ENDNOTE
DISPATCH FROM THE BOOK TRADER CAFE WRITER-IN-RESIDENCE
A coffee lover reflects on the rebirth of New Haven’s roasted bean scene. ANANYA KUMAR-BANERJEE
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t the beginning of shutdown, in early March, I used to venture out for long walks, bundled in my purple coat. The city was quiet and cold, my fingers losing feeling within fifteen minutes. In such weather, I longed for a cup of coffee to smooth over the day’s rough edges—my coffee shops of choice are Willoughby’s and the Book Trader Cafe. I like to joke that I was the Book Trader writer-in-residence: until this past March I had finished every final paper underneath their hazy glass ceiling. But after spring break, Book Trader closed its doors. The rickety brown tables were upturned and placed on the counter. Willoughby’s window soon sported a hopeful sign, saying they would open someday soon. Both Blue State cafes featured a sign saying they were closed indefinitely. Koffee? looked abandoned, frozen in the days when we might brave the cold for a cigarette smoke. When Duda spoke about his employees, I thought briefly of the nice barista who used to joke with me about milk alternatives at the Book Trader counter. These people, like the Yale employees who brighten our day, are as much part of our college experience as the individuals we learn alongside. Some of the first coffee shops to return this summer were Koffee? and Willoughby’s Grove Street
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location, which both opened in July. Atticus, too, opened up its doors in late July, though the bookstore section is now separated by a pane of glass, and the seating area is blocked by shelves of sourdough and local craft beer. Blue State opened their York Street cafe on June 17th. Since students started arriving in New Haven, I’ve seen more people sitting inside, their masks off. There’s something strange about peering into the York Street Blue State. It’s a familiar sight, students with laptops open and black coffees in hand, but it looks off, foreign, a kind of looking-glass into the campus world we knew before. Absorbing the image of barefaced students indoors, it takes me a few moments to remember we’re in a pandemic, and then my mind reaches for anxiety: how can people be allowed to sit inside with their masks off? While Blue State on York may be stuck in a notso-distant past, other coffee shops have altered their expectations. Koffee’s Goodall says that “one thing that has really become clear in this pandemic is: innovate or die.” For Goodall, this has meant working with nearby buildings to secure outdoor space that fits tables that are at least six feet apart. For Willoughby’s, it meant closing down their York Street
