2 Qdoba locations in Connecticut close

[giantsfan2016]

Two locations of the Qdoba Mexican Grill chain closed in Connecticut in Hartford and Westport.

FROM COURANT.COM

Qdoba Mexican Grill Closes On Hartford's Front Street
by Kenneth R. Gosselin kgosselin@courant.com

Hartford’s Front Street entertainment district has lost its second original tenant: Qdoba Mexican Grill.

It was not clear Thursday why the restaurant closed, and a Qdoba spokeswoman did not provide a comment on the shutdown of the fast-casual restaurant.

At least one other Qdoba â€" in Westport â€" also has closed recently, according to a published report. But a call to the Qdoba in West Hartford was answered by a worker.

Front Street landlord and developer HB Nitkin Group said Thursday a replacement for Qdoba has been lined up, but it was too soon to announce the new tenant.

Nixs Closes On Hartford's Front Street
Front Street landlord and developer HB Nitkin Group said Thursday a replacement for Qdoba has been lined up, but it was too soon to announce the new tenant.

The closing follows the shuttering of Nix’s, another original tenant at Front Street, late last year. That space remains vacant.

The struggling Qdoba chain â€" owned by Jack in the Box Inc. since 2003 â€" was sold to private-equity firm Apollo Global Management earlier this year for about $305 million. Same-store sales had declined in three of the four previous quarters when the sale was announced late last year.

Apollo did not return a call and an email seeking comment Thursday.

The Front Street entertainment district landed its first tenant in 2012, the Spotlight Movie Theater. The area, roughly 65,000 square feet of storefront space, also includes Infinity Music Hall, The Capital Grille, Ted’s Montana Grill and Bear’s Smokehouse. Of the total space, about 5,000 square feet has never had a tenant.The entertainment district is the first of four phases of Front Street, each with a portion of storefront space that has yet to lease: the Front Street Lofts apartments, the UConn downtown campus building and a fourth phase of apartments along Arch Street now under construction.