Windham Resident to Open Cafe Thursday

On the cobblestone corners of Boston, Cambridge and Somerville, European-style coffee houses are easy to find and hard to leave.

When it comes to slowing down your day for a cup of java and a conversation, Windham resident Alex Puglisi wants to bring that experience to downtown Manchester.

Her creative work of art is almost ready. Café La Reine is tucked into a narrow space just a stumble away from The Shaskeen Irish pub on Elm Street.

Loosely translated, the shop's name means "The Queen Cafe" in French, named after the "Queen City" of Manchester and meant to pay homage to the city's large French Canadian population.

The idea for the business has been brewing in Puglisi's head for about two years.

"My senior year of college I decided that a coffee house is what I wanted to do," she said. "I decided on Manchester, and after I left school I started working on my business plan which took me a very long time to finish. I was also working in coffee houses as I was doing this to get more experience."

Puglisi spent time at the former Coffee Roasters Cafe near The Common Man in Windham. The business has since moved to Salem, changing its name to Coffee Coffee. She also worked in Hampstead.

But other than the products being pushed, Puglisi doesn't see a whole lot of similarities between Café La Reine and her former employers.

"They were both in really secluded areas so I feel like I'm going to see a lot more volume," said Puglisi.

At age 23, Puglisi has been incredibly self-sufficient, but a laundry list of family and friends have been more than willing to help out.

Her father, who works by day as a trader, travels around with her to each and every business appointment. The two constantly bounce ideas off one another. Her mother remains in Windham, helping in any way she can. 

Another family member has helped to co-sign for Puglisi's business loan.

Paul Mondello, Puglisi's SCORE business mentor, has been essential while advising her through much of the start-up process.

Her boyfriend, Ben Horton, has remained supportive as he currently works down in Florida.

Friends helped with an extensive coffee testing process, and the group decided on Boston Common Coffee Company.

Puglisi even hopes that her sisters, Lauren and Lindsey, will help work at the shop, which is geared toward college students and young professionals. Puglisi has also hired and trained seven employees for the business.

While everyone is pitching in, Puglisi is orchestrating the creative direction of the facility, and she wouldn't have it any other way.

"I'm a self-starter," she said. "I want to have my own thing and I want to do my own thing my way."

Before she graduated college, Puglisi was barking up the corporate America tree.

"I just wanted to get a really good job and make a ton of money," she said. "But I saw how corporate America changes people. You're subject to someone else's opinion of you. If they don't like you then you lose your job. I just didn't want to be one of those people."

She decided to develop a different use for her business degree from St. Anselm College.

Specific courses offered all of the experience Puglisi needed, especially an elective class she took called "Paris-New York in the Twenties and Thirties."

"In the class we studied how the cafes in Paris and New York fostered discussions and kind of a sub-culture I guess of artists and writers," said Puglisi. "I just thought that was a really interesting aspect of the coffee house that I had never thought of."

The cozy elements are coming together. An antler chandelier beams low-key lighting into a cluster of comfortable chairs. 

Soft pastels have replaced a loud mural that once greeted customers at "A Carribean Affair," the former business to occupy the location. Exposed brick lines the side wall. A fiery red espresso machine dominates the center of her counter top. 

Puglisi is still engulfed in the daily rigors of purchasing supplies, working with her landlord and speaking to local contractors.

Many in her family history have arrived at the next step, which is officially opening a business.

Her grandfather started a home inspection agency in his 30's. Her uncles began a property management firm. Another pair of family members are in a modular home business.

But this is the same Alex Puglisi who arrived at St. Anselm and started her own mock trial team from scratch. Café La Reine is just another example of the young entrepreneur filling a community need. 

"If there's something lacking in the community that I'm in I feel like I need to be the one to start it," she said. "That's how I am."

Café La Reine will feature coffee, espresso-based drinks, smoothies, tea, salads, wraps, flatbread sandwiches and soup.

For more information on the business, follow Café La Reine on Facebook.