New East Haven Coffee Shop One Step Away from 'Coming Soon' Sign

Plans for a new upscale coffee shop in the Trolley Square Plaza in East Haven continues its positive forward momentum — with the process now just one final step away from opening soon: the proposed lease's approval.

'Lease in Hand'

"We have the lease in hand and we're now going over the final details," Richard Cordeiro, the Guilford businessman looking to open the new cafe, told East Haven Patch.

"We just want to make sure we get everything we want in the lease," he said, adding that once the agreement is approved by the plaza's ownership, which is Stop & Shop, they will then be shifting gears towards getting the new cafe up and open.

"Hopefully, within the next week or so we'll be able to put up a 'Coming Soon' sign," Cordeiro said.

Coffee, Yogurt & iPads

Cordeiro, a native of Branford, is looking to open the coffee shop in the now vacant 1,635-square-foot office space next door to the U.S. Post Office in the busy East Haven shopping center.

The shop would not only feature quality coffee drinks, but also a self-serve area for frozen yogurt.

The plans for the cafe include an area for outdoor seating and state-of-the-art wireless internet access — as well as iPads mounted into some of the shop's counter tops.

Cordeiro said the outdoor seating has been moved to the street side of the building.

"And that will be nice," he said. "You'll be able to sit there and look out over the green."

Town Has Been 'Helpful'

The building plans have already been approved by the town's Planning & Zoning Commission.

"The town has been nothing but helpful," Cordeiro said.

"It's just Stop & Shop is very slow," he said, adding that that can be expected when dealing with a larger corporation.

'It's Coming Soon'

Although the process is not moving as fast as he would like, Cordeiro said everything has been going very well for the project so far.

And, he said, once the lease is signed it should take about five to six weeks to get the cafe ready to open.

"It's coming soon," he said. "This is the most confident I've been on it."