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Our Story

If you're really into homemade beeswax candles, this is the place for you. Come to think of it, if you're trying to single-handedly bring back leg warmers, aspire to be a professional skeet shooter or used to date the bassist in a Foreigner cover band, you'll like it here, too. Because we've worked hard to create a place where just about everyone feels like they belong. Well, everyone except people who say "yellow" when they answer the phone.

How it all started

The Beginning

The Wood-N-Tap is a true Connecticut original. The two partners of this locally-owned restaurant group bring years of restaurant knowledge and experience to the table. 


Phil Barnett attended Central Connecticut State University and spent his college days working at Joe’s Bar and Grill. At school, he rented an apartment from Mike Hamlin. Together this duo founded the original Wood-N-Tap in Hartford in 2002.
 

In addition to restaurant knowledge, Mike Hamlin's interest in real estate and construction is the key to finding suitable locations and transforming the restaurants. Phil Barnett's marketing expertise has made the Wood-N-Tap one of the most visible restaurants in Connecticut.

Since the original Wood-N-Tap opened on Sisson Avenue in Hartford in 2002, the team has opened nine CT locations in Farmington, Southington, Rocky Hill, Vernon, Wallingford, Hamden, Enfield and Newington. In 2023, Mike and Phil launched their first location outside of the Connecticut market in West Springfield, Massachusetts.