Fire-n-Spice, a popular Hartford restaurant known for its flavorful Jamaican-influenced vegan fare, has closed its Sisson Avenue location and, for now, will focus its efforts on serving breakfast, lunch and dinner at its second restaurant on Capitol Avenue.
A sign on the Sisson Avenue building’s door notes that the location was permanently closed as of Feb. 23. The sign directs customers to the location at 491 Capitol Ave., with expanded morning and evening hours.
“We wanted to expand into another area, but have not been quite lucky in finding someplace on time, before we decided to vacate the premises over there,” owner Garfield Haylett said Thursday during breakfast hours at the Capitol Avenue restaurant. He said he decided to leave the Sisson Avenue building because of ongoing disputes with landlords over repairs.
Haylett said he has been looking at other potential buildings in Hartford, hoping to offer another full-service, sit-down restaurant. The Capitol Avenue location currently offers counter service.
“People are proud to bring them into our vegan Jamaican restaurant, listen to the music, have us serve them, have a drink. We want to continue to offer that … Over 9 years [at Sisson] we built kind of a nice following.”
The Capitol Avenue restaurant is open Monday through Saturday at 8 a.m. for breakfast, transitioning to lunch midday and then serving dinner until 9 p.m. (Sunday hours are 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.) While the dinner crowd “is not as vibrant as over on Sisson,” Haylett said, the restaurant has seen steady business from nearby offices and local residents.
“I’m optimistic that it’s looking better as time goes on,” he said. “We want to be here and be part of change and improvement in the city.”
Information: facebook.com/FirenSpice491CapitolAve.
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