Connecticut
CT restaurant reveals ‘sacrifice’ for special neighbors by closing ‘at its peak.’ And a hope to move
Yes, there are restaurants across Connecticut that are closing because of lagging business or changing tastes.
But in the case of J Restaurant Bar’s closure, they are actually, “on top of our game,” said owner Jordan Dikegoros.
“It’s nice to jump out on top,” he said. “Our business is at its peak, which makes it that much harder.”
They’re jumping out now, for the sake of the children at Connecticut Children’s Medical Center, but are also shopping for a new location.
This week the restaurant of 54 years, an “oasis” to hospital visitors and staff-announced their closure for July 3 to make way for a parking garage to serve CCMC, located across the street.
The plan was in place three years ago and Dikegoros said he received a “fair deal” to sell four parcels.
But as closure time draws near, it’s “bittersweet,” not because of potential lost profit, but because of the close connections he’s made with the hospital and families whose children are being treated across the street at the children’s hospital. In addition, plenty of visitors come from Hartford Hospital, also across the street, Dikegoros said.
“It’s so much more than a restaurant,” Dikegoros said. “We’re an oasis for families. “We’re not pushing specials. We’re comforting them by giving them a place to escape reality for half an hour.”
Yes, the casual restaurant has pizza, Italian dishes, steak, seafood, and sandwiches.
But there were also lots of hugs that came with many customers who shared their poignant stories and deepest feelings. Dikegoros said they ate, returned, often with the healed child, and in some cases he’s become personal friends.
John Caezza and his wife, Dianne, of Farmington were at CCMC for two stints, 10 months at a time while their son was being treated.
“I struggle to call it a restaurant because it’s so much more,” John Caezza said. “The community and the city are losing a true gem.”
The Caezzas ate at J Restaurant Bar every night during their stay except Sundays, as the eatery was closed. John Caezza said no matter how hard one tries, there’s no hiding the lanyard hospital pass for returning visitors.
Dikegoros would connect families with one another to share stories, know they weren’t alone; seat them in a quiet spot for privacy if they needed it, listened to stories. In the case of the Caezzas who were there so often, if they were looking for something new on the menu, the restaurant would make anything they wanted, John Caezza said.
As for location, John Caezza said it was comforting to know they could “escape” for an hour or two with their son right across the street.
“It’s just the environment they created,” he said. “My wife and I would have gone insane if it wasn’t for that place. It’s a special place.”
Caezza said that with all the hours spent there he witnessed so many acts of kindness on the restaurant’s part, including donating hundreds of pizzas to the hospital and emergency first responders.
At some point the restaurant even constructed a New Year’s Eve Ball to “drop” for the kids across the street during the holiday.
The restaurant has been in the family for 54 years, open originally as Pizza Plus. The name changed in 2007 and Dikegoros has been running it for 37 years. The “J” in the name is for Jordan.
He said they have a great relationship with the hospital, its employees and patient visitors.
Dikegoros said he made a promise years ago to a former CCMC CEO, “When you guys expand I’ll be here for you.”
By selling the properties to LAZ parking for the parking garage, he is making good on that promise.
“We sacrificed for the children’s hospital…They’ve been great neighbors,” he said, noting there was really nowhere else to put the garage that will add 910 spaces.
“As the time is winding down, it’s getting a little emotional,” Dikegoros said.
While the COVID-19 pandemic killed many restaurant businesses, they never closed and the restaurant thrived, Dikegoros said.
Early on in the pandemic they created an outdoor eating area. At the peak they provided individual meals to go for hospital staff funded by donations, including some of their own. The business uptick never stopped, he said.
Dikegoros said they are hoping to reopen on the first floor of the parking garage, but that’s at least two years out until it’s built. They are currently located at 297 Washington St.
Meanwhile, they’ve been shopping for another location in the same Frog Hollow neighborhood as well as in suburbs so they can open sooner.
It could result in two J Restaurant Bar establishments, he said.
Earlier last year, Connecticut Children’s held a groundbreaking ceremony for a new $326 million clinical tower, the largest expansion to the hospital since construction began on the current building in 1994.
As part of the expansion, the hospital teamed up with LAZ parking to construct a new parking garage and pedestrian walkway, to accommodate for the increased traffic.
The restaurant announced on Facebook this week that they will have a final full dinner service on June 29. July 1, 2, 3rd will be modified hours and menus.
If you grew up in North Carolina, you don’t just eat fast food — you inherit it. The first time I walked into a Connecticut drive-thru, I realized something that shocked my younger self: I missed home because I missed the food. Connecticut may pride itself on being the Pizza Capital of the United States, but for anyone raised in the South, that crown doesn’t solve the state’s biggest problem — it lacks the fast-food culture that keeps everyday meals fun, comforting and quick.
Before Nutmeggers fire their ovens to defend New Haven, let me acknowledge the obvious: Connecticut has world-class pizza. The state is so proud of it that the governor’s office issued a press release doubling down on the title, even noting that there are 1,376 pizza restaurants statewide and 63 in New Haven alone.
And yes, the pies are incredible. Many are handmade, cooked in old ovens and worth the wait.
But that’s the point: You have to wait. A lot.
