“We will serve our first cup of espresso in September,” vowed Chris Mordecai.
Mordecai is one of three partners in East Rock’s newest culinary addition, Caf√© Romeo, on Orange Street at Pearl.
The site of the old and beloved Bunnell Paint and Hardware is in its sixth month of transformation into what Mordecai calls a coffee shop and more. He said the place will be dedicated to the walking-and-cycling East Rock community.
To that end, Mordecai, in a brief tour of the site, pointed out a bike rack that the city has already put in, and the site of another bike rack to come, designed by local sculptor and welder Ted Salmon. Salmon has also designed a Richard Serra-esque sculpture, on a modest scale, for the front of the cafe, as well as the sign above. The cafe’s architect is Paul Fioretti, a principal with Edifico, LLC.
In addition to 24 seats inside there will be seasonal outdoor seating for perhaps 12 more on a nicely designed stone plaza.
“We also left an open landscaped area for pets,” Mordecai said. He’s thinking of putting in a pet pole as well.
Caf√© Romeo’s other partners are Bernard Massaro, Jr. and Romeo Simeone, longtime owner of Romeo and Cesare’s on upper Orange. In the photograph is Bernard Massaro, Sr., who did the stone work for the stone and wood oven that will deliver specialty pizzas to future customers.
Mordecai said the restaurant will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. He would have wanted to go later, but the Board of Zoning Appeals heeded neighbors’ concerns and limited the time.
He left open the possibility of extending hours, but only after he sees how business and the community interact.
“I love East Rock,” Mordecai repeated several times. “This is truly going to be a neighborhood place.”
Mordecai said he grew up with Bernard Massaro, Jr. in Hamden. Massaro has been close friends with Simeone, whose 30 years in the food business will direct the culinary aspect of Café Romeo.
Mordecai runs Restoration Realty with Massaro, and is an experienced property owner in the area. He serves on the Ward 10 Democratic Committee, is active in the new SoHu block watch, and has donated money for parties and movies-in-the park events planned for East Rockers later this fall.
Café Romeo will be his first retail and food adventure.
Highly designed, with some tables having spiffy barstool height, and all a polished steel checkerboard surface, his place in-formation has “a contemporary caf√© design” but one that will serve traditional Italian foods, he said.
There will be WiFi for students, but no wait service. The southern wall of the café will be dedicated to showcasing East Rock and other New Haven artists, one per month.