A Brief History of the Corner Pug

I became familiar with the pub doing business up the block at Tapas in Elmwood. This little neighborhood bar was a jewel, a place where "everybody knew your name". The owner, Larry Flemming, was a character entertaining a diverse clientele. From blue collar workers to politicians, newspaper people, TV personalities and neighborhood families, the pub "public house" became common ground where members of the community shared ideas, experiences, good news & bad. They could talk sports, drink a pint, or just read the paper.

Due to health and financial problems, Larry was forced to close the Corner Pub late in 1998.

Now my favorite pub, and the favorite of many had just closed it's door. Could this be happening? It seemed only right that I step up and see I I could breath some new life back into the pub.

I had met with the owner of the property, and explained my vision. There were a number of problems to work through. The 900 square feet the pub had occupied was to small to accommodate the changes needed to bring the old space up to town code, and parking had always been an issue. Additional space was made available, bringing the square footage up to 3000. Land was acquired behind the pub allowing parking for 30 cars.

With these issues resolved, I called on John Ineson of iPlan Architects to collaborate with me in a pub design. I had worked with John on an addition we had done at Tapas in West Hartford two years ago, and John also designed Tapas on Ann, our downtown Hartford location. We worked on many designs to bring the pub to life. Initially, we tried to tie in the old pub features with the new design. Unfortunately, the majority of the old fixtures were beyond their usefulness. The original tin ceilings and some original furniture remain.

Another team member, contractor Peter Cirilli, who had also been involved in both Tapas projects, was contracted to build the pub.

Although the property was acquired over a year ago, construction in earnest only began in mid-September of 2000. The project is about 65% complete as of 12/21/00.

So, What's the vision?

I can speak only about West Hartford from 1982 on, Not too many years ago, West Hartford center rolled up the sidewalks after 6PM, and Elmwood was a place you drove through to get to Westfarms Mall. Several years ago, the "Center" reinvented itself, drawing residents back to the center from neighborhoods. Elmwood is headed in the same direction. Elmwood has undergone subtle changes over the years. Business owners take pride in their businesses and many have updated their storefronts. Brick sidewalks, beautiful plantings and period street lamps have been installed that run the length of the business district on New Britain Avenue. There are a number of exciting projects slated for the area in the near future.