Beloved Old Diner In Hartford Awarded Millions

HARTFORD, CT — A beloved, but long-abandoned, diner in Connecticut's capital city will be resurrected following state approval last week of a multi-million-dollar grant to fund it.

In March, the state's Community Investment Fund 2030 Board unanimously recommended funding be awarded to help renovate and, eventually, reopen the classic Aetna Diner In Hartford, which is located at 267 Farmington Ave.

Now, following last week's State Bond Commission vote, those funds — totaling $3.1 million — have now been approved and finalized.

The Asylum Hill Neighborhood Association in Hartford will receive $3.1 million for the diner project, which calls for renovating and opening the historic diner and providing local community meeting spaces.

Built in the late 1940s, the classic diner, well known to old-timers as the Aetna Diner but has also been known as the Comet Diner, shuttered in the early 2000s.

It, reportedly, had celebrities from a bygone era eat there, including Eddie Fisher, Zsa Zsa Gabor, and Telly Savalas.

Though born as the Aetna Diner, over the decades it had multiple names as its ownership changed repeatedly.

Gov. Ned Lamont, Senate President Pro Tempore Martin M. Looney, D-New Haven, and Speaker of the House Matt Ritter, D-Hartford, announced the funding June 7.

That's when the State Bond Commission approved the release of approximately $74 million in state funding to support the fourth round of grants under the Community Investment Fund 2030.

The diner was one of four Hartford projects awarded funding and 27 projects statewide getting cash.

This state grant fund was created in 2022 to support economic development in historically underserved communities across Connecticut.

It is overseen by a 21-member board co-chaired by Looney and Ritter and administered by the Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development.

“Each of these grants are focused on infrastructure improvement projects that will enhance the economic vibrancy of historically underserved neighborhoods and help these towns and cities revitalize their economic base,” Lamont said.
"I'm glad that we could partner with each of these organizations on these projects so that we can drive growth in communities across Connecticut.”

The diner wasn't the only Hartford project to receive the State Bond Commissoin OK. Other projects getting funds were:

• The Charter Oak Cultural Center, which is being awarded $6.5 million for the renovatoin and restoration of 21 Charter Oak Ave.

It is the site of Connecticut’s first synagogue is near historic 25 Charter Oak Ave.

The Charter Oak Cultural Center City School for the Arts there will add eight classrooms and update ADA compliance.

• Hartford's Overlook Development Corp., which is getting $5.53 million for the Willow Creek development to fund infrastructure, utilities, and sidewalks in that neighborhood.

• Northeast Neighborhood Partners Inc., which is getting $900,000 for the Hartford Workforce Hub project slated to go in the Swift Factory in the city.

For more information on the State Bond Commission's Community Investment Fund grant awards, click on this link.

From March 13: 'Cash Approved To Fund Historic Hartford Diner's Resurrection'