Carbone family history in Hartford stretches further than the restaurant.
Carbone’s grandfather, Carl “Charlie” Carbone, immigrated to America from Italy as a child. Charlie’s father worked as a tailor at Hartford’s Bond Hotel, while Charlie and his brother, Anthony “Tony” Carbone, worked there as bellhops.
After high school, the brothers operated an Atlantic gas station on Franklin Avenue near Bulkeley Stadium.
The brothers saw an opportunity in the crowds that left the stadium after baseball games and stock-car races, acquiring a neighboring property with an unfinished foundation and building a restaurant to serve grinders, simple pasta dishes and other fare. They left the service station to concentrate on the restaurant in 1938.
Over the following decades, Carbone’s evolved as successive generations took the helm.
Charlie’s son Gaetano “Guy” Carbone joined the family business after graduating from the Culinary Institute of America in 1958, while his brother, Carl, joined after earning a degree in restaurant management from the State University of New York at Delhi. This generation pushed the restaurant toward a more sophisticated experience, introducing Hartford-area customers to traditional Italian dishes and dining experiences that were uncommon at the time.
“They were one of the first ones in the area serving calamari, serving mussels, doing different courses just to showcase their culinary expertise,” Carbone said.
By the 1970s, Carbone’s had become a destination for corporate lunches and dinners, drawing generations of Hartford business executives, politicians and civic leaders.
It was also very much a family operation.
Carbone said his grandmother and great-aunt handled baking and pastry making, while his grandfather’s sister served as bookkeeper.
“There was always a strong family presence in the building as a little kid going in there,” Carbone said. “It was pretty cool looking back on it now. You took it for granted, but there was a lot of blood, sweat and tears put in before us.”
The family later expanded into other concepts. It currently operates Carbone’s Prime, an Italian steakhouse in Rocky Hill, and Carbone’s Kitchen, a more casual Italian concept in Bloomfield.
Gaetano Carbone visits the restaurant just about daily to provide feedback.
“He’s a critic,” Carbone joked. “He’ll come in and tell me everything that he liked and tell me what he thinks needs work on. You know, he tries to keep the brand intact.”
Vincent’s brother, John Carbone, is partnering with him on the Hartford project.
A fourth Carbone generation is also deeply involved.
Vincent Carbone’s 37-year-old daughter, Nicole, is operations manager. His daughter, Kathryn, handles social media from Denver, while his son — who works for American Express in Manhattan — serves as an advisor.
Vincent’s wife, Olivia, and John’s wife, Shelly, contributed to the new restaurant’s design, as well as with procurement.
The restaurant’s management team includes several longtime Carbone employees. Paul Rafala, a former chef, is general manager of the new Hartford location. Mary Beth Corraccio, who began working for the family in high school, is general manager of Carbone’s prime and oversees events and sales for the family’s three restaurants.
Competing with the suburbs
Carbone is working with Propark to offer valet parking to his customers free of charge. This amenity, he said, is critical to success.
While parking was seen as a challenge to overcome, the location also carries tremendous advantages, with easy access to Interstates 84 and 91 and all of downtown’s amenities, Carbone noted.
Carbone said he wants the restaurant to give suburban residents a reason to choose Hartford rather than other dining and entertainment centers.
“I want to compete with West Hartford Center or Evergreen Walk or whatever,” Carbone said. “I want to give them a reason to come in here.”
Dining and Cooking