Fussy Coffee Closes

By Mona Mahadevan, New Haven Independent

NEW HAVEN, CT — The interior was empty Wednesday morning, save a handyman and owner Dave Negreiro, who arrived later in the day.

More than 15 people stopped by Fussy Coffee Wednesday morning — only to find its doors locked, the lights out, and no one inside.

The cafe’s manager and assistant manager told the Independent that the closure is for good. The owner of the Science Park coffee shop declined to confirm whether that’s the case.

Fussy Coffee is located at 290 Winchester Ave. It sits beside Yale offices, biotech businesses, and new luxury developments, like Cadence on Canal, Winchester Lofts, and 201 Munson.

Opened in 2018 by Negreiro and Joe Ballaro, the coffee shop had become a neighborhood gathering spot for residents and visitors to Science Park.

It also represented the neighborhood’s transformation from a 20th century factory complex, where tens of thousands of people churned out Winchester rifles, into a 21st century upscale urban living and tech hub.

The manager of Fussy Coffee said Negreiro told her on Tuesday that the coffee shop’s final day of business would be Saturday.

When reached for comment, Negreiro declined to say whether the store is being shut down for good. One potential customer who was turned away Wednesday said Negreiro told her that Fussy is closed.

No signage indicated the store’s closure Wednesday morning.

Fussy Coffee operates out of a first-floor commercial space in a building owned by Yale University Properties. Wednesday afternoon, Associate Vice President for New Haven Affairs and University Properties Alexandra Daum confirmed the store’s closure.

In a statement emailed to the Independent, she said, “Yale University Properties is pleased to announce that the retail space on Winchester Avenue is poised for new and exciting developments. While the details are not yet finalized, we are committed to ensuring that this prime retail location continues to serve the community. While Fussy Coffee will be missed, we anticipate that more information about a future tenant will be shared soon.”

Fussy Coffee Manager Eden Markoya, who has worked at the cafe for four years, said she began to suspect the store was closing when she noticed their August coffee order was smaller than usual. She asked Negreiro, over text and in person, whether he was selling the store. According to Markoya, he didn’t respond.

Markoya said that she then confronted Negreiro during her shift on Tuesday. She said he admitted that he’s planning to close the store permanently on Saturday and that he wouldn’t tell the other employees until then.

Markoya felt “hurt and blindsided” by the news, particularly when thinking of her 12 coworkers, some of whom are single parents relying on income from Fussy to support their families.

In a statement sent to the Independent, Markoya wrote, “While it’s clear that certain aspects of Dave’s character are unlikely to change, my focus now is on the staff and myself — many of whom I care about deeply. They’re facing the loss of their livelihoods, which is horribly unfair. We don’t deserve that.”

“We’re now in a very difficult position after being blindsided, and it’s an incredibly challenging situation for everyone involved. It’s hurtful to know that my 4 years of working with Fussy, putting a lot of my time and hard work into a business I loved and cared deeply about, while also building connections with the customers and community, amounted to nothing.”

On Tuesday, Markoya told her coworkers about the store’s imminent closure. She said they decided as a group to walk out of the store at 1 p.m. Based on text message screenshots shared with the Independent, the 13-person staff doesn’t plan to work any more shifts.

Assistant Manager Abby Bruckmann, who’s worked at Fussy for almost two years, said she’d been scheduled to work Wednesday but decided to stay home after hearing the news.

Like Markoya, she had the feeling that the store was closing because Negreiro stopped “answering [their] questions” and “restocking” key items.

“Even if he just gave us two weeks or a month notice — any notice — we would have understood,” she said. “If he needs to sell the place or move on, that’s OK, but give us some time to make a backup plan.”

She and her partner, Adrian Briones, both work at Fussy and live with other Fussy employees. They’re nervous about being able to afford their rent, she said. Since many of them are musicians, they might host a performance in their shared Edgewood house to raise money.

While frustrated about how they learned of the closure, Markoya and Bruckmann both stressed how much they loved being baristas at Fussy, agreeing that “the people who really cared about the store were the employees.”

“I loved the community,” said Bruckmann, and “forming friendships with new people, both customers and coworkers.”

Markoya added that she came to New Haven in the first place because she thought Fussy would be a good place to work.

Three Yale School of the Environment postdoctoral associates — Drs. Beatrice Harrison Day, Nancy Walker, and Vanessa Tonet — tried the doors to Fussy Wednesday morning and discovered they were locked.

“It’s the only place close enough for coffee and lunch,” said Tonet, adding that Fussy had been her weekly stop for a mid-morning iced coffee and croissant.

Jennifer Van Elswyk and Jennifer Michael were sitting on a bench outside Fussy when they learned the store might be closing for good. In response, Van Elswyk, who regularly orders the cafe’s espresso, poke bowls, and fries, asked, “Do you know how we can protest?”

As potential customers lingered outside, trying to discern whether the store was closed, a handyman unscrewed the handles to two of the cafe’s doors.

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