Coffee connoisseurs may soon have another place to enjoy their favorite beverages and other treats, as a popular area coffee shop is planning to expand into the East Rock neighborhood.
Dena Jara, an owner of Common Grounds, hopes to open the new coffee destination soon in space at 763-767 Orange St., formerly home to a pharmacy. Jara’s business currently has locations in Branford and Hamden.
Attorney James Perito of the law firm Halloran Sage in New Haven presented the proposal to city land use officials.
“This will be Common Grounds’ third location,” Perito said. “They love the neighborhood and fell in love with the building and its classic architecture.”
Common Grounds treats coffee drinkers with about 60 varieties of hand-flavored coffee beans, including amaretto, chocolate marshmallow, cherry vanilla, almond cream cake and sweet maple, according to its website. The business also offers an array of baked treats.
The application has been through the public hearing process, and the New Haven Board of Zoning Appeals is expected to vote on it at a meeting on Tuesday, March 12, at 6:30 p.m., at the Kennedy Mitchell Hall of Records, 200 Orange St.
Before the plan can proceed, the board would have to allow a variance to permit 20 seats where six are allowed now, and grant a special exception permit for the sale of baked goods in a residential district.
The building is owned by Formichella Associates LLC, and the East Rock Pharmacy occupied the ground floor until it closed last August. The historic brick structure, known as the Hall Benedict Drug Co. building, was built in 1909 and used as a pharmacy right from the beginning.
The coffee shop would occupy about 2,500 square feet on the first floor of the three-story building, which is at the corner of Orange Street and Linden Street. Much of the interior space will be used for customer seating. The upper floors of the building are residential. The exterior of the building will remain unaltered, according to the plans.
The coffee shop’s proposed hours of operation are daily from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m., with one or two employees during the weekdays, and up to three employees on weekends, city documents show.
The building’s owners surveyed area residents, and most favored the idea, according to the City Plan Commission’s advisory report. At a recent public hearing, most spoke in favor of the proposal, while a couple raised concerns about a lack of parking on Orange and residential side streets.
The advisory report indicates there is on-street parking in the area; it is a pedestrian-oriented neighborhood; and there is access to public transportation, so “staff does not anticipate traffic or parking issues associated with this use.”
“Staff finds that the use is an adequate replacement to the former drugstore, keeping to the character of the neighborhood and shopping habits of its residents,” the report states.
If all the necessary approvals from the city are forthcoming, Perito estimated the coffee shop would likely be able to open within a couple of months.
Contact Michelle Tuccitto Sullo at msullo@newhavenbiz.com
