This summer, Norwich welcomed yet another new business: The Royal Punjabi! The Indian and chicken wing restaurant opened its doors July 16, 2018 and has been well received by the Norwich community—including NCDC! We highly recommend checking it out (if you have not done so already!) CLICK HERE to read the more about The Royal Punjabi opening!
Author Archives: ncdcadmin
A Sit Down with Julio Cancho
Q: Where were you born & raised?
Julio: Peru, South America.
Q: What is your role at Canggio?
Julio: I’m the owner, the executive chef, dishwasher, referee… everything you can possibly think of.
Q: When did you open Canggio Restaurant?
Julio: August 21, 2017
Q: When did you enter the restaurant business?
Julio: Right after high school, I started helping my dad in a restaurant. My first job was as a dishwasher at a restaurant in West Springfield, MA. From there, I began working for all kinds of restaurants—French cuisine in West Hartford, Mediterranean in Bloomfield, Greek/Italian in Hartford.
Q: What was your most fulfilling moment working in the food industry?
Julio: When I worked at J Restaurant and Bar in Hartford, my first executive chef job, I got to cook for a lot of people I never in my life would have imagined I’d have the opportunity to cook for. I’ve cooked for Andy Grammer, Jason Alexander, Bob Newhart, and John Leguizamo.
Q: Why did you decide to open in Norwich?
Julio: People here are great. Everyone gives you their hand and is so ready to help you succeed. One thing that we, as Norwich, have is that we work together.
Q: If someone was trying to open up their own business or restaurant, what advice would you give them?
Julio: Don’t give up. It’s easy to give up or walk-away. But follow your goals; you need to give yourself time to make it happen. There have been times that I’ve felt that it’s not worth the struggle, but at the end of the day, when I see customers loving the dishes we make for them that they come back for more—that makes it for me. You’re going to have people there to support you, keep working towards what you believe in.
Q: What are you most looking forward to within the next year or two?
Julio: Within the next two years, 1) I want to grow Canggio and make it self-sustaining with the crew that I have and 2) I want to open a prohibition-type bar (speakeasy)…with elegant appetizers and secret entrances, hopefully right here in Norwich. I like the idea of it because I feel it’s new and innovative, and it offers something different. Norwich has given me so much; I feel it’s important to give back to the community that believed in me in the first place.
Canggio’s can be found at 20 Lafayette Street, Norwich, CT 06360.
Featured Story: Foundry 66
Foundry 66 has opened its second floor! The addition features two large conference rooms, a yoga and dance studio, and media room. The new space features six offices and 12 designated desks. The design and color were inspired by Sedona Mountain Skyline. (We felt after walking up two flights of stairs you should be rewarded with a delightful array of colors & textures much like the scenery in Sedona!) F66 is hosting a variety of workshops, including Small Business Academy (collaboration with Liberty Bank) and Fall Lunch and Learns, “Creating Your Brand” and “Interactive Enneagram Workshops.”
To schedule a tour of Foundry 66 or to inquire about upcoming workshops, please contact Jill Fritzsche: jfritzsche@askncdc.com or call 860-887-6964.
Norwich seeks path to cash in on its Opportunity Zones
NORWICH — Three Norwich neighborhoods qualify for a new federal economic development program and Tuesday morning, dozens of city and state officials, business leaders and community partners met at City Hall for a presentation on how the city can capitalize on the opportunity.
Federal lawmakers in 2017 created the federal Opportunity Zones program for investors to re-invest unrealized capital gains into qualified Opportunity Funds — private investment vehicles dedicated to community, business, real estate and economic development activities in low-income communities.
CLICK HERE to read the full article.
Local swim school building permanent home in Occum
NORWICH — After two decades of hopping from hotel pool to hotel pool, a local swim academy is building its own permanent facility in Occum.
Bubbles to Butterflies was founded in 1998 by Margee Charron of Baltic, and in early November, the company broke ground on its first permanent home — at 61 Taftville-Occum Road.
Originally, Charron was teaching swim from her backyard pool, but the new facility will be 6,000 square feet including a 30 foot by 60 foot warm-water teaching pool, as well as a climate-controlled viewing area that can also function as a rental party room.
CLICK HERE to read the full article.
Ponemah Mill celebrates first phase completion, start of second
Norwich — Kathy and Kevin Jesmonth were at their Colchester home watching TV news on May 9, 2017, when a news feature about the $30 million transformation of the formerly vacant giant Ponemah Mill in Taftville came on and the reporter described the plan to create 116 high-ceiling, loft apartments.
The recent empty-nesters looked at each other simultaneously and within minutes agreed they were ready to sell their house of 31 years and start a new chapter in their lives. Kathy being a sixth-grade teacher in Colchester public schools and Kevin the shop manager at Grader Jewelers in Groton, a new apartment in Norwich with easy access to Route 2 or Interstate 395 would be just fine.
CLICK HERE to read the full article.
Gracie Mae’s Kitchen has moved to Norwich
Rodney Green, owner/operator of Olde Tymes Restaurant on West Main Street in Norwich, is proud to announce a new partnership with Gracie Mae’s Kitchen, LLC of Griswold. The venture will ensure that the New London County area will continue to be supplied with Gracie Mae’s famous pies and confections. Moving the bakery into the main production kitchen at Olde Tymes Restaurant will more than triple the capacity of Gracie Mae’s Kitchen and provide even more customers with the delicious, all‐natural pies that have made Gracie Mae’s so well loved. Increasing the bakery’s capacity will also allow the partners to expand in New London, Waterford, Salem, Lisbon, and Bozrah and make the products available at local farm markets. Continue reading
25 Percent is Not Enough
On Tuesday May 14th, the Norwich Zoning Board of Appeals issued a strong pro‐business statement by granting a variance at 156 North Main Street. The Board was acting on a petition filed by Pietro Camardella who owns the property, which was formerly a Polish Club (private club) south of Greeneville. Pietro bought the property in 1999 and has only been able to use 25 percent of his building because the property has no off‐street parking spaces.
The city’s zoning regulations mandate that any change of use from a private club to a different activity be required to provide the off‐street parking. Because the property was developed decades prior to the adoption of zoning, parking was never considered in the site layout. There is no place to accommodate off‐street parking on Pietro’s property. Continue reading
Norwich Has So Much Potential…
If you live in Norwich, you have probably said this or heard it many times. It is because you and others see historic, cultural and natural assets throughout the City and wonder why “someone” is not doing “something” about it.
We’ve heard it quite often as well, and are working to transform those assets into products. Trying to rally the “someones” by developing a though-out series of “somethings”. If your questions is “hasn’t that been done before?” The answer is sometimes “yes,” but here is what is different. Past efforts, the Heritage Walk and the various walking tour brochures of the city’s historic neighborhoods, do not tell the story well. There is no hook that captures the imagination of a visitor, to get them to need to stop in the first place, nor has there been a marketing component to create a value proposition. Old buildings, scenic views and “neat” places are not enough to create the draw that places like Norwich need. What do Tourists want? Value for their time and money, unique experiences, along with insight and education. Marketing materials need to inform tourists that these places will deliver and then, most importantly, we need to deliver. Continue reading
Featured Property
340 West Thames St.
Amidst the many commercial sites lining busy West Thames Street stands an unpretentious white masonry building that should send your imagination straight to the U.S. Southwest. A touch of mission style, a touch of art deco, a little prairie school – this circa 1935 building’s straight geometric lines blend the styles into one beautifully simple design. Four large front windows and central entrance grace the front and overlook the wide expanse of sidewalk that meanders through the neighborhood and separates its landscaped frontage from the roadway. Continue reading
