The Charles, the American comfort food restaurant that made its home in a restored 1790 house on Main Street in Old Wethersfield, has permanently closed after six years. Owner Bryce D. Hardy announced the closure, pointing to both the physical constraints of operating in a historic building and a financial setback tied to a related bakery business that the restaurant never fully recovered from.
Hardy and his wife, Kerri Hardy, opened The Charles in June 2020, serving American comfort food, according to Hartford Business. The restaurant occupied the historic 1790 E.G. Robbins House on Main Street, as NBC Connecticut reported. CT Insider notes the restaurant built its reputation on American comfort food made with local ingredients.
A Historic Building's Hidden Costs
Hardy said limitations tied to the historic structure made it difficult to keep the business running long-term. Those included kitchen capacity, accessibility and the restaurant's ability to grow its operations, per the same NBC Connecticut report. Running a full-service restaurant inside a centuries-old building, in other words, left no sustainable path forward once those constraints caught up with the business.
The property itself carries plenty of local history. It later became known as the Pyquaug Inn, a popular event venue, before Hardy's restaurant moved in. On a busy night, The Charles could host roughly 200 guests at once, according to a 2021 Hartford Courant dining review that called the restaurant the most exciting new addition to the Hartford area dining scene in years, describing its guiding concept as elevated American comfort food.
A Bakery Venture That Never Paid Off
Hardy also pointed to a separate business as a turning point. He opened Bake Market in 2024, but the opening did not meet expectations, according to CT Insider. The Charles never fully recovered from the financial setback of closing it, according to the Hartford Business report. A related Bake Market location in Glastonbury had opened that same year at 63 Hebron Ave., Suite G, in the former LaPiastra space, carrying bread, pastries, chef-prepared meals and gluten-free options, the Hartford Courant reported in August 2024.
Hardy's dream, in his own words, had been to create a place in Old Wethersfield for gathering, family celebrations, food and hospitality. He has said that navigating the deaths of both of his parents, who each battled dementia, while running the restaurant was difficult, and that family and relationships ultimately matter more than business.
What Happens to Gift Cards and Bookings
For customers holding unused gift cards, the restaurant asked them to email with their contact information and card details; no reimbursement plan has been announced, according to Hartford Business. Private-event bookings and deposits are being reviewed individually, the outlet reported. No plans to reopen elsewhere have been announced.
The closure adds The Charles to the ranks of restaurants that don't make it past their first several years in business, a pattern the Auguste Escoffier School of Culinary Arts has noted affects more than half of new restaurants by their fifth year. For Old Wethersfield, though, the loss is a personal one: a restaurant once hailed as one of the most exciting openings the Hartford area had seen closed after occupying a house with roots stretching back more than two centuries.
