Dan Hincks sells business to GoodWorks Entertainment

By Ruth Melville
Photo by Bruce Frisch

After months of uncertainty and rumors in town, it was announced in early April that owner Dan Hincks had sold Infinity Music Hall and Bistro in Norfolk and Hartford to Goodworks Entertainment, a concert promotion company based in Fairfield, Conn. 

After extensive renovation of the 1883 building, Hincks opened Infinity Hall in 2008, and it soon became a vital part of the Norfolk town center. Its friendly, intimate setting and excellent acoustics made it an attractive venue for musicians and patrons alike, and concerts taped there were broadcast on PBS. In 2014, Hincks opened a second Infinity Hall venue in Hartford. 

The new owner, GoodWorks Entertainment, was founded by Tyler Grill and Dave Rosenfeld three and a half years ago. GoodWorks is a full-service entertainment company specializing in talent buying and event creation, production and marketing. But Grill, the company’s CEO, says they’re about more than just concerts. The company aims to combine concert promotion with community building and supporting local charities. The tag line on their website reads, “Building human connections one live show at a time.”

After forming GoodWorks, Grill and Rosenfeld developed a close working partnership with Hincks, who they felt shared their approach to the music business. “We would share insider advice and information,” Grill said, “which is very unusual.” When Hincks decided he wanted to sell Infinity Hall to concentrate on his software business, Grill said they were the first people he called. “To us, it seems a perfect fit, an extension of everything we’ve already been doing.”

In a recent conversation, Grill sounded very excited about taking over Infinity Hall. He said they don’t have a lot of plans to change Infinity, rather they want to continue and expand on what Hincks was doing. So far the transition to the new ownership has been seamless. All previous bookings will continue, and new ones have already been added. The staff and the restaurant will stay.

Some of GoodWorks’ ideas for the future include increased marketing and expanded programming. Grill said he’d like to see the venue open six or seven nights a week, with more programs for families and children. Other ideas he mentioned were having a free weekly concert series both to introduce more people to the venue and to introduce new bands and artists. They’re also open to hosting benefits for local organizations.

“We’d like to get involved with music education, dance, the arts,” Grill said, and suggested they might have an adventure film series and try to build connections with local outdoor attractions, such as skiing, biking and climbing. 

Box office manager Jon Riedeman, who has been with Infinity Hall since the beginning, admits that rumors that the business was up for sale caused some anxiety and trepidation among the staff, “but we breathed a collective sigh of relief when we finally met the new owners. They are kindred spirits who recognize how extraordinary and unique Infinity Hall is, and they made it clear that they are committed to keeping what is great about Infinity while making some changes that we are all glad to see such, as increasing the advertising budget and increasing the number of shows on the schedule.”

First Selectman Matt Riiska has also spoken with the new owners and says that he too feels good about the change. “I was able to speak to Dan Hincks,” Riiska adds, “and wished him good luck and thanked him for what he did for Norfolk.”

For over 10 years, Infinity Hall has attracted concertgoers from across the tristate area. Under its new ownership, its future seems, if not infinite, in very good hands.