Hartford's only downtown grocery store, The Market at Hartford 21, announced Friday it has closed its doors for good.
"After much heartfelt thought, Kellanne and I have come to the conclusion that operating the market is not in the best interests of our family," said Ryan Jones, co-owner of the market.
Jones and his wife opened The Market at Hartford 21 on Asylum Street in March. It was touted as an engine to lure people to live downtown, but the store struggled to find consistent customers over its first few months in business.
The store closed in Sept. to refine its business model and never reopened.
"Launching and sustaining a new business is always a daunting task, and our current economic climate has made such an endeavor even more challenging," Hartford Mayor Pedro Segarra said.
The mayor said the City will work with the Northland Group, the owners of the Hartford 21 building, to find a new operator to take over the market and make it work.
"We are grateful to the City for the opportunity to be the first to explore running an urban full-scale grocery store in the city and we are confident that the next operators can create the model to make it work," Jones said.
