Owners of acclaimed CT eatery expanding into prepared food, French bakery business

The owners of an acclaimed restaurant in Wethersfield are expanding in two towns into the prepared meals and French bakery business.

Bryce and Kerri Hardy, owners of The Charles are poised this summer to open Bake Market in both Rocky Hill and Glastonbury.

The couple, married 10 years, are opening in two approximately 25,000-square-foot spaces once occupied by La Piastra, a catering company.

The former owner of the successful La Piastra, Lauren Siegel will work as Bake Market’s corporate catering manager, he said.

Bryce Hardy said the menu of prepared meals is not set yet, but will be influenced by the food at The Charles.

He said The Charles, which he describes as “elevated comfort food,” has been so successful they need more kitchen space and they will get some of that at the Rocky Hill site, which has a kitchen.

The Charles’ pastry chef will create sweet and savory breads and pastries to sell as well.

“We’re super excited to be in both towns,” he said. “They’re our biggest markets (for the Charles) outside of Wethersfield.”

He said residents of both towns “will be very excited” to be able to bring dinner home to their families.

He said The Charles isn’t affordable to everyone and Bake Market, a grab and go, has a “better price point than the restaurant.”

“I think restaurants aren’t for every family,” Bryce Hardy said.

Another person excited about the business expansion is Rocky Hill Mayor Lisa Marotta, who has eaten at The Charles and says, “It’s absolutely delicious.”

Marotta said she’s “thrilled” they’re coming to Silas Deane Highway near Main Street.

“We’ve been working on bringing business to that area,” Marotta said.

She said the town has added “curb appeal” with landscaping, lighting, decorative sidewalks and lamp posts.

The Charles opened in 2020 in the midst of the pandemic and has not only survived, but flourished.

They opened in a commercial space that was once a 1790 home.

Bryce Hardy said opening the restaurant was the next natural step for him after years working in the hospitality field.

The restaurant is named after two of he and Kerri’s grandfathers, both named Charles.

“Two great men in both mine and my wife’s lives,” he said. “It brings our two families together and we focus on family.

Bryce Hardy oversees it all and talks to customers, Kerri is involved with graphic design and concept development. Daughter Charlotte, 9, has a couch in the office.

Bryce Hardy said he loves Bake Market’s logo of BK because those are he and Kerri’s initials.

He said they like to “joke around” and call the restaurant their “love affair.”

He said at The Charles they have both an “amazing” executive chef in Tom Kaldry and a fabulous pastry chef. Both will oversee the culinary aspects of Bake Market, Hardy said.

He said the prepared food sold at Bake Market will be restaurant quality with fresh ingredients that are locally sourced as much as possible.

The stores will also have the top notch “hospitality” of The Charles, he said.

Bryce Hardy said he likes the hospitality aspect of the restaurant business – meeting new people, putting a smile on their faces, helping them enjoy the day.

“The restaurant business is like no other,” he said, noting it’s “never boring” and “sometimes throws curve balls.”