Iconic Hartford Seafood Restaurant Announces Permanent Closure

One of the largest seafood restaurants in Connecticut has just announced their permanent closure on social media. This one really hurts, it's has been one of my favorite restaurants since they opened almost 30 years ago.

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The Chowder Pot is located right off I-91/Rt.5 at 165 Brainard Road in Hartford, you may remember them by their full name - U.S.S. Chowder Pot IV. There were a few Chowder Pot restaurants around Connecticut, and Chowder Pot III in Branford is still going strong. According to the current owners, the Hartford location is doomed.

According to the owners, the building was originally built in 1965, operating as a steakhouse for nearly 30 years, until the Chowder Pot transformation in 1994. I worked in Hartford for most of the 90's, and the Chowder Pot was such a great place to stuff our faces after a long day of radio and traffic reporting.

I can attest to the condition of the facilities, it's massive, and chances are you might have caught Joey and Maria's Comedy Italian Wedding there, it played in their banquet room for years. My wife and I recently stopped into our old favorite, and yeah, it looked like we were stepping into a vintage smoker's lounge from the 70's and 80's. The live lobster tank next to the hostess station was always the main attraction, the décor was nautical, with a ship's wheel, some buoys and a seagull statue here and there. How it looked never really mattered to me as long as the whole bellies were nice, and the Admiral's Platter wasn't too overcooked. I can see the challenges of maintaining a 60-year-old facility.

There is no official closing date, although the owners hint that it may be sooner rather than later, and urge everyone to come in for one last meal. It's a sad day for seafood lovers around Connecticut.