Blue State Coffee, a popular hangout and study spot for Yalies and other “latte-sipping liberals,” a store manager once proclaimed facetiously, has decided to close its cafés — at least for the duration of the coronavirus crisis.
The company’s CEO, Carolyn Greenspan, announced that, “It was the best decision after listening to guidance from the governors in Connecticut, Rhode Island and Massachusetts,” all states in which Blue State operates cafés.
The company traces its roots to 2004 in Providence, R.I., when Greenspan decided to open a community-oriented coffee shop. “The premise was simple,” the Blue State website proclaimed: “Our ideals would guide how the company did business.”
The family pledged to donate 2 percent of sales to local non-profit organizations. As of August 2019 the company said it had donated some $950,000 to date from all nine locations.
In New Haven, Blue State operated cafés at 84 Wall Street, 276 York Street, 534 Orange Street and 320 Congress Avenue.
It also operated two stores in Providence, R.I., two in Boston and one in Hartford.
Attempts to reach Greenspan were unsuccessful.
On Friday morning, Kelsey Cote, Blue State’s director of communications and partnerships, wrote that “Blue State Coffee is not closing our business. We have temporarily shut down our cafés during the coronavirus crisis and plan to reopen once the crisis passes.”
Latte-lovers from the Quinnipiac to the Charles will be glad to hear of it.
