Downtown along McLevy Green is undergoing a brighter face. New housing units, a comedy club expected to open soon and the grand opening of Harlan Haus German beer hall on Wednesday anchor the revitalized McLevy Square area.
Chef Stephen Lewandowski, who operates restaurants in Stamford and Norwalk, will open his “brews, brats and Bridgeport” experience in the former People’s Bank building at State and Main. Check out menus and more here.
Jessica Ryan of CT Bites has more:
Five years ago Chef Stephen Lewandowski launched Harlan Social in the heart of the new and emerging South End area in Stamford. Named after his son Harlan, the modern American gastropub quickly rose into a mainstay for locals. Harlan Publick would open next, in the heart of SoNo. The local favorite offers creative comfort food and a wide offering of beverages. On January 10th, Harlan Haus, will open to the public. The German-inspired Bier and Wurst hall in the historic People’s Bank Building built in 1917.
A century later the well preserved, 7,000-square-foot space perfectly marries the historic Neoclassical elements with today’s modern influences. Most of the building’s architectural details remain well preserved from the elegant light fixtures above, to the curved teller bank wall that separates the bar area from the rest of the restaurant. Harlan Haus is poised for success with its promise to offer superb, innovative, family-friendly fare in a social setting.
Full story here.
Best of luck to this new business. I will be there Wednesday to celebrate their Grand opening as I have for every new business that opens in Bridgeport. It is my hope that this incarnation of Peoples Bank will be a huge success. I imagine it will, as finally, Millennials and families will be the focus. The comedy club and the Amphitheater will help the goal of making downtown an entertainment destination. I am hopeful that the Poli / Majestic project comes to fruition. More importantly, the two 18 story towers will bring much needed life to the downtown as well as change the skyline. Bridgeport ‘s suburbs are building towers. I think it is time for the largest urban center in the state to start pushing these.
Back to Harlan Haus German Beer Hall, I am very excited and I am certain I will be seeing many,many many familiar faces. Probably only 1 or 2 from this blog.
Hope to see everyone there! 🙂
I’ll be the first to let you know of a new hospital opening in Bridgeport. You can be there for the grand opening! Maybe you will be the grand opening.
Viel Glück in diesem neuen Unterfangen.
All the best,sounds great!
Schnitzel! Lederhosen! Grab an accordion, let’s get down and boogie ’til we puke!
Happy New Year Steve. With three or four posts, do we get the idea that you have moved on to another community for residence and taxpaying, but after a cooling down period are back to “finding a life” in Bridgeport??
I could never get you to deal with “dollars and sense” in a manner meaningful to OIB readership. But since you have admitted to attending every “Grand Opening” in Bridgeport (and will be present on Wednesday for this reason), perhaps you will take a look at your calendars for the past several years. There have been numerous openings at which you have been present enjoying the initial marketing efforts of businesses. How many have you attended? How many of those are still open and prospering? (How many closings have you noticed of those same businesses? Any idea why they failed? There happen to be more than one reason often.) But insight into how a ‘newbusiness’ is prepared to deal with the issues and concerns facing all, can be helpful, rather than merely hopeful, one of your favorite words.
Finally, would you attempt to explain the meaning of two phrases in your observation:
“Millenials and families will be the focus” and later, about ‘familiar faces’, “probably only 1 or 2 from this blog”??? Would you provide your “man on the street” most objective estimation of the makeup of readers (99%) and writers (1%) of OIB?? Time will tell.
JOHN MARSHALL LEE, Downtown has lost many excellent eateries in the past. The answer is the same answer I have given ad nauseum on this blog. HOUSING< HOUSING Market rate HOUSING- 1600 units at least. This is what downtown needs. Perception and image building.
Better get started on a business plan, completing the SBA loan application.
Anytime a new venue like this opens in Bridgeport it is a good thing. Let’s hope they worked out the issue of parking and safety especially with the warmer weather. There will be other events going on in the area. One issue that will harm business is if people don’t feel safe or that have to worry about their vehicles.
There are those who feel Bridgeport is not safe because of its reputation and being a victim of a crime or close to a crime victim will only solidify their fears.
Being robbed or having your car stolen or vandalized is major concern. Does anyone know how the New Haven Police deals with their clubs and social places?
Perhaps Bridgeport could mirror theirs.
I wish them all the best. Downtown Bridgeport is seeing a bit of a renaissance. City Hall can’t take much credit, what with the mayor gallivanting about the state in search of an ego fix (“No applause, just throw money”).
I hope this place does great. To be honest, the only place I go around downtown is Brewport (sometimes the Columbian place). I normally stick to my own neighborhood (BR). I will try Harlan Haus for sure. The owner is a cool guy. I met him volunteering once at a school event.