The small chain with locations mainly in Hartford County will partner with a former UConn basketball player to open a new Shelton pizzeria.
RJ Scofield, Patch Staff
SHELTON, CT — Square Peg Pizzeria, a popular small chain of restaurants specializing in wood-fired pizzas and other traditional Italian dishes with a twist, plans to open its newest location in Shelton next month with the help of a former University of Connecticut women's basketball star.
Square Peg founder and owner Jay Maffe said he is hoping to open the new Shelton restaurant in early February pending any delays.
The restaurant will be located at 320 Howe Avenue in the current location of the Steady Habits Tasting Lounge.
According to Maffe, he and his team are partnering with Steady Habits owner Maria Conlon to turn the business into a Square Peg restaurant.
"We're going to turn Steady Habits into Square Peg," Maffe said to Patch.
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Conlon played for the famed UConn Huskies women's basketball team from 2000 to 2004 following a dominant high school basketball career in Seymour.
According to the Connecticut Women's Basketball Hall of Fame, into which she was inducted in 2006, Conlon played in four Final Four Tournaments and three National Titles during her time at UConn.
She was one of two players who played in every game of UConn's 70-game win streak. Her UConn career stats were 5.2 ppg, 714 total points, 2:1 assist/turnover ratio, and she finished with 170 total 3-pointers, making her sixth at UConn all time, according to the hall of fame.
"I have been friends with Maria for years," Maffe said, "and it was the perfect opportunity to partner together with what she had and what we could do together, which is to turn the place into a Square Peg."
While most of Square Peg's current Connecticut locations are predominantly in Hartford County, Maffe said he saw Shelton as the perfect place to start moving his business toward the other end of the state.
Those familiar with Square Peg will feel right at home in Shelton, as the design of the restaurant will closely resemble their other locations.
"All of our locations are designed so if you walk into any of them, you know you are in a Square Peg," Maffe said. "There's whitewash brick, there's white subway tile, there's gray walls."
While the restaurant will not be game-focused, the Shelton location is planned to feature five or six vintage arcade games such as Pac-Man, as well as weekly entertainment like trivia nights, acoustic music and even bingo, according to Maffe.
"We will have live entertainment just like we do at the other locations," Maffe said, "probably five days a week."
Shelton customers will also be able to enjoy brunch on weekends from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., featuring live DJ music and bottomless mimosas and bloody marys.
"Our whole things is yes, we are a wood-fired Italian restaurant, but it's the experience and the atmosphere," Maffe said. "I always say to people 'good food should be expected.' If I'm going out to dinner and I'm paying for something, good food shouldn't be the exception, it should be the expectation."
The menu at Square Peg features a wide variety of unique pizzas, including the popular "Figgy Piggy" featuring fresh prosciutto, fig compote, fontina cheese, garlic, parmesan cheese and lemon vinaigrette arugula.
Maffe also highlighted the restaurant's wings, which comes in a variety of sauces such as buffalo, BBQ, "peg seasoning," sweet and smoky dry rub and Carolina gold mustard.
"I would stack the wings up against anywhere in the state," Maffe said.
While an exact date for the Shelton restaurant's opening has yet to be officially announced, Square Peg customers everywhere will be able to celebrate with a free treat once it is open.
"One of the things that we do whenever we open a location is we have a day where we give away free cheese pizza to anyone, like a free small cheese pizza," Maffe said. "All you have to do is say the name of the new location."
Square Peg currently operates locations in Berlin, Glastonbury, Newington, Plainville, Storrs and Vernon, as well as one restaurant in Florida.
In addition to Shelton, new Connecticut locations in Preston and Columbia are teased to be opening soon.
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