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July 12, 2019

Beer garden eyed at Manchester’s former Adams Mill Restaurant

Photo | Eli’s Restaurant Group Eli’s Restaurant Group acquired the former Adams Mill Restaurant in May for $1.4 million.
By Joe Cooper

A New Haven County-based restaurant group is expanding into Hartford County with a new American-style beer garden in Manchester.

Eli’s Restaurant Group, of Hamden, on Friday said it plans to open Elicit Brewing Co. in the recently closed Adams Mill Restaurant at 165 Adams St. in September.

The 16,889-square-foot venue will serve upscale pub food including pizza, brauts, wings, sandwiches, and its seven-barrel brewing style will produce up to six types of beers. It will also serve more than 40 other types of beer, in addition to wine and cocktails.

Elicit’s official launch date will depend on when the restaurant group -- co-owned by Rich Riccitelli and brothers Rick Ciardiello and Peter Ciardiello -- receives state and federal liquor permits through the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau, said Ellis Reilly, the group’s director of development.

Riccitelli and the Ciardiellos acquired the property from Adams Mill Restaurant, which closed after 37 years in operation in late April, in May for $1.4 million, according to the town assessor’s office.

Eli’s Restaurant Group started in 1994 with the opening of Eli’s on Whitney in Hamden. The enterprise now also includes Eli’s Catering and Eli’s Brick Oven Pizza in Hamden, and other Eli’s locations in Orange, Branford and Milford.

In the restaurant business for 25 years, the owners have an entirely different beer and restaurant concept for the new Manchester site, Reilly said. 

The wood-beam enclosed space, which dates back to the 1800s, will center around a large bar surrounded by casual dining seating and will feature high-top tables and large wooden picnic tables to add to the beer-garden theme, he said. The facility will also feature an outdoor patio, retro arcade, and several games including cornhole, giant jenga, ping-pong and shuffleboard.

Reilly said construction crews are hurrying to renovate the large open space for the September launch. 

Upon completion, Elicit will employ at least one former manager from Adams Mill Restaurant and about 40 other part- and full-time employees. It will be open everyday, but lunch will not be served on weekdays. 

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