New Haven County, get ready - Bar Bites are headed your way. The popular Wood-n-Tap Bar & Grill chain is poised to expand to Orange later this year.The newest location, Wood-n-Tap's sixth, will take over the spot that formerly housed Humphrey's at 311 Boston Post Road. The others are located in Hartford, Farmington, Southington, Rocky Hill and Vernon.
Hartford Restaurant Group's Phil Barnett confirmed the move, saying they're hoping for a late-fall opening.
"We were talking about growing - and this opportunity came up in this building," Barnett said.
As the Hartford Restaurant Group, Barnett and partners Wil Quijano, Mike Hamlin and Ken McAvoy own and operate some of the area's most well-known restaurants. Their roster also includes Agave Grill and Vaughan's Public House in Hartford, and TD Homer's in Southington.
Barnett said they're hoping to make the Wood-n-Tap name equally recognizable further south. "We're working to market and brand ourselves more in that area [before opening]," he said.
The Wood-n-Tap has a comfortable, casual pub atmosphere, with a menu full of equally satisfying fare. Burgers and sandwiches share top billing along with salads, steaks, pasta and seafood. Other customer favorites include hand-tossed pizzas (one even topped with spicy macaroni and cheese) and the full rack of baby-back ribs, Barnett said.
Many associate the Wood-n-Tap with its Bar Bites, snack-sized sliders in beef, chicken, bison and turkey varieties. The mini-cheeseburgers star in the restaurant's annual Munch Madness eating competition in March.
The Southington Wood-n-Tap, located at 420 Queen Street, celebrates its fifth anniversary Sept. 9 with a tailgate party. The festivities will feature free food, appearances by the UFL Hartford Colonials cheerleaders, Coors Light girls and prize giveaways.
Find out more about the Wood-n-Tap on its official website.
(Photo credit: Dave Moran / Special to ctnow.com)
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