A local restauranteur wants to buy Connie’s on Elizabeth Street in Derby.
Rick Lucarelli this week confirmed that he was in talks with the previous owners to possibly purchase the defunct restaurant and open a family-style restaurant in its place.
The only potential spoiler is a business dispute between Connie’s owners — Anthony and Paul Staffieri, and their partner Jeffrey Hughes.
Lucarelli’s Plan
Lucarelli owns Lucarelli’s Restaurant on Route 34 in Derby.
He said he hopes to save a popular downtown eatery with the potential purchase of Connie’s. He also plans to keep his Route 34 restaurant open.
Lucarelli said he approached the Staffieris about possibly purchasing the business. A message was left with Paul Staffieri seeking confirmation of the negotiations.
“We’re going to make it more of a family-oriented sports bar,” Lucarelli said. “We’re going to have a full line of appetizers, salads. We’re speaking more in the line of a New York-style deli with signature sandwiches, like pastrami and corn beef.”
Lucarelli said he wants to close on the property soon, do some interior renovations and open by the beginning of September.
“I just think it’s an opportunity,” Lucarelli said. “There’s not much around here. Everything’s closing. I want to keep something going in Derby and make it better than it was.”
Hughes claims the Staffieri brothers illegally ousted him from the partnership in May. He has a lawsuit pending in Milford court.
“We’re just waiting to see there’s not going to be any opposition,” Lucarelli said in a phone interview Wednesday.
The Connie’s Dispute
The business dispute has made headlines over the past couple of months because it involves the families of the two top elected officials in Derby.
Anthony and Paul Staffieri are the sons of Mayor Anthony Staffieri, a Republican.
Jeffrey Hughes is the brother of Derby’s Board of Aldermen President Ken Hughes, also a Republican. Ken Hughes ran Staffieri’s successful re-election campaign in 2009.
In a past interview, Paul Staffieri denied Hughes’ accusations, and said the restaurant closed its doors in June as a result of the dispute.
The fight heated up earlier this month when Hughes’ father, Robert, was suddenly removed from the Board of Police Commissioners.
Jeffrey Hughes, contacted through e‑mail Thursday, said he hadn’t been officially notified of the negotiations, as he has been away on vacation.
He said he would agree to selling the restaurant as long as he is involved in the sale.
“As of today, I still don’t have access to the restaurant’s financial statements,” Hughes said in the e‑mail message.
Read past articles about the restaurant dispute by clicking on the links below.
Hughes Thinks Plaza Plan Pushed Him Out