Page 16 - BusinessWest January 20, 2025

An employee at the Chicopee location presses a panini, a concept that has done well in several different markets where the chain now has a presence.
Photo by Bob Zemba, Simple Truth Imaging
tions that made sense: Enfield, Hadley, Marlborough, the Trolley Yard in Worcester, Corbin’s Corner in West Hartford, the jughandle off the turnpike exit in Westfield, Memorial Avenue in Chicopee, and space that was part of Table & Vine in West Springfield.
Several locations marked milestones, if you will. Enfield, which became a real confidence builder, marked the first time the Hot Table brand was taken to an area loaded with fast-casual competi- tion, such as Panera Bread, Five Guys, and others. Chicopee was the first standalone, new-construction site. Marlborough marked the
first venture to the eastern part of the state, and Worcester marked the next major population center.
Calcasola joined the business as a third part- ner in 2013, just as Watroba was essentially moving on to something else, and Chris gave up his day job and made Hot Table his sole focus in 2018. And over the years, the venture has become a true family affair, with Chris’s wife, Cara, now serving as HR director, and several members of the second generation taking jobs during school vacations and the summer.
The past few years have been extremely busy, with the opening of five new restaurants in 19 months — Westfield, Chicopee, West Spring- field, and Franklin, as well as Manchester, Conn., a time that has been followed by a period of absorbing such rapid and profound growth.
“It’s like snake eating a rabbit — it takes time to digest all that,” said John, adding that the cost of each buildout grew higher as inflation climbed. And while those costs have stabilized somewhat, they remain high, making additional expansion a trickier proposition.
“We decided to pump the brakes and evaluate what we were doing because the return on investment was a different proposi- tion,” he explained. “Something that cost $450,000 in 2022 is all of a sudden costing $800,000 in 2024.”
While hitting pause in many respects, the partners continue to search for opportunities for continued expansion, while also looking at the menu in an effort to identify ways to provide more value to consumers and create efficiencies.
“We always want to be nimble — the market changes quickly; that’s one of the things COVID taught us,” Chris said. “We always have our eyes open
“We always want to be nimble — the market changes quickly; that’s
one of the things COVID taught us. We always have our eyes open and our ears to the ground, watch what’s happening in other cities and with trends, and not chase every shiny object, especially when
it comes to the menu. Do what you do, and do it well.”
and our ears to Entrepreneurs
the ground, watch Continued on page 18
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