Allan Appel Photo
A bakery and coffee shop that roasts its own may become the next tenant at the historic Hall Benedict Drug Company building on Orange Street.
And the Bike New Haven advertising stanchion, which had riled residents, right outside the location — along with the bikes themselves — may be moved to another East Rock location before the aromatic new establishment moves in.
That news emerged at the regular meeting of the East Rock Management Team Monday night.
Two dozen neighbors gathered at the community room of mActivity on Nicoll Street for the meeting. They heard attorneyJames Perito preview plans of Dena Jara, owner, along with her husband, of Common Grounds, which already has stores in Hamden and Branford, to lease the, er, ground floor store, which had been home to a pharmacy since 1909 until closing this August. (Click here to read Lary Bloom’s tribute to the pharmacy.)
Jara and Perito with photos of other Common Grounds stores.
Also in attendance was Diane Williams, a Benedict family member, who said four generations of her family have lived in the residential rooms above the store.
Williams said she’s emotional that another pharmacy will not be moving in; small pharmacies are simply no longer very viable. She said she feels positive about the Common Grounds prospect.
“Breaking bread is the way a neighborhood comes together. This is going to be wonderful for East Rock,” she said.
If the sale moves forward, next steps will include going to the Board of Zoning Appeals early in 2019. The location, in an RM‑2 zone, would require a special exception for a new use, a bakery, and likely also a variance to allow up to 20 seats, Perito said.
The prospect was greeted with “general happiness,” in the words of the management team’s vice president, Kevin McCarthy.
So was the related news, reported by East Rock Alder Anna Festa, that the city has agreed to move both the stanchion and the bikes in front of the store, at Orange and Linden.
They had become the target of neighborhood opposition, both to the beer-advertising content of the stanchions as well as to the architectural scale of the stanchions, which critics argued was out of scale for the neighborhood.
Lary Bloom Photo
Before the pharmacy curtain closed.
If both developments — removal of the bike infrastructure and arrival of a bakery and coffee shop — come to pass, that would please Williams, and, based on the murmurs of approval in the room, the East Rock neighborhood.
Perito said Common Grounds’ plans include not touching the outside appearance of the building. Even the new sign’s lettering “would model what’s there,” he said.
The owners expect to put the coffee roaster in the lobby near the entrance; the bakery and seating area on the left side facing out to Linden Street; and seats on the outside in the warmer weather. Hours would be from 6 a.m. (when the bakers and roasters are already up and at work) to 10 p.m.
One might ask if New Haven needs another coffee shop or bakery but (like with quality pizza and beer) there's seems to be an insatiable appetite for both coffee and bread in this town.