Norwich — Now that the Pleasant Street bridge reconstruction is nearly complete and open again to traffic, Erica Sullivan-Corbett is ready to welcome new customers or anyone who is just curious to see color and vibrancy return to the previously neglected shopping plaza at 204 Sturtevant St.

Sullivan-Corbett owns Small Potatoes Artisan Crafts & Unique Gifts, one of the first new businesses to move into what is now called Yantic River Plaza at the junction of Sturtevant and Pleasant streets. The colorful shop features items made by 250 artists from across the country, ranging from jewelry, soap, chocolate and jellies, to scarves, small sculptures and home décor.

The Chamber of Commerce of Eastern Connecticut will hold a grand opening at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday at Small Potatoes. The timing of the bridge reopening will add to the celebratory atmosphere. But Sullivan-Corbett said since she moved from her tiny West Town Street location in March, her business sales have tripled despite the bridge work and traffic detour.

The bridge, which had been closed for two months, is the main access road into the plaza at the junction of Sturtevant and Pleasant streets. Although work isn’t quite done, the bridge reopened Oct. 2, Public Works Director Ryan Thompson said.

Paul Breglio purchased the rundown plaza in November 2016 and estimated last week he is 90 percent done with renovations to the building. He plans to add landscaping in the parking lot and entrance once the bridge construction vehicles and equipment are gone.

Sullivan-Corbett said she welcomes the transformation, but said she refused to let things she couldn’t control interrupt her own work to bring life back to the Yantic plaza. Sullivan-Corbett sets out display tables on the sidewalk and spends part of each day examining every display and thinking how items can be better presented.

Fall-themed items will take center stage for the grand opening ceremony Tuesday. The shop is open 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday thrugh Friday and 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on weekends. On some days, shop artists run the store and work on their projects.

Small Potatoes hosts classes and artist shows as well. A show from 4:30 to 6:30 will highlight the fused glass jewelry by artist Jen Johnson and her business, Art Salad.

"This is a show that is usually a hit, because her work is hard to find unless you attend one of these or go to her open house at the holidays," Sullivan-Corbett said.

Behind the scenes, she combs the internet looking for top-quality crafts, food products and home goods that might be attractive in the shop. As she shows off the items, she can identify their origin. The chocolate bars on her desk are from Massachusetts. The Honestly Natural soap on the wall display is from Colchester. There are items from as far away as Washington, Oregon and Los Angeles.

“If I find something online I like, I message them,” she said. “The smaller (crafters) are interested. A lot are from Connecticut. I think the problem is a lot of people don’t know where to go to sell their work.”

She tries to highlight Norwich items as well, including drinking glasses with the city’s zip code 06360 stamped on them and old Norwich postcards.

Sullivan-Corbett praised Breglio for the work he’s done to revitalize the long-forgotten shopping plaza, and she looks forward to having new neighbors. She hopes the plaza can become a community of shop owners and service providers who can come together to organize group events to attract customers.

That’s already starting to happen, she said, with a planned Trunk or Treat event coming for Halloween, hosted by CrossFit Payback, a gym that has been the anchor business since before Breglio purchased the building.

Currently, Coleman Pediatric Therapy occupies a spot at one end, with the bridge construction company temporarily renting the space next door. Breglio said another therapist that would complement Coleman’s services plans to move in once the construction company leaves. Dexter’s Best Liberty Safe, which sells residential and commercial safes, has another storefront.

Asplundh tree-cutting service and Buckley Cable & Construction also have offices in the plaza, and there’s a self-storage company that occupies space in a rear area, Breglio said. And he donates storage space to Sea-Legs, a New London based nonprofit that teaches sailing and boating skills to youths in the region.

Breglio said he has had “a lot of interest” in the two vacant storefronts on either side of Small Potatoes, including from a furniture store and a nail salon.

Breglio praised the city building and zoning officials for helping him through the permit process during the renovations and is pleased the bridge work too is nearly done.

“The city has worked with me,” Breglio said. “I have lot of compliments for the building department and the zoning enforcement officer. The bridge work should be wrapped up by the end of November. When the bridge is done, I will do some landscaping and create a bigger sign.”

c.bessette@theday.com