Greater New Haven Chamber of Commerce issued the following announcement on April 7.
Torrance Flowers was hard to miss. His laugh was booming — you could hear it across the room, even over the clanging silverware and raucous chatter that filled the back bar room of the smokehouse restaurant.
Richlin Morrow was everywhere. Somehow, in the background of every photo from that night, you can see her warm smile and listening eyes, as she greeted and acquainted herself with the many faces who showed up.
She’s a nurse. He works in media consulting for an audio entertainment company. They’ve been friends for years. Until bumping into each other Thursday, they never thought their business would overlap.
Where she works, at the New Haven Job Corps Center, Morrow said, she has high schoolers who need jobs. At his place, Audacy Inc., Flowers said, they have jobs for high schoolers.
Flowers and Morrow started making plans. And after a two-year pandemic pause, Business After Hours was back, swinging.
That working match was made during happy hour on a Wednesday at Bear’s Smokehouse Barbecue at DISTRICT on James Street.
Business networkers in outfits that ranged from business formal to T‑shirt-practical wore sticker name tags and exchanged business cards. There were high heels, mustaches, salmon pink, Apple watches, lots of introductions, and many more handshakes. Hands held pints of draft beer, glasses of wine, and plates with Buffalo chicken dip, meatballs, sausage, and celery sticks. Rich pig-skin smoke filled the air, along with the body heat of a busy crowd.
The Greater New Haven Chamber of Commerce (GNHCC) was hosting its first in-person Business After Hours (BAH) since 2020. The back room was reserved for the event, which began right after work at 5 p.m. Attendees registered at the entrance to the bar, to collect their sticker identifier and drop a business card in the raffle pot.
Over 80 people registered for the event, according to Betsy Herlihy, New Haven engagement & business development director at GNHCC. Before the pandemic, events like these saw between 40 and 50 people. Herlihy said the high turnout could be attributed to a collective yearning to get back out, or because of the location at Bear’s.
Garrett Sheehan, president & CEO of the GNHCC, interrupted the social hour with an announcement on the mic.
“We’ll get back to networking in just a moment,” Sheehan said. He thanked the manager at Bear’s, Sam Barnett, and announced that the New Haven public school science fair is looking for judges, encouraging attendees to get involved.
He drew the raffle winner, who received tickets to a dinner auction & comedy event on Saturday to raise money for the New Reach emergency housing agency. The ticket to “Stand Up Against Homelessness featuring Jim Breuer” is worth $200.
As Sheehan promised, mingling resumed after his brief remarks. Individuals hovered behind others, waiting for a conversational opening to greet a friend or introduce themselves to someone important. Navigating the space became difficult, as swarms of chatting groups and high-tops full with seated people created obstacles in the tight space.
Babs Alexander (pictured above) said this was her first time at a Chamber of Commerce event like this one. She is the founder and CEO of Arts in CT, which recently moved from Milford to Westville. She’s an opera singer; her New Haven foundation, Westville Performing Arts Center, hosts classes for students of all ages to learn dance, theatre, musical instruments, and visual composition. She was telling me about the Alvin Ailey trained instructor who teaches modern dance classes for adults (I’m interested in the class), when her phone rang.
“Oh hold on, I’m getting a call. It’s my students — there’s a lesson going on right now, and I’m not there because I’m here. One moment, honey.” And she was gone.
Commercial Insurance Broker Frank Apuzzo introduced me to Kellyann Day, CEO of New Reach, who wanted to talk about the state’s impending housing crisis. With an eviction moratorium expired and housing costs at an all time high, she said, the number of unhoused individuals in the state has surpassed pre-pandemic levels. Then she asked about me.
Saranda Belica, director of Business Development at AdvanceCT, introduced me to Peter Denious, president and CEO of the same company. Their organization works to “engage, retain and recruit businesses and advance overall economic competitiveness in Connecticut.” I recognized Denious’s last name from some of my peers from high school.
“Tell your kids I say hello,” I said.
“Will do! I’ve actually got to go run to get on another Zoom meeting. Nice meeting you,” he said.
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