Most weekends, you’ll stand in line at Pepe’s longer than it takes to drive from New Britain to Hartford. Connecticut pizza may be extraordinary, but it’s not fast food. And it can’t replace what the South does best: comfort meals you can get in minutes.
As a North Carolina native now living in Connecticut, here are three things this state needs to truly level up its food game:
- A legendary fast-food chain — ideally Bojangles.
Southerners don’t go to Bojangles. We return to it. It’s fried chicken that tastes like home, biscuits you can’t replicate, and seasoned fries that make road trips worth it.
Connecticut may not realize it, but people here miss it too. Some residents literally drive from Connecticut to North Carolina just for Bojangles, as shown in this Reddit thread from transplanted Southerners longing for a “Bojangles fix.” Another Reddit post raves about trying Bojangles for the first time.
Even YouTube creators have jumped in, praising the chain with videos like this review of its famous chicken and biscuits.
There’s also a full breakdown of the chain’s significance in “The Untold Truth of Bojangles,” which you can read here. For an outside perspective, a Connecticut-based writer included Bojangles in a ranking of the best Southern chains.
And recently, Bojangles made business news when reports suggested the company is up for sale — a reminder of how culturally important it is to its fans.
Bottom line: Bojangles has more than 800 locations across 17 states, a loyal fan base and a flavor profile the Northeast simply doesn’t match.
- More variety. The South’s fast-food universe is huge.
A writer who lived in both New England and the South described the contrast clearly in this Business Insider piece: “The fast-food options are seemingly endless in the South.”
North Carolina has Cook Out, Zaxby’s, Biscuitville, Smithfield’s Chicken ’N Bar-B-Q, and more. Connecticut has far fewer regional chains, meaning fewer signature flavors and fewer low-cost comfort foods. It’s not just about fried chicken — it’s about choice.
- A stronger culture of quick, flavorful meals.
Fast food in N.C. isn’t just food — it’s rhythm. It’s grabbing a Cajun Filet Biscuit before school, hitting Cook Out after a late game or stopping at Bojangles on road trips because you know exactly what that first bite will taste like. Connecticut leans heavily on sit-down meals and pizza culture. Great traditions, but not always practical for families, students or workers looking for fast, inexpensive meals on the go.
The Counterargument: But Connecticut Has Pizza.
True — Connecticut has some of the best pizza in the country, and locals love it fiercely. But pizza isn’t filling the same role Bojangles does in North Carolina. It’s not a drive-thru meal; it’s not a cultural touchstone, and it doesn’t come with a sweet tea strong enough to fix a bad day. Pizza can be phenomenal while still leaving a gap in the food landscape.
The Solution
It’s time for Connecticut to welcome a major Southern chain, ideally Bojangles, and embrace the culture that comes with it. Even a single location would bring new flavors, new customers, new jobs and maybe even a new sense of identity around quick comfort food. Connecticut doesn’t have to stop loving pizza. But it can expand its palate — and its drive-thru options.
Because here’s the truth that no Connecticut resident wants to hear from a Southerner: Your pizza is amazing. But you have no idea how good life can be with a Bo-Berry Biscuit.
Max Frazier is a sophomore, a Blue Devils basketball player and a proud North Carolinian studying communication at Central Connecticut State University.
BURLINGTON, Conn. (WFSB) – Connecticut State Police are investigating a suspicious incident at a residence on Case Road in Burlington.
Multiple state troopers and police vehicles were seen at the home conducting an investigation. A viewer reported seeing nine police cars and numerous troopers at the scene.
State police said there is no threat to the public at this time. The investigation is ongoing.
No additional details about the nature of the suspicious incident have been released.
Copyright 2026 WFSB. All rights reserved.
Connecticut
Ecuadorian national with manslaughter conviction sentenced for illegally reentering United States through Connecticut
NEW HAVEN, CT. (WFSB) – An Ecuadorian national with a manslaughter conviction was sentenced to 12 months and one day in prison for illegally reentering the United States through Connecticut after being deported.
40-year-old Darwin Francisco Quituizaca-Duchitanga was sentenced and had used the aliases Darwin Duchitanga-Quituizaca and Juan Mendez-Gutierrez.
U.S. Border Patrol first encountered Quituizaca in December 2003, when he used the alias Juan Mendez-Gutierrez and claimed to be a Mexican citizen. He was issued a voluntary return to Mexico.
Connecticut State Police arrested him in March 2018 on charges related to a fatal crash on I-91 in North Haven in March 2017. He was using the alias Darwin Duchitanga-Quituizaca at the time.
ICE arrested him on an administrative warrant in Meriden in August 2018 while he was awaiting trial in his state case. An immigration judge ordered his removal to Ecuador in September 2018, but he was transferred to state custody to face pending charges.
Quituizaca was convicted of second-degree manslaughter in January 2019 and sentenced to 30 months in prison.
After his release, ICE arrested him again on an administrative warrant in Meriden in August 2023. He was removed to Ecuador the next month.
ICE arrested Quituizaca again on a warrant in Meriden on June 28th, 2025, after he illegally reentered the United States. He pleaded guilty to unlawful reentry on July 30th.
He has been detained since his arrest. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement investigated the case.
The case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative by the Department of Justice to combat illegal immigration and transnational criminal organizations.
Copyright 2026 WFSB. All rights reserved.
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