HSB Makes a Dining Statement

When you think about restaurants and dining experiences, you probably don’t think about insurance companies. But that’s exactly who is behind one of Hartford’s new destination restaurants. Hartford Steam Boiler recently opened The Foundry on the 20th floor of One State Street in downtown Hartford. “We consider one State Street to be one of the preeminent buildings in Harford,” HSB president and CEO Greg Barats told the CBIA BizCast. “We've always had a top tier restaurant in here.” Those restaurants include The Polytechnic Club and On20. Like many restaurants, On20 closed during the COVID-19 pandemic. Nearly five years later, Barats said now was the right time to reopen. “We've been seeing an ongoing reinvestment in the downtown Hartford area,” Barats said. “A lot of other restaurants opening in the area, small businesses opening, more people coming back. We thought, okay, this is the time to do it.” Barats said they used the opportunity to reimagine the restaurant space and pay tribute to the company’s history and the city’s “can do” spirit. “We wanted to make a statement,” he said. “We want to give something back to the community and the capital that I think everybody can be proud of.” The Foundry offers a dining room with panoramic views of the city and multiple spaces that can be used as meeting spaces. Barats said the design honors the city’s industrial and manufacturing heritage. The restaurant also has several nods to HSB’s background, with rooms and areas dedicated to the company’s 158-year history. One room, The Sultana Room, pays tribute to a maritime disaster that led to the company’s founding in 1866. The Sultana was a steamship that was bringing prisoners home after the Civil War. Tragically, the ship was overloaded and its two steam boilers exploded, leading to the single largest maritime loss in U.S. history. Because of that tragedy, the Polytechnic Club, a group of engineers, formed HSB to solve the engineering design flaws. “We feel this restaurant's got a soul and we try to bring that through,” Barats said about the importance of leaning into their history. To help realize the vision of The Foundry, Barats and his team turned to a familiar face to lead the kitchen. Executive chef Jeffrey Lizotte is a Connecticut-native and the previous executive chef of On20. “We interviewed a lot of other chefs in the area,” Barats said. “Jeffrey was our pick. He's a hometown boy. He does exceptional work. He's just a great person, and we think he matched us very well.” Chef Lizotte’s team has created a menu that Barats described as American Contemporary with a little European flair. “Very familiar dishes, but with more of an elevated, exceptional add to it,” he said. While its doors have been open for several weeks, The Foundry celebrated its grand opening March 11 with Lt. Gov. Susan Bysiewicz and Hartford Mayor Arunan Arulampalam. Barats said they’ve been embraced by the community and the restaurant is booked 40 days in advance. Barats said HSB’s and The Foundry's goal is to be part of the community and help Hartford’s resurgence. “I think the more you're involved in, the live, work, play in a city, the more vibrant it can be,” he said. He said with restaurants like The Foundry and others, along with new housing, hotels, and street commerce, the city is returning to that vibrancy. “Every day, every week, every month, we try to be part of that,” he said. “I hope it continues to bring pride, you know, and something to look forward to and come and enjoy here in Hartford.” Related Links: Hartford Steam Boiler Website: https://www.munichre.com/hsb/en.html LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/hsb/ Greg Barats LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/greg-barats/ The Foundry Website: https://thefoundryct.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thefoundryct/ CBIA Website: https://www.cbia.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/cbia/