New Haven’s Cafe Romeo expected to become a Blue State Coffee

Cafe Romeo at 534 Orange St. in New Haven has closed. Cafe Romeo at 534 Orange St. in New Haven has closed. Photo: Arnold Gold / Hearst Connecticut Media Buy photo Photo: Arnold Gold / Hearst Connecticut Media Image 1 of / 5 Caption Close New Haven’s Cafe Romeo expected to become a Blue State Coffee 1 / 5 Back to Gallery

NEW HAVEN — The new owner of the popular Cafe Romeo, which closed Feb. 2, is slated to be Blue State Coffee, sources have told the New Haven Register.

When reached for comment Monday, Cafe Romeo owner Chris Mordecai declined to confirm he has sold his business to Blue State.

Mordecai told the Register last week he would not sell the business to a chain operation and that he had found a “small local business” to take over the property at 534 Orange St.

Blue State Coffee already has three outlets in New Haven: one on Congress Avenue near Yale-New Haven Hospital, one on York Street and another on Wall Street, all heavily patronized by Yale students. According to its website, Blue State also has a shop in Hartford, another in Providence, R.I., near Brown University and two in Boston.

Mordecai last week said the new owner would spend a few weeks or perhaps months renovating the property before opening.

The Blue State Coffee website states that since its first shop opened in 2007, “we are proud to have donated over $900,000 to more than 300 non-profit organizations.”

According to the website, Blue State Coffee donates two percent of its sales to local nonprofits suggested by Blue State customers. The shops also seek to “minimize the company’s environmental impact” through such measures as recycling.

East Rock residents expressed mixed reactions Monday when told a Blue State Coffee shop was coming to their neighborhood. The interviews were conducted at East Rock Coffee, a small independent operation at the corner of Orange and Cottage streets, about a half-dozen blocks from the former Cafe Romeo.

Anne Marie Champagne, who is studying for her Ph.D. in sociology at Yale, was reading a book at East Rock Coffee when asked about Blue State Coffee’s plans. She said, “I don’t think we need another Blue State. I do enjoy their coffee but their target audience is different than here. They cater to college students.”

She added, “Blue State doesn’t have as much of a local identity. There’s a community feel in this shop; Blue State is more regional.”

Referring to East Rock Coffee, Champagne said, “What I love about this place is the people I meet here almost never are affiliated with Yale. You have old-timers and people with young families. You don’t get that at Blue State.”

She said that by spending time at East Rock Coffee, “I can connect with local people. That’s how you learn about where you are and what’s important, what are the long-standing issues and how I can participate.”

However, Champagne credited Blue State for being “environmentally conscious.” And she said: “They’re definitely better than Starbucks!”

Danny Carter, a Yale Divinity School student, said, “There’t nothing really special about Blue State. But you can come in here and it’s a really different atmosphere,” he noted, pointing to the local artwork on the walls at East Rock Coffee.

Carter said he has gone to, or at least tried to go to, the Blue State Coffee shops on Wall Street and York Street. “The problem is it’s always packed. It’s impossible to get a seat. If you cater to college students, you have a definite market, but they don’t go anywhere; they open their Mac Books and they don’t move!” (East Rock Coffee has a sign in the front window, “No laptops,” although this rule is not always enforced.)

Jonathan Fine settled into a seat at East Rock Coffee next to a stack of “ERC Community Sketchbooks” filled with customers’ doodles, drawings, sayings, poetry and cartoons. He said he recently moved to New Haven from New York to teach philosophy and humanities courses at Yale. Asked about the pending arrival of another Blue State, he said, “The more variety, the merrier,” although he acknowledged, “There are a bunch of Blue States already in New Haven.”

Fine said, “I like Blue State. The people there are friendly.” He also praised them for their support of local and global initiatives.

Joel LaChance, who in good weather operates a bicycle repair business on the corner near East Rock Coffee, said of the Blue State news: “I knew the guys at Cafe Romeo. I’m sure there will still be local people working at the new place. But I guess it’s like a McDonald’s moving into the neighborhood. I don’t frequent any franchise businesses.”

“It’s progress,” LaChance said with a shrug. “What are you gonna do? It’s empty now.”

randall.beach@hearstmediact.com