Stratford Business Moves Downstream

Six months after entering the Stratford business community, a local saltwater aquarium store has moved and expanded its operation from Paradise Green to Stationhouse Square.

“The new location is more than double the space and will allow us to carry a greater variety of saltwater fish and corals in addition to many more tank systems and products,” The Coral Reef’s owners, Donna and Jonathan Eckart, said in an email to Stratford Patch.

The store is a realization of a dream for Jonathan Eckart, a Bunnell High School graduate whose hobby for aquatic life began at a young age.

“It’s something he’s always wanted to do,” his wife told Patch shortly after opening at the Paradise Green location. “Everything in the store he’s built…(it’s) a beautiful store to be able to come into.”

At the time of that interview, The Coral Reef carried about 75 different species of coral and saltwater fish in its tanks.

Two months later, Jonathan Eckart told us, “We have certain corals, fish go out the door right when they get in…We use everything I would use. We make it easy. It’s pretty instantaneous.”

The Coral Reef held a soft opening Sept. 4 for its new Stationhouse Square location at 2505 Main St. A grand re-opening was scheduled for Saturday.