Arrested restaurant owner Gina Luari recently spoke out about her arrest and the status of her well-known restaurants.
Luari, a West Hartford resident who owns The Place 2 Be restaurants, spoke with both WTNH News 8 and NBC Connecticut this week about her arrest and the status of her restaurants, including the three that have closed.
She told WTNH News 8 that one of the worst moments of her life was the day she was arrested. Not too long ago, she was operating several restaurants in Connecticut, one in Massachusetts and a planned new eatery in Texas.
Luari said her arrest was a misunderstanding, according to her interview with News 8. She said she grabbed a checkbook for an account that had been closed, which led to the larceny charge, according to her media interviews.
“The bank closed the account because we were closed for six months, so there was no activity, so they closed it. So, I did not know at the time,” Luari told NBC CT.
On Sept. 17, Luari, 33, was arrested and charged by East Hartford police with issuing a bad check and second-degree larceny, according to a prior Patch report. Luari wrote a check to the owners of Restaurant Equipment Paradise in East Hartford, a restaurant equipment retailer, for $10,821.66 for the purchase of items there, police said.
“Lauri paid for the equipment with a check that was later returned due to a closed account with insufficient funds,” wrote the EHPD in a release.
A spokesperson for Restaurant Equipment Paradise told NBC CT this week that they have still not been paid by Lauri.
Lauri told NBC Connecticut that she “tried to make it right.”
This summer, the state suspended the sales tax licenses of two “The Place 2 Be” restaurants, including one in West Hartford and one in Hartford.
Court filings show the business has had financial struggles. The business has been the subject of litigation in recent years, including eviction proceedings and civil actions claiming nonpayment of rent.
A complaint was filed in Superior Court in December about the West Hartford property in Blue Back Square, seeking eviction due to rent nonpayment, for example. Court documents show there is an agreement to vacate the premises in West Hartford by March 31, 2026. The landlord for the 5 Constitution Plaza location in Hartford also filed a complaint in 2023 claiming nonpayment of rent.
Luari told News 8 she’s currently operating three restaurants, and she is working to build them back better than ever.
According to the Place 2 Be Restaurant’s website as of Friday night, you can still order online at 50 Memorial Road, West Hartford, 5 Constitution Plaza, Hartford and 338 Elm Street, New Haven.
The Place 2 Be restaurant’s menu features selections like brunch nachos, breakfast tacos, quesadillas, waffles and pancakes, mimosas and sangria, according to the website.
Patch editors Michael Lemanski and Michelle Tuccitto Sullo contributed to this story.
