Aroma Joe's Opens, Gets Positive Response From Bristol Community

By Brian M. Johnson, The Bristol Press

April 5, 2022

Aroma Joe’s received an excited response from the Bristol community on Monday for their opening day, with the drive-thru and walk-up window consistently busy throughout the morning.

The Aroma Joe’s located at 1235 Farmington Ave. is the first location for the franchise in Connecticut. Franchise owner and development agent Mark MacGregor said he was very happy with the initial enthusiasm of city residents.

“We had a great response on our first day,” he said. “A lot of people have been giving us positive feedback. We’ve had cars coming through the drive-thru consistently since we opened at 5 a.m.”

MacGregor grew up in Rochester, NY, where there has been an Aroma Joe’s for 20 years. Having lived in Bristol the past three years, he said that he wanted his first location to open in his community.

“I think it’s very important,” he said. “Aroma Joe’s stands for giving back to the community and making a positive impact when we can. In my hometown, Aroma Joe’s had huge success and really resonated with me in terms of both their product and their mission. It made me passionate about wanting to bring Aroma Joe’s to Connecticut.”

MacGregor said he plans to open 60 locations in Connecticut and Massachusetts within the next 10 years. There are currently more than 70 locations in Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Florida.

MacGregor said that popular purchases on Aroma Joe’s first day included sausage egg and cheese breakfast sandwiches, spicy chorizo and the ham and Swiss croissant.

Aroma Joe’s also offers hand-crafted coffee and their own brand of energy drinks, “Rush,” which people can add different flavor shots to.

“My favorite flavor is ‘green alien’,” said MacGregor. “It’s a Rush energy drink with green apple and raspberry shots.”

The City of Bristol provided Aroma Joe’s with a $33,000 grant to help develop the property. MacGregor thanked city leaders for their help in realizing his goal.

“Everything came together great,” he said. “The city was great to work with and helped us get up and running relatively quickly.”

Mayor Jeff Caggiano said he looks forward to meeting MacGregor and his team and trying out Aroma Joe’s menu.

“It’s always great to add new businesses in town,” he said.

Justin Malley, city economic development director, wished MacGregor and his team success as he grows Aroma Joe’s in Bristol and across Connecticut.

“There is a certain amount of pride in having the first Aroma Joe’s in Connection open in Bristol under the ownership of a Bristol resident,” he said.

Aroma Joe’s is open from 5 a.m. to 9 p.m.

For more information on Aroma Joe’s, visit aromajoes.com.

Brian M. Johnson can be reached at 860-973-1806 or bjohnson@bristolpress.com.