Where Are They Now? New Haven Establishments 2021

Several years ago, a series of “Do you remember when…” conversations piqued my curiosity about my college stomping ground, New Haven. Web searches followed and the original New Haven Establishments list was created. A few years later the list expanded to include more locations. Be sure to check out both of them as you’ll find my commentary and some cool links including one to a video of the Nirvana concert at The Moon in 1991. 

A recent visit to New Haven, several web searches, and the New Haven Independent allowed me to bring you the third edition of the list. Send updates my way and please share your thoughts in the comments section of this post. (You can post anonymously.)

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New Haven
A Changing Urban Landscape

Some of these places are go-to spots from my college days, others are a foggy memory, and a few mean little to me personally, but I enjoyed learning of their decades long history and reading stories of what makes them meaningful to others. With these ideas in mind, I lament their closing.

A lot of the shuttered locations were cornerstones of the New Haven community offering a sense of connectedness not easily found these days. The greasy spoon where you recognize folks and the waitress calls you hon’. The record store where actual people gave recommendations and talked about music. Venues where you saw bands, places where the fringe gathered and alternate ideas were hatched. Much of this is gone. Can it be replaced? Were these places as magical as we remember them? Are we all suckers for nostalgia? I know I am.

Overall, New Haven is much like it was years ago but with the edges smoothed out in places. In some spots this is good but other places have been polished to the point of being dull. Don’t get me started on the mall-like Anywhere USA atmosphere on Broadway. Out with Cutler’s, York Square Cinema, the Yankee Doodle. In with J Crew, Lulu Lemon, Patagonia. 

New Haven Establishments 2021
Items in parenthesis are closed

Westville

Westville Community Nursery School (Josey Wales Saloon)
(500 Blake Street Café)

 

Whalley

882 – (Cape Codder, Delaney’s)
879 - New West Cafe
520 – (Village Pub)
399- (The Moon)
379 – Edge of Woods (I just learned that this space was once a theatre. It has many names over the years and was the Agora Ballroom in the early 80s.)
334 – (Third World International Café)
101 - (Rubber Match – 1972-2008)

Broadway

When I was gathering info for this list, I learned that Barrie Booters, a store selling custom men’s shoes, operated in the Broadway area from 1934 to 2003 and Whitlock’s Typewriter shop closed in 2013. I also discovered a great short film, On Broadway - see bottom of the post for the link.

77 – Barnes & Noble (Yale Co-op – 1885-1997)
65 – Apple store
61 - (York Square Cinema – 1970-2005)
59- (Rhymes)
57 – Campus Customs (Boola Boola Shop)
53 - (Educated Burgher – 1980-2017)
45- (Broadway Pizza)
43 – Urban Outfitters
33-(Cutler’s – 1948-2012)
29 – J Crew
27 – Barbour
19 – Lulu Lemon
1 – Patagonia (Au Bon Pain, Demery’s)
(Broadway & Elm – Yankee Doodle - 1950-2008)

Elm

372 – Three Sheets (Rudy’s 1934-2010)
371 - Alpha Delta Pizza

338 – Box 63 (Fitzwilly’s)
316 – Ivy Wok (Dailly Caffe)
272 – LL Bean

York

300 – Toad’s
288 – Yorkside Pizza
280 – Ashley’s
262 - J Press
194 – Willoughby’s Coffee (Gentree’s – This was a popular restaurant and before that a clothing store with the same name.) Willoughby’s also has a location at 258 Church. I don’t remember where their original store was located.

Howe

105 - Kasbah Garden Cafe

68 – (Miya’s Sushi – 1982 - 2020)
58 – Mamoun’s
43 - (Blessings)

College

272 – Anchor Spa – 1939-2015 and 2016 to present
266 – Elm City Social

247 - Shubert Theatre
238 - College Street Music Hall (Formerly Palace, Sherman, and Rialto Theatres)

Temple

144 – Elm City Tap Room (Russian Lady)

State Street

250 – Café 9

Chapel

1228 – Tandor (Elm City Diner)
1227 – Rudy’s - New location since 2010
1171 – Group W Bench
1151 –Duncan Hotel is now the Graduate Hotel; The Old Heidelberg

The building first opened in 1894 as the Majestic Apartments. In the 1920s, it was sold and turned into a hotel. At some point, it turned into part-hotel, part-single-room-occupancy boarding house and operated this way until 2017, when it was purchased by the Graduate folks displacing the 45 people who lived there.

The Graduate opened in 2019 and converted the basement back into old The Old Heidelberg, which operated in New Haven from 1757-1991 (According to a great article from the Daily Nutmeg, the Heidelberg was originally located on Temple Street. They moved to Park Street in 1871 and to their current location in 1959). The basement was Thai Taste from 1991-2017.

