Jitter Cafe Cleared To Sell Beer, Wine

By Laura Glesby, New Haven Independent

NEW HAVEN, CT — Jitter Bus Coffee has won permission to sell wine and beer at its brick-and mortar location, now that the Board of Zoning Appeals has approved a special exception to that effect.

Subscribe

According to Jitter Bus co-owner Dan Barletta, who appeared before the Board of Zoning Appeals (BZA) at City Hall on Tuesday, the Wooster Square cafe at 847 Grand Ave. is seeking to serve alcohol at regular community events ranging from live music to art shows to pumpkin carving in the fall.

These events typically occur about once per month, often in the evenings. "I'd like to extend that to a couple times a month, three times at most," said Barletta.

"We don't want to operate as a bar or anything like that," he told the zoning commissioners. "We don't want an alcohol license or anything — just beer and wine, to offer a modest alcohol service that complements local art, music, and educational programs."

In an email to the Independent, Deputy Director of Zoning Abdul-Razak Zachariah clarified that "the permission for the sale of alcohol was for the full use and operating hours of the business, not just during the special events." A City Plan Department staff report states that the cafe's current operating hours are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturdays, and 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Sundays.

While applying for the special exception, Barletta wrote in an email to City Planner Alex Patiño, "We are not seeking to serve alcohol every night… Instead, we are requesting the ability to responsibly offer beer and wine during occasional community events that support local artists, musicians, and neighborhood engagement," approximately two to three times per month.

"Because there is limited demand for coffee during evening hours," Barletta wrote, "we believe that offering beer and wine during these events would make them more financially sustainable."

Carissa Duhamel, Barletta's wife, recalled one memorable event at the cafe shortly after the Science Park cafe Fussy Coffee closed unexpectedly, leaving all of its employees without a job.

Jitter Bus Coffee "held a benefit where they put together a live music show," recalled Duhamel. They invited food trucks to participate. "They donated all of the proceeds from the entire event to all the people that lost their job," Duhamel said.

"The ask for beer and wine permit is not to cause any disruption in the community at all," she added. "It's really just for it to make business sense to be able to hold these kind of events."

Steven Baker, who is on the board of the Historic Wooster Square Association, said that the association is in support of the application.

As someone who lives right behind the cafe, Baker said that when it comes to "this section of Grand Avenue, I think the word 'bleak' comes to mind." The block where Jitter Bus Coffee is located is largely comprised of vacant, abandoned buildings.

"These folks have taken a huge leap of faith and a great risk at opening this business" in that spot, Baker said. "It's just a fantastic job with it. They are a great asset to the neighborhood. I know my husband and I, our neighbors, we are all enthusiastic customers of the cafe now."

Wooster Square Alder Amanda Martinelli also showed up to support the cafe. "I think Jitter Bus has done great things for Grand Avenue, and I think they've been an asset to the community in many ways," she said.

"Grand Avenue, as we know, needs a lot of development," Martinelli added. "Wooster Square is definitely spit into two."

The Board of Zoning Appeals unanimously approved the application to serve wine and beer with a handful of conditions that City Plan staff had recommended.

Per those conditions, Jitter Bus can host a maximum of three special events per month, extending no later than 11 p.m. The cafe also has to have "properly monitored, and lockable storage/holding space" for the alcoholic beverages.

The special exception applies only to the Jitter Bus Coffee location at 847 Grand Ave., not to the business' mobile coffee bus.

The New Haven Independent is a not-for-profit public-interest daily news site founded in 2005.