The popular pizza place known for its bar pies recently announced that new locations will be opening locations in Newington and South Windsor. Both are scheduled to open next year.
In January, Colony Grill announced it would be opening a location in Glastonbury at The Shops at Somerset Square. This was the restaurant’s’ first Hartford County location.
Colony Grill was founded in 1935 in Stamford. The restaurant bills itself as the Home of the Original Hot Oil Bar Pie, stating “Our one-of-a-kind, thin-crust pizza is best served drizzled with a spicy, full-of-flavor, pepper-infused creation simply called: hot oil.”
“Hartford County always felt like a very natural next step for Colony Grill,” Colony Grill spokesperson Nicolette Massaro said. “We’ve built our Connecticut footprint primarily along the I-95 corridor, but for decades we’ve had guests traveling to our restaurants from communities all across the state, and the right locations now give us an opportunity to meet those guests where they are.
“Just as importantly, we want to support the communities we enter. We’re a neighborhood restaurant at heart, and family and community remain central to who we are. Glastonbury, Newington, and South Windsor are strong fits for our product and culture and give us the opportunity to become part of those communities in the same way we have in our existing locations,” she added.
The Newington location will be at 3260 Berlin Turnpike. The space was previously the Plaza Azteca Mexican restaurant, which closed in June.
The location will seat 175 guests and have a large patio. According to Colony Grill, the restaurant will be the first location to have a fully private dining room which can be used for team dinners, birthday celebrations and the after-the-game get-togethers.
The South Windsor location will be at a new mixed-use development, Buckland Gateway, located at 255 Gateway Boulevard.
“We’re thrilled to welcome Colony Grill to Buckland Gateway,” Phoebe Sager, principal of Sager Development, said in a statement. “Colony is exactly the kind of tenant we envisioned for the project — a great Connecticut brand with an incredibly loyal following and a strong commitment to the communities it serves.
“We believe they will be a terrific addition to South Windsor and an important part of making Buckland Gateway a place where people want to gather, dine and spend time. We’re very excited to have Paul and the entire Colony Grill team here.”
The South Windsor space will seat about 150 guests and will also have a patio. Both Newington and South Windsor will also feature a full bar and 12 tap lines with several televisions showing games for sports fans.
“These two towns represent exactly what Colony Grill is about,” Colony Grill co-owner and CEO Paul Coniglio said in a statement. “We’ve grown this concept around great pizza bringing people together — with teammates coming in after practice, families sharing a Bar Pie on a Tuesday night, or friends catching the game together. Newington and South Windsor have that same strong sense of local pride, and we’re excited not just to open restaurants there, but to become part of the fabric of both towns through the way we serve our guests, support local organizations and show up for the community.”
The Newington and South Windsor locations are expected to open in the spring and summer of 2027. Work is already underway in Newington. Glastonbury is scheduled to open in a few months before the end of this year.
“We know many existing Colony Grill guests are already making the trip to our restaurants from Glastonbury, Newington, South Windsor and the surrounding communities, so we’re really excited to have the opportunity to be in their backyard,” Massaro said. “Each location reflects the community it calls home, from its history wall to the memorabilia and photographs of local heroes throughout the space. We’re excited to bring that same approach to Newington and South Windsor and create restaurants that feel like they belong to those communities from day one.”
Once Glastonbury, Newington and South Windsor open, the business will have 12 locations in Connecticut as well as New York, Virginia, Florida and Maryland. Other Connecticut locations include Fairfield, Milford, Norwalk and Shelton. Colony Grill is also available at several professional sports venues in stadiums throughout New York, Florida and Washington, D.C.
As far as future expansion, Massaro said the focus now is on the three Hartford County locations.
“Right now, we’re really excited about bringing our first three Hartford County locations to life, with hopes of continuing to bring Colony Grill to more neighborhoods in Connecticut and beyond,” Massaro said.
“While Colony Grill is growing, we’ve never lost sight of what makes these restaurants special. Colony Grill has been an important part of our own lives and families, and we want to preserve that sense of place as we open new locations, creating restaurants where families can come together, kids can grow up visiting and generations can build their own connection and traditions with Colony Grill. That’s what we’re excited to bring to Hartford County.”