Business & Tech

Hidden Gems Of Hartford And Tolland Counties

Today's Hidden Gem is celebrating its 100th year in business with a family-fun lineup of events Saturday.

Tim Jensen's profile picture
Tim Jensen, Patch StaffVerified Patch Staff Badge
Today's Hidden Gem is celebrating its 100th year in business with a family-fun lineup of events Saturday.
Today's Hidden Gem is celebrating its 100th year in business with a family-fun lineup of events Saturday. (Tim Jensen/Patch)

ENFIELD, CT — How can a 100-year-old business situated on a Connecticut state route be considered hidden? Several reasons: it is the only business in a roughly quarter-mile segment of Route 5, in a residential area; it is located in a building which had originally been a house, and therefore blends in with its surroundings; whereas Route 5 used to be the main drag from Enfield to East Hartford, most motorists opt to take the faster parallel highway of Interstate 91; and lastly, the shop may be a century old, but it has only been at this site for less than three.

When you do discover this Hidden Gem, and walk through the door at 1695 King Street, you are instantly greeted by arguably the sweetest-smelling place of business in the area, for you have entered Snelgrove's Chocolatier and Florist.

Third-generation owner Tim Snelgrove, store manager Paul Smith and their staff invite all to help them celebrate their centennial anniversary with a full afternoon of special events on Saturday, Aug. 17. A special exhibit will showcase memorabilia and stories from the shop's 100-year journey.

Find out what's happening in Enfieldfor free with the latest updates from Patch.

Among the events will be:

  • noon - ribbon cutting ceremony
  • 1 p.m. - chocolate tasting
  • 2 p.m. - live chocolate dipping demonstration
  • 3 p.m. - florist workshop
  • 4 p.m. - bow making demonstration

The business has a long, interesting history, starting with its founding in 1924 in Windsor by Tim Snelgrove's grandfather, Sydney James Snelgrove, prior to the Great Depression. It moved several times within the town before relocating to Route 20 in East Granby in 2015.

Find out what's happening in Enfieldfor free with the latest updates from Patch.

Tim Snelgrove himself starting making chocolates around age 11. He became formally involved in the family business in his early twenties following the death of his father.

"My father passed away and some other people were operating the business. because my grandmother was still alive," he said. "She was in her 80s or 90; she lived to 102. It was in a time in my life where I was between careers and they said, 'Can you do this thing for me? Can you do that?' And then next thing I know, I'm reopening it and growing."

Snelgrove opened a location in a big Victorian-style building in the Poquonock section of Windsor, across from Poquonock Elementary School.

"We were there for quite a long time, for years," he said. "Then we moved out of there because the owner was passing away and we moved back into Windsor Center. Then we moved on to Mack Street for a couple of years, and we just outgrew it. I decided at that point to split it into two, and we brought the manufacturing to East Granby and kept another retail outlet in a plaza in Windsor Center where we did all the floral stuff. It didn't do that well there, but I ended up doing really, really well. And then, of course, the pandemic hit."

The coronavirus pandemic which started in March 2020 affected all businesses deemed to be "non-essential." Snelgrove's was no exception.

"We were told we can't keep the flower part open because that wasn't considered essential," Snelgrove said. "Food was considered essential and we were food. We're under food manufacturing, so we got to keep this store open, which had its pros and cons. Obviously people expect you to be able to get everything under the sun."

He purchased the former Northern Nurseries building on King Street, adjacent to Metro Park North, in Oct. 2021.

(Tim Jensen/Patch)

____

The Hidden Gems series features out-of-the-way mom and pop restaurants, small specialty stores you may have never heard of, little-known historical markers or beautiful nature spots that may be a bit off the beaten path, all located within Hartford and Tolland counties. Do you have a favorite "hidden gem" in the area that you wish to see featured in this column? Email your ideas to Chris.dehnel@patch.com.

Other Hidden Gems in the series:

2024

2023

2022 and earlier

Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

Related:Patch Exclusives

More from Enfield