1140 –Book Trader Cafe

1104 - Harvest Wine Bar (Scoozi)
1082 – Atticus Café and Bookstore
1032 – Union League (Sherman Tavern)

1008 - (Copper Kitchen - 1966-2010)
1000 – Clair’s Corner Copia
990 – Ordinary (Richter’s – 1983-2011)
968 – (Ann Taylor – 1954-2020 – While I don’t lament the closing of a chain store, I learned that this was the first Ann Taylor store. Another New Haven first.)
847 – Institute Library

Crown Street

263 – Louie’s Lunch
254 - Bar
239 – (Boppers, Clarence’s Court Jester)
216 – Uptown Upscale Lounge (The Palms, Hippo Club)
196 – (Le Peep)
130 – (The Grotto)

Park

161 – (Viva Zapata – 1974-2020)

Audubon

104 - Koffee? (The Foundry Café)

Whitney

74 – (Clark’s Dairy Luncheonette - 1935-2010) Eva Geetz, New Haven’s own Sarah Vowell, writes about it here. It wasn’t until I discovered this article that I realized what this location meant to so many people.

Pizza Places

For the most part, the classic pizza places have survived.

• Pepe’s – 157 Wooster Street
• Sally’s – 237 Wooster Street
• Modern – 874 State Street
• Yorkside – 288 York Street
• (Naples Pizza, 90 Wall Street, 1948-2019)
• Alpha Delta – 371 Elm Street – Located across from the original Rudy’s, this was the late-night pizza spot back in my college days. I don’t remember if it was good because it was good, or it was good because it was open, and it was just what one needs at 2 a.m. after a night out.

Industrial New Haven

This is one of the first times I really thought about New Haven’s history as an industrial city. Remnants of these days still exist – a few have been turned into historical sites, some have been repurposed, and others are falling to ruin. It was interesting exploring and it would be fun to do more of it. Here are a few spots– I’m sure there are more stories out there.

New Haven Clock Factory, 133 Hamilton, operated from 1866-1956 and had many lives after the factory shut its doors. Over the years it has drawn artist, eccentrics, the counterculture, and more.  (https://www.newhavenindependent.org/index.php/archives/entry/artists_go_back_/)

The factory was the Brick N' Wood International Café in the 1980s (a venue for hard core punk shows during the week and an upscale R&B club on the weekends) and Kurt’s 2, a discrete LGBTQ club in 1990s. The building is now being turned into (you guessed it) boutique apartments and lofts.

The New Haven Museum series has a series of videos about the underground, post-industrial history of the New Haven Clock Company factory.

Winchester Repeating Arms Company operated its factory on Winchester Avenue and Munson Street from 1866-2006. I heard factory was being repurposed into lofts, so Mike and I went out to find it.

After exploring the mansions on Hillhouse and St Ronan streets and strolling through the park near Science Hill, we headed towards the factory. As we approached from the east, we came to the abandoned factory. A smattering of graffiti was slashed across the old bricks, broken windows dotted the façade, trees and weeds were overtaking the property and, a dank smell seeped from the space. It was a bit creepy, so we were surprised to find that the lofts were part of the same building.

The building is U-shaped with the bottom of the U the abandoned factory we came across, and the sides of the U the lofts. A courtyard sits in the middle. The place was nice enough but not overly stylish or eye-catching. The chatter on the internet is filled with opinions – great repurposing of an eyesore, another example of gentrification pushing out all but the rich. One nauseating piece of fluff is found was here https://www.hiredevinemery.com/winchesterlofts “The historical renovation of the Winchester Repeating Arms Factory is the apartment choice for people who prefer luxury products with soul.”

Luxury with a bit of soul mere steps away for an abandoned factory? Go figure. As the saying goes, “there’s no accounting for people’s taste.” 

A stroll down the repurposed Farmington Canal Trail brought us back to the main part of the city.

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Elm City Resources

If Elm City nostalgia has grabbed you, here are a few things you might want to check out. 

• A full list of New Haven posts on this blog is here: http://annvinciguerra.blogspot.com/search/label/New%20Haven 

• New Haven Independent – This online alternative newspaper is a good source for news and happenings. 

•  Between Two Rock - A great New Haven blog by a local.

• Lost in New Haven is Robert Greenberg’s growing collection of Elm City memorabilia. The collection will soon be announcing the location of it permanent home.

• Elm City lovers and anyone interested in urban development should check out the documentary On Broadway. https://vimeo.com/231644695 It addresses big questions about changing urban landscapes and the businesses that help form a location’s character. It takes a look at local businesses in the Broadway area of New Haven – many that have been around for decades and are entrenched in the community. The film examines the global trend towards the familiar and predictable and explores the real and metaphorical the price of this change. We may never feel completely comfortable with change or precisely identify what gives certain places “character,” but On Broadway offers a chance to think about these ideas.