After two years of stagnant development, new small businesses keep popping up in Derby.
Last Tuesday the Derby Planning and Zoning Commission approved an application to open a new barbecue restaurant at 1 New Haven Ave. The place will be run by Michael Grant, the son of well-known Valley caterer David Grant.
The Reliable Garage, at 360 Seymour Avenue, in front of the Center for Cancer Care at Griffin Hospital, is also changing hands. The new owners will continue to operate it as a gas station, but will drop automobile repairs and add a convenience store.
The Planning and Zoning Commission approved those plans last Tuesday as well.
Grant’s Smoke & Bones BBQ
The business will open next to Crystal Cleaners. The building once housed Deerfield meats.
David Grant was setting up signs Tuesday in the windows to alert passersby that the property is being reborn.
“Sept. 1 we’re shooting for,” said David Grant, who is helping with the business venture that his son will operate.
“We’re going to be having barbecue, breakfast, lunch and dinner, with takeout and 20 seats for dining,” Grant said.
The space had last been occupied by an adult DVD store — a use that angered Mayor Anthony Staffieri’s administration.
The owners of the store sued the city, claiming Derby officials interfered with the business. Eventually the city paid $35,000 under a court settlement and the store owners agreed to close.
The neon lighting and cheesy signs that advertised the Love Shack have been replaced with signs for the new restaurant.
The building will get a complete makeover.
Grant gave a tour of the inside of the 2,904 square-foot facility and showed where the wood burning oven is going to go.
He said the existing smoke room will be displayed as a centerpiece, but won’t actually used. He has modern equipment to do the actual smoking.
“We slow cook the ribs, chicken and barbecue, the pulled pork, the ribs, the beef briquette,” Grant said. There will also be fresh seafood.
Asked whether the demise of the longstanding Pilgrim Bar-B-Que in Ansonia earlier this year had an impact on his decision to open a place in Derby, Grant said it showed there is a need for it.
Pilgrim Bar-B-Que went out of business in March after several decades of being a hot spot.
“The loss of the Pilgrim was one reason. I was always looking at this particular location for something,” Grant said. “I always wanted to do fresh seafood.”
He promised a healthy menu too.
He loves the location, which has ample parking and traffic that he said measures out at 40,000 cars a day.
There is also a traffic light out front, which allows for easy access.
Reliable Garage
Customer traffic is also part of what makes converting the Reliable Garage to a convenience store attractive, said Salin Vahora of Norwalk, who is buying the building from longtime owner Ray Rose of Oxford.
Rose operated the garage 48 years.
“I’m retiring,” said Rose, 82.
The new business will sell gasoline along with convenience items.
Vahora wanted to operate a deli there too, but zoning regulations do not permit any restaurant use — even take-out — of an industrial zoned property.
Rose said the conversion should be made in a couple of months, while Vahora said he is waiting on his building permits.
There has been a flurry of new businesses in Derby this year.
The Town Squire Diner is now open in the Red Raiders shopping center on Pershing Drive. A Suds Laundromat just opened in the same shopping center — and a Crown Fried Chicken restaurant will soon open.
There is also a new 24-hour gym, Snap Fitness, in the old Shoe Department store near Wal-Mart. Edge Fitness is moving into the former Staples off Route 34. Employees on Edge Fitness were recruiting members at a booth on Derby Day on Saturday.
The Cellular Store opened on Route 34 near Wal-Mart in May.
And there is more to come.
David Kopjanski, the city’s building official and zoning officer, said the former Vick’s Service Station on Elizabeth Street is also being converted to a convenience store. Click here for a previous Valley Indy story on that project.
“That seems to be a trend, for these mom and pop automobile gas stations being converted to convenience stores,” Kopjanski said.
Overall, new businesses in the city is always a positive trend.
“People recognize Derby is a great location and we have tremendous value with our properties. You get a lot more for your money here,” Kopjanski said.
The last few years have seen Derby lose Derby Cellular Products, Housatonic Lumber and Lifetouch — all large operations on Route 34